Why Tim Curry was kicked out of his first ‘Rocky Horror’ screening: “Very, very peculiar”
Like many actors, Tim Curry began on stage. Appearing in the likes of Hair and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, he soon proved himself with a role in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, starring at the Royal Court Theatre in London.
Playing Dr Frank N Furter, Curry received widespread praise for his bold and uninhibited performance. It was camp and flamboyant, with the actor blurring the lines of gender in stockings, corsets, and makeup.
Naturally, he was the only person who could reprise the role for a film adaptation – could anyone else do it better? Curry thus made his film debut in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, released in 1975, starring alongside the likes of Susan Sarandon, Patricia Quinn, and Barry Bostwick. The movie has endured for decades since as a landmark of queer cinema, and it even stands as the longest-running theatrical film release in history.
With classic hits like ‘Sweet Transvestite’ and ‘The Time Warp’, fans have fallen in love with the ridiculousness of the film and the community it inspires. With every screening, audiences are encouraged to dress up, and there are often sing-alongs, which has even been depicted in other movies, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Curry’s career was kick-started by the role, although when he tried to go and see it at the cinema alongside regular audience members, he found that his fame hadn’t fully kicked in. The problem was, the employees simply didn’t believe that he was the real Tim Curry.
Talking to NPR, the actor explained, “And finally, I went to see it. And, in fact, I had to sort of call the theater because, you know, you could never get in. And I said, you know, I’m in it, and I’d really love to come and see it and get an eye full. And the operator said, you’re the third Tim Curry to call this week.”
When he attended a screening, it didn’t take long before his identity was questioned. “So finally, I showed up, and they sort of believed me and took me in. And the word spread rather swiftly, and people were sort of coming up and touching me and running away and giggling. And it was a very, very peculiar experience. And then finally, the usherette – I don’t know what you call them, really. That’s what they call them in England – came and sort of dragged me out of my seat and announced that I was an impostor and threw me out of the theater, which is quite funny, really.”
Curry wasn’t going to give up that easily, though. He whipped out his passport and showed them that he really was the guy on screen – just without the suspenders and lipstick. “I pulled it out, and I said, still think I’m an impostor? And she said, oh, Mr. Curry, I’m so sorry. Please come back in.”
Taken for a fool, Curry wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction of staying. “And I said, I wouldn’t dream of coming back in,” he added.
Curry surely never had that problem after that, with his film career subsequently taking off and seeing him appear in everything from Annie to IT to Charlie’s Angels.
