A Mental Mindfuck Can Be Nice!
I am an official Drama freak. I just did extra credit for the one class I have absolutely no need to do extra credit for. I even asked the teacher if I could get extra credit for it. I’m also involved in Drama Club.
I did a report on Tim Curry. I did this for a few reasons. 1) Drama reports on actors are pretty easy at our school, 2) It’s interesting, 3) I have no life, and 4) It’s extra credit.
The most important reason, though, is that it gives me an excuse to show 2 clips (which can be longer than the teacher usually let’s me play because nobody else will be presenting) of what I think are some moments in his films that show his acting at it’s best. Yes, I just wanted to make people realize how good Tim Curry is because not enough people know.
I’ve already done reports on Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. Plus later at the end of the year we’ll be doing these reports, so I might do one on Ioan Gruffud then.
I chose Tim’s opening scene in The Rocky Horror Picture Show AKA “Sweet Transvestite” *points at icon*. I also chose the last ending in Clue which I always loved.
Tim Curry
He was born Timothy James Curry on April 19, 1946 in Grappenhall, England Tim Curry's father, James, was a Methodist chaplain for the British Navy, though Curry himself says he was always a "cheerful agnostic," and remains so to this day. When his father died in 1958, Curry moved to South London. He attended Kingswood School and enjoyed the number of hymns available. There, he became a talented boy soprano. After his voice broke, his music teacher encouraged him to develop a mature singing voice.
When he was 19, he began his studies at the University of Birmingham, there he also acted with the renowned Guild Theatre Group. Curry completed a joint honors in English and Drama before moving on to study at the University of Cambridge. He cites Billie Holiday as his major musical influence, saying that he "listened to nothing but her records for two years" during a period of teenage depression as he contemplated on "which gloomy Sunday afternoon I was going to throw myself under a car."
Curry's first full-time role was as part of the original London cast of the musical Hair in 1968. Here he first met Richard O'Brien, who went on to create his next and perhaps still most famous role, that of Dr. Frank N. Furter in The Rocky Horror Show. Originally, Curry rehearsed the character with a German accent and peroxide blonde hair, but the character evolved into the sly, very upper-class English mad scientist and transvestite that carried over to the movie version The Rocky Horror Picture Show which made Curry a star and a cult figure (It initially flopped in box office, but it is now one of the most famous cult films.). He continued to play the character in London, Los Angeles and New York until 1975.
A composer and a singer, Curry toured the US and Europe with his own band and released four albums on A&M Records. Apart from his performances on soundtrack records, Curry has had some success as a solo musical artist. In 1978, A&M Records released Curry's debut solo album, Read My Lips. The album featured an eclectic range of songs (mostly covers) performed in diverse genre. The next, Curry released his second and most successful album, Fearless. The LP was more rock-oriented and mostly featured original songs rather than cover versions. In addition to an active movie and television career, he is a sought-after actor for CD-ROM productions. He has done the voice for more than a dozen audio books, and in countless animated television series and videos.
He often plays villains (ie. Long John Silver and Wadsworth the butler in Clue). That’s not always the case, though. He has also been in many musicals on stage and in film such as Hair, Rocky Horror, Muppet Treasure Island, Spamalot, and Annie (which he was unfortunately a part of). Curry has oddly enough been involved in many films for kids as well. These include Muppet Treasure Island, Pirates of the Plain, and The Worst Witch.
He is a great actor with various talents. He does unconventional roles when possible. Curry has been in many of the films I watched growing up like The Three Musketeers and Clue. However, I only fully realized his talent when I watched Rocky Horror Picture Show. He has also recently been nominated for the third time for a Tony (the last 2 were Best Actor in a Play for playing the title role in Amadeus 1981 and Best Actor in a Musical for playing Alan Swann in My Favorite Year 1993) this time it’s for playing King Arthur in Spamalot.)