Actor Tim Curry dies at 80

Tim Curry, the British actor who built a career out of eccentrics and villains, has died at 80. He died Tuesday night at his Los Angeles home, having suffered a major stroke in 2012.

He originated Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a small upstairs venue at London's Royal Court Theatre, carried the role to Broadway, and starred in the 1975 film alongside Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. Made for $1.2 million, it flopped initially before becoming a cult institution built on midnight screenings, costumes and audience callbacks.

In 1990 he turned Pennywise into something genuinely frightening in ABC's two-part adaptation of Stephen King's It, drawing more than 37 million households with a low, raspy New York accent. Director Tommy Lee Wallace later said his job was mainly to stay out of Curry's way.

The range was wide: Rooster Hannigan in Annie, Wadsworth in Clue, Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island. He earned three best actor Tony nominations, for Amadeus, My Favorite Year and Spamalot, plus an Emmy nod and a Daytime Emmy for voice work.

He never married and had no children.