RIP Tim Curry and Dolly Parton

The deaths of Tim Curry and Dolly Parton within a day of each other mark the loss of two cultural icons. Parton had little direct connection to David Bowie, but she belongs here nonetheless. Like Bowie, she was one of those rare figures who became bigger than her original musical genre without ever abandoning it—a songwriter, singer, actor and instantly recognizable cultural presence whose appeal extended across generations. One recent appreciation put her in precisely that company, describing Parton as “a pop icon on par with Mick Jagger, David Bowie, and Prince.”

Curry’s connection to Bowie was much more direct.

For most people, Curry will forever be Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The character belongs unmistakably to Curry, but Bowie was part of the inspiration. Curry drew on the theatricality, androgyny and visual language Bowie had brought to rock through Ziggy Stardust. For the film, he even worked with Pierre La Roche, the makeup artist closely associated with Bowie’s Ziggy look. Curry wanted something rougher and less polished, smudging the makeup to make Frank look as though he had been “dragged through a hedge backwards.”

The connection soon became personal. Bowie attended The Rocky Horror Show and, Curry later remembered, conspicuously applauded with his hands over his head whenever Curry made his entrance. The two became friends, sharing impromptu dinners after Rocky Horror performances and encountering one another amid the parties and excesses of the 1970s.

I had the privilege of seeing Curry perform as King Arthur in Spamalot on Broadway. He was every bit as funny, charismatic and commanding onstage as he was on screen.

RIP