Tim Curry’s Cause of Death Revealed at 80

Actor and singer Tim Curry died Aug. 25 at his Los Angeles home from coronary artery disease, according to documents obtained by PEOPLE from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.

The documents list a history of stroke and kidney cancer as additional conditions that contributed to his death. They state that no operations were performed for the coronary artery disease, previous stroke or kidney cancer.

Curry, best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Long John Silver in Muppet Treasure Island, was 80. His publisher confirmed his death to Entertainment Weekly. The Los Angeles Police Department said officers responded to a death investigation involving an 80-year-old man at about 11:20 p.m. on Aug. 25.

Curry suffered a major stroke in July 2012 that temporarily paralyzed his left side and required brain surgery. In a 2025 interview with CBS Sunday Morning, he said he had two blood clots in his brain and spent about a month in the hospital before undergoing rehabilitation.

The stroke affected his speech and left him with limited mobility and pain on his left side. Curry said he could no longer fully use his left arm and sometimes struggled to use his left leg.

Despite his health challenges, Curry said in the interview that he did not fear death. “I try to avoid it, as I think we all do,” he said, adding that he believed he might eventually welcome it.