Tim Curry’s Final Interview: Insights on Aging, Health, and Mortality

In one of his last on-camera interviews, conducted for “CBS Sunday Morning” in October 2025 while promoting his memoir “Vagabond,” Tim Curry spoke openly with host Ben Mankiewicz about the challenges of aging after his 2012 stroke and his reflections on mortality in the years that followed.

Curry shared that he had reached an age he hadn’t anticipated, especially considering that his father passed away from a stroke when Curry was just a child. When discussing death, he expressed that it didn’t scare him. “I try to avoid it, as I think we all do,” Curry remarked. “But I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it.” He humorously added, “I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye — and I want to earn it!” He emphasized his desire to “earn the privilege of not being here,” while clarifying that he wasn’t in a hurry to reach that point: “I’m not galloping towards it. I may well embrace it.”

The conversation also highlighted the physical impact of his 2012 stroke, which necessitated brain surgery after doctors discovered two blood clots in his brain, leaving him reliant on a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Curry described the chronic pain he experiences on his left side, explaining that even a light touch on his left arm or hand could be excruciating. He also reflected on the significance of acting throughout his career, telling Mankiewicz that it provided him “the freedom of being somebody else.”

Curry echoed similar sentiments during a public appearance the previous year, at a 50th-anniversary screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles in September 2025.

Alongside fellow cast members Patricia Quinn, Barry Bostwick, and Nell Campbell, he shared with the audience, “I still can’t walk, which is why I’m in this silly chair, and that’s very limiting. So I won’t be singing and I won’t be dancing very soon.” He recounted the moment his stroke began, revealing that he was in the midst of a massage and hadn’t realized anything was wrong until his massage therapist insisted on calling an ambulance.

Curry passed away Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles. In the wake of the news, longtime friend and “Clue” co-star Michael McKean took to X to share a remembrance, noting that their final conversation was about life, love, and laughter, and describing Curry’s passing after years of declining health as, in a sense, “a blessing.” “Our blessing was that we had Tim Curry in our lives,” McKean wrote. “RIP, my friend.”

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!