Timothy James Curry (1946-2026)

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Tim Curry was an English actor and singer. He began his career on the stage, making his debut in Hair (1968–1969) and gaining wide recognition for portraying Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show (1973–1975) and its 1975 film adaptation. He received three Tony Award nominations for his Broadway performances in Amadeus (1980–1981) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, My Favorite Year (1992–1993) as Alan Swann, and Spamalot (2005) as King Arthur; and two Laurence Olivier Award nominations for West End productions of The Pirates of Penzance (1982) and Spamalot (2006–2007).

In film, Curry starred as Rooster Hannigan in Annie (1982), the Lord of Darkness in Legend (1985), Wadsworth in Clue (1985), the Concierge in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers (1993), and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island (1996). Other film credits include The Worst Witch (1986), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Congo (1995), Charlie’s Angels (2000), Scary Movie 2 (2001), and Kinsey (2004). On television, he played Pennywise in the miniseries It (1990) and earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role as a family of Hillbillies in the HBO anthology series Tales from the Crypt (1993). He also released three rock-focused studio albums: Read My Lips (1978), Fearless (1979), and Simplicity (1981), the latter two of which charted on the US Billboard 200.

A prolific voice-over performer, Curry won a Daytime Emmy Award for voicing Captain Hook on Peter Pan & the Pirates (1990–1991). He also voiced Hexxus in FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992), Sir Nigel Thornberry in The Wild Thornberrys (1998–2004), Doviculus in Brütal Legend (2009), and Chancellor Palpatine / Darth Sidious, and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012–2014). A reader for numerous audiobooks, he was Grammy-nominated for reading A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning (2002). He released his memoir Vagabond in 2025.

He was 80 years old

friday firesmith – Dolly

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I grew up in the 1960s, in South Georgia, where most of the older people, and by older I mean anyone over twenty-five, listened to country music. It was a religious thing, where country music, and by default, those who played and sang it, were holy. Rock and Roll was evil. Children were to be seen and not heard, and children certainly were not allowed to have an opinion on music and they would listen to whatever their parents decided they would listen to and they would be happy, too.

I was not.

Like the French Resistance, we knew a guy, okay, an older kid, who had a tiny transistor radio with an earpiece. We would tune into one of the few not country stations, AM at that, and listen to top 40, which was as close to rock as we were going to get.

I never liked country music mostly because it was forced upon me, as was my taste in clothing, food, television programming, and just about every other aspect of life.

Dolly Parton was an enigma to me. Dressed like a two-dollar hooker, with unimaginably large breasts, and with a voice that sounded like someone in water over their head yelling, “Shark!” Dolly Parton’s singing was irritating. Worse, a lot of it was smarmy. And as I grew older, Dolly Parton was a wig wearing ghost who haunted the radio stations.

But then there were books.

I grew up being able to pick and choose what I read. It was one of the few areas of absolute freedom I had in personal choice. I read books like it was a religion. I pretended to be sick to get out of school so I could read more. I called in sick from work so I could read. I fell asleep reading.

And Dolly was giving away free books to kids, little kids. I was not going to start singing, “Jolene” in the shower but I started paying attention to what this person was doing. Books were my currency in deciding whether or not I could be friends with, or even like someone.

Dolly’s “Imagination Library” has donated over 300 million books to children under five across the globe.

Dolly started the “Buddy Program” which teamed seven and eight graders who would receive five hundred dollars each if they both graduated from high school. Drop out rates dropped from over one third to single digits.

DWF Home

Dolly’s, “Dollywood Foundation” in an international charity that has stepped in and stepped up many times since its creation in 1988. Spanning the globe like a giant blonde wig, this is an organization who had helped after wildfires, Covid, and much more.

I rather listen to a coon hound being cut in half longways with a plastic spork than hear Dolly Parton sing. But as far as being a good human being, Dolly Parton is a fucking Saint.

Her death is one of the few celebrities I will mourn for the rest of my life. Irreplaceable, one of a kind, and one of the best human beings that ever irritated me with her voice, I will die loving Dolly Parton with all my heart and books.

Take Care,

Mike