Actor Tim Curry, the villain from "Home Alone 2" and "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," has died

British actor Tim Curry, best known for his roles in the cult musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and the comedy Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), died on Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 80. His death was confirmed to the AP by his longtime manager and close friend Marcia Hurwitz, though no cause was given.

Curry suffered a stroke in 2012, after which he used a wheelchair.

From London's Stages to Hollywood

Curry's career took off in 1973 on the stage of London's Royal Court Theatre, where he played the mad scientist and cross-dressing alien Dr. Frank-N-Furter from the planet Transsexual, Transylvania, in the rock musical The Rocky Horror Show. Two years later, he reprised the role in the film adaptation, which became a cult classic and made him a household name worldwide.

Other notable roles include the child-murdering monster in the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's It, and the scheming Cardinal Richelieu in the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers. For general audiences — including younger viewers — he's perhaps most fondly remembered as the officious manager of New York's Plaza Hotel, forever chasing after young troublemaker Kevin McCallister in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

A Life Without a Family, and a Visit to Czechia

Tim Curry was born in 1946 in the English village of Grappenhall, Cheshire. His father served as a chaplain in the Royal Navy, while his mother worked in education. According to the AP, the actor never married and had no children.

Curry also had a connection to Czechia — in 2009, he visited Zlín as a guest of the International Film Festival for Children and Youth.

Around Prague, based on reporting by seznamzpravy.cz