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Tim Curry, ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and ‘Clue’ actor, dies at 80

Tim Curry, ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and ‘Clue’ actor, dies at 80


Tim Curry, the British actor known for scene-stealing roles in cult classics and blockbusters ranging from The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, has died, his publisher at Grand Central confirmed. He was 80.

The publisher declined further comment on the death of the beloved actor. The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to the actor’s home overnight for a death investigation, which they concluded without finding anything suspicious.

The actor survived a stroke in 2012 that left him requiring the use of a wheelchair and limited his work mostly to voice acting and guest appearances at fan events.

Born in Cheshire, England, Curry began his career on the London stage in the 1970s, performing in the original West End production of Hair. He later appeared on Broadway in Tom Stoppard’s Travesties and in Amadeus. For the latter, he received a Tony nomination for best actor in a play.

Curry was probably best known for playing mad scientist Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The actor originated the character on the West End stage in the early 1970s before reprising the role for the 1975 film adaptation. Thanks in large part to midnight showings, the film has the longest-running theatrical release in history.

Curry’s talent for playing campy villains, coupled with his recognizable baritone voice, landed him a series of memorable roles throughout the 1980s, including as the butler Wadsworth in Clue, the Lord of Darkness in the fantasy film Willow and the shape-shifting clown Pennywise in the TV miniseries It, adapted from Stephen King’s novel.

The actor starred in a string of Hollywood films throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with major roles in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, The Three Musketeers, The Hunt for Red October and Charlie’s Angels. He made frequent guest appearances on TV shows as well, including Roseanne, Will & Grace and Monk.

Curry was also a prolific voice actor, winning a Daytime Emmy for his performance as Captain Hook in the animated series Peter Pan and the Pirates. He voiced Nigel Thornberry on the Nickelodeon series The Wild Thornberrys, and appeared in the films FernGully: The Last Rainforest and The Rugrats Movie.

An accomplished singer, Curry appeared on various movie soundtracks and released three solo albums. His 1979 single “I Do the Rock” charted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

In 2004, Curry returned to Broadway, originating the role of King Arthur in Spamalot, the hit comedy musical written by Monty Python member Eric Idle and based on the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The performance earned him a Tony nomination for best performance by a leading actor in a musical.

Three years after his stroke, Curry made a rare public appearance to accept the Actors Fund’s lifetime achievement award and reflected on his use of humor amid his recovery.

“It’s not tough to maintain,” he told Los Angeles Magazine about his sense of humor. “It is just part of my DNA.”

Curry also reflected on his iconic role as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. “It’s neither a blessing nor a curse. I was lucky to get it,” he told the magazine.

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Dolly Parton left one final song for fans to hear in 2046

Dolly Parton left one final song for fans to hear in 2046


Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer, revealed more than a decade ago which song she hoped would be part of her final farewell.

In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Parton was asked which song she would want played at her funeral.

Parton said she wanted the country-gospel hymn “If We Never Meet Again” to be sung. The song was a favorite of her father, Lee Parton, and had also been performed at his funeral following his death in 2000, she said.

Parton had also made plans for her funeral well before her death. Her representatives confirmed that the singer requested a small, private service for immediate family members.

Her nephew and head of security, Bryan Seaver, also shared that Parton wanted to be laid to rest in a “beautiful bed of plush cotton.”

But even after that final goodbye, Parton has another piece of music waiting for fans.

An unreleased song titled “My Place in History” remains locked inside a chestnut box at Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Parton wrote and recorded the song in 2015, the year the resort opened, with instructions that the box remain sealed until Jan. 19, 2046, which would have marked her 100th birthday.

The recording is stored on a CD, and Parton even included a CD player inside the box to make sure people would still have a way to listen to it decades later. The unusual arrangement effectively turned the song into a musical time capsule.

In her 2020 book, Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, Parton joked about whether the technology would survive long enough for the plan to work.

“There’s no telling what music is going to be by then,” she wrote. “Hopefully, it will play and the whole thing ain’t rotted.”

Parton was 69 when she recorded “My Place in History” and initially entertained the possibility that she might be there when the box was opened.

“I might, and if I do, I’m going to be at that opening,” she wrote.

While fans will have to wait two decades to hear that recording, another of Parton’s final projects will move forward much sooner.

Dolly: A True Original Musical, the Broadway production based on Parton’s life and career, will proceed with its previously announced schedule following her death. The musical will begin previews Dec. 7 at the St. James Theatre in New York City before officially opening Jan. 19, 2027, which would have been Parton’s 81st birthday.

“As was Dolly’s wish, the Broadway run of DOLLY: A True Original Musical will begin previews December 7 at the St. James Theatre in New York City,” the production said in a statement.

