Tim Curry in conversation with Adam Felber at Live Talks Los Angeles

Name: Tim Curry in conversation with Adam Felber at Live Talks Los Angeles
Uploaded: 2025-11-30T21:41:09-08:00
Duration: 52 min 34 s
Channel: LiveTalksLA
Description: Tim Curry discusses the origins of his iconic roles, revealing that Frank N. Furter's accent was inspired by an upper-class woman on a bus and that he…

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About this episode Tim Curry discusses the origins of his iconic roles, revealing that Frank N. Furter's accent was inspired by a… AI summary

Tim Curry discusses the origins of his iconic roles, revealing that Frank N. Furter's accent was inspired by an upper-class woman on a bus and that he initially played the character with blue hair. He also shares insights into his music career, the physical demands of prosthetic roles like Satan in 'The Prophecy' and Wadsworth in 'Clue', and his experiences working with Muppets and on Broadway.

Key takeaways 7

Frank N. Furter's distinctive voice was modeled after a woman on a bus speaking with a posh, Queen-like accent, combined with Tim Curry's mother's 'telephone voice' used to impress people.
Curry initially played Frank N. Furter with blue hair, which faded to blonde after bleaching, and the original German accent was dropped because it 'wore out its welcome' quickly.
Curry approaches villainous roles by believing no one is irredeemably evil, instead finding a redeeming or amusing feature in dark characters to make them more human.
The physical toll of prosthetics was extreme; for 'The Prophecy', Curry spent up to 10 hours (later 6) daily getting glued into a muscle suit, causing exhaustion and high blood pressure.
In 'Clue', Curry's character Wadsworth was so physically demanding that he was sent to the studio nurse with blood pressure 'through the roof' after running through murder demonstrations.
Curry's voice acting for 'The Wild Thornberrys' involved recording in the same room as other voice actors (Jodi Benson, Lacey Chabert), which he preferred over solitary booth work.
Long John Silver's pirate accent in 'Muppet Treasure Island' was based on Curry's maternal grandfather, who spoke with a colorful Devonshire accent from Plymouth.

Notable quotes 5 AI-generated: wording and quote attribution may be wrong. Use the play link to verify.

“The truth is, I don't truly believe in irredeemably dark people. I find it difficult to grasp the idea that somebody might actually choose to be evil. I believe that people who behave badly, really badly, must have some kind of redeeming feature.”

▶ 19:13 Curry explains his philosophy on playing villains, emphasizing humanity over pure evil.
“Frank's voice is modeled on a woman on a bus who modeling her accent on the Queen herself... It also was vaguely like my mother's telephone voice if she was trying to impress somebody.”

▶ 6:54 Explaining the origin of Frank N. Furter's unique posh accent.
“I buttle man. And buttle.”

A humorous line from 'Clue' where Wadsworth defines his role as a butler.
“Once you've had pork, never go back.”

▶ 28:56 A line Curry wrote for himself regarding Miss Piggy that was cut from 'Muppet Treasure Island' because it was deemed 'not kosher'.
“I'm going home to Hawaii to watch the whales fucking.”

▶ 38:43 Carol Burnett's witty response when asked what she would do after finishing filming 'Curse of the Pink Panther'.