Renowned actor Tim Curry has revealed he’s “not scared” of death and believes he will “welcome it”. The 79-year-old star confronted his own mortality after surviving a stroke 13 years ago – which left him wheelchair-bound and dependent on a team of carers – and The Rocky Horror Picture Show legend admits he no longer fears life’s end and may find it “comforting” to finally bid farewell.
Speaking on CBS Sunday Morning, Curry revealed: “I don’t fear death. I try to avoid it. I think we all do, but I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it. I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye, and I want to earn it.” He also disclosed he was terrified when he initially suffered the stroke because the same condition had previously claimed his father’s life.
The film icon said: “I was scared… I had to learn how to speak again. That was very weird. I hated not being able to speak. [And] my face kind of went sideways.”
This follows Curry’s previous admission that he could suffer another stroke “at any time”. When questioned if he worries about enduring a similar ordeal again in the future, Curry told the Guardian newspaper: “I probably should [worry]. It could happen any time. I wouldn’t want to go through it again. Because it just makes you so f****** vulnerable.”
Curry now depends on a wheelchair for mobility and cannot use his left arm, but he’s assisted by a team of carers, saying of them: “They really take incredibly good care of me and make me laugh.”
He continued to disclose the most challenging aspect of his condition on is the loss of his short-term memory as it means he will never work on stage again.
He added: “I can’t remember a f****** thing. I’m not sure that I could do theatre again.”
Curry previously disclosed he endured the stroke whilst having a massage and his therapist was the person who spotted something was amiss and rang for an ambulance.
Speaking on stage at a special screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles last month, Curry told the audience: “I was having a massage at the time and I didn’t even actually notice anything, but the guy who was doing the massage said: ‘I’m worried about you, I want to call an ambulance’. And he did, and I said: ‘That’s so silly.'”
