Newly released 911 dispatch audio has shed light on the final moments before Tim Curry was pronounced dead at his Hollywood home on Tuesday evening, as the world mourns the loss of one of the most distinctive actors of his generation.
Curry, best known for playing Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pennywise the clown in the 1990 adaptation of Stephen King's IT, died on August 26 at the age of 80. His manager confirmed the death on Wednesday. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that no foul play is suspected and a cause of death has not yet been determined.
Audio reviewed by the Daily Mail revealed that emergency crews were dispatched to Curry's Los Angeles address at around 11:23pm, with the incident described in the dispatch as an "ambulance death investigation." His address was reportedly repeated several times during the call. First responders arrived at the property and found a male patient who was declared deceased at the scene. Los Angeles fire officials confirmed crews responded to a medical call at the address believed to be Curry's, though they do not release patient names.
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that a death investigation report was completed.
Curry had spoken openly in recent years about his health struggles following a major stroke he suffered in 2012, when he was 66. The stroke occurred while he was receiving a massage at his home. The therapist noticed something was wrong before Curry himself did, prompting a 911 call that would change the rest of his life.
"I felt fine, I had no symptoms that I was aware of, but clearly he had noticed some," Curry told CBS Sunday Morning last October. "He called 911, and an ambulance came, and they carried me down the stairs of my house on a stretcher."
He was taken to hospital, where doctors discovered he had suffered two brain bleeds. He underwent brain surgery and spent around a month in rehabilitation, during which he had to relearn how to speak entirely.
"I hated not being able to speak because I speak a lot," he said. "I love words, I love to communicate."
The stroke left him partially paralysed and reliant on a wheelchair for the rest of his life, though he never fully retreated from public life. He continued voice work, attended fan conventions, and made his final public appearance at the Rocky Horror 50th anniversary celebrations in late 2025, where audiences gave him a standing ovation.
His career spanned five decades and an extraordinary range of roles: the menacing yet camp Dr Frank-N-Furter, the terrifying Pennywise, the scene-stealing Wadsworth in Clue, the bumbling concierge in Home Alone 2, Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, and Darkness in Ridley Scott's Legend. He earned three Tony Award nominations on Broadway and lent his unmistakable voice to countless animated projects, audiobooks and video games.
Tim Curry never married and did not have children. He was 80 years old.