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Will Smith releases inspirational song “You Can Make It”

Photo by Borja B. Hojas/WireImage

Will Smith may have been in a Bad Boy in his latest movie, but in his new song, he’s a man of hope. “You Can Make It” sees him team with Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir to provide inspiration to those trying to overcome hardships.

“Through some of my darkest moments, music has always been there for me – to lift me and help me grow,” he wrote on Instagram. “It’s my humble wish that it can do the same for you and bring you all the joy and light you deserve.”

Available on digital platforms, “You Can Make It” marks Will’s first independent release. He’s set to debut the song on the BET Awards 2024 Sunday.

 

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New Music Friday: Burna Boy, Lucky Daye, Offset and more

Megan Thee Stallion is not the only one with new releases this season. Here’s some of the latest and greatest to hit the culture:

JT told us she was “Okay,” but Jeezy apparently is too. He appears on the “Okay Remix,” on which the now divorced rapper raps he’s “single as a dollar bill.” The two dress in all black in the video directed by Gerald Victor.

Higher” is where Burna Boy wishes for his hometown of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, to be. In the video, he pays a visit to childhood home and hands out essential supplies with volunteers from The R.E.A.C.H. and his initiative Project PROTECT.

Offset teams with Gunna for “Style Rare” and directed the video alongside Joshua “Mid Jordan” Farias. “I got that s*** on now,” Set says of the song.

Lucky Daye may just dominate your Algorithm with his new album, released alongside the video for “Think Different.” “‘Algorithm’ is the continued exploration of my sound, leaning into more futuristic and alternative sounds,” he says.

Tinashe‘s following up her first Hot 100 hit with “Getting No Sleep,” which will appear on her upcoming album, Quantum Baby, arriving August 16.

Marsha Ambrosius is back with Casablanco, executive produced by Dr. Dre. She says, “Dr. Dre dared me to dream bigger and aim higher” with the project.

Latto gushes about her man in “Big Mama.” The video finds her and sister Brooklyn turning up in a Miami club, on a yacht and driving the streets in luxury cars.

Doechii‘s “Rocket,” released as part of Sprite’s Limelight series, is about a past situationship with no future. A video for the track is out now.

Tamar Braxton and Eric Benét‘s “Something in the Making” was “a long time in the making.” Both tell People the experience was a “fun” one.

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T-Pain shares reaction to fanfare following success: “What’s the big deal?”

Photo by Dana Jacobs/FilmMagic

T-Pain is years into his music career, but it seems he’s still not used to fans’ reaction to his fame and stardom. In an interview with GQ, he says he began experiencing fanfare “a little bit before that, kind of the ‘I’m N Luv (Wit a Stripper)’ era” but that it made him ask questions like, “What’s the big deal?” and “Why do you think I’m important?”

His reaction has remained the same over the years. “Even still to this day. I’m a person like you. If we’re both in the same airport, on the same flight, there’s nothing special about what I’m doing. It’s not a big deal that you get to see me,” he says.

“It’s become a thing that people know about me. They know how I feel about pictures and videos and stuff like that. I installed in everybody like, Chill the f*** out,” T-Pain continues. “We’re all doing this together. I’m only as important as you make me. I get it, and I appreciate it, but we’re all supposed to be chilling together. I just get to be on the other side of the camera more than most people.”

While he notices “the appreciation is there and the love is there,” T-Pain says that “trying to make me more important than anyone else that’s also waiting on their flight…just doesn’t make sense to me.”

 

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Blxst announces upcoming album, featuring newly released Anderson .Paak collab

Red Bull Records/EVGLE

Blxst has new music on the way, and this time, it’s not an EP. He announced Thursday that he’s readying for the release of his debut album, which will be titled I’ll Always Come Find You. 

The announcement came via an Instagram post featuring a teaser that sees him in a Buick Grand National with a “Birdie” license plate, taking a late-night drive through the city and eventually stopping at a chauffeur car service garage called Evgle & Son. He ends the video saying, “If you’re ever lost, I’ll always come find you,” and revealing the release date: July 19.

“This is the most confident I’ve ever felt in my music. What I had to overcome while making this album changed my entire creative process, and the fans deserve to see the growth from that,” Blxst said in a press release. “I would be doing a disservice to not reach the heights I dreamed of reaching when I first started as an artist. No better time than now.”

To kick off the album, Blxst has released the Anderson .Paak-featuring single, “Dance with the Devil,” and its video.

“I’ve been a fan of Anderson .Paak since his Malibu album. His approach as an artist and tone of voice inspired me while coming into my own artistry,” Blxst said. “Full circle moment, he organically reached out to me summer 2023 to collaborate with him and the group Free Nationals. I took it as an opportunity to shoot for the stars and asked for him to be a part of my debut album as well.”

“This song is a perfect blend of two artists from California and is sonically undeniable from first listen,” he added. He said the song’s about “the tug-of-war with temptation in love and relationships.”

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