As we moved through August and more people passed away whom I’ve watched on tv and admired I was surrprised to find out one of them was Tim Curry. One of David and Charlie’s favorite actoris.

When I heard that Tim Curry had died, my first thought wasn’t Pennywise. A character from a movie David and Charlie watch. Not, me. No, how. No, way. It wasn’t Clue. Which is something I hadn’t seen.

Nor, was it all the other wonderful characters he brought to life throughout his career. I Iwasn’t sure what shows he had been in. Charlie and David’s mind immediately went to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And then I remembered the night David took me, my stepson Travis—who we call Travi—and I to the Ridglea Theater in Fort Worth. Now, David knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that The Rocky Horror Picture Show wasn’t just a movie you sat quietly in a theater and watched.

What he didn’t tell us was it was a interactive show and what was going to happen to people who had never experienced it before. Because apparently, if you are a Rocky Horror virgin, everybody needs to know it. And by “everybody,” I mean the people in the theater.

Before the movie even got started, Travi was identified as a first-timer. He ended up with a big V on his forehead, done with red lipstick. David had apparently decided this was going to be part of his initiation.

I was being quiet. I wasn’t saying anything. I was probably thinking, Okay, this is different. But then Travi opened his mouth. “No, her too! Her too!” Well, thank you, Travi. Because suddenly I was no longer going to sit quietly and observe.

I had a V on my forehead, too. And we sat through the entire movie that way. But here’s the thing. It was so much fun. That with Charlie and Bradley being older I want to take them and yes, they need to get a v on there forehead and see how they like it.

If you’ve never experienced an interactive Rocky Horror showing, it is hard to explain. The audience becomes part of the experience. People dress up. They shout things at the screen. They sing. They dance. There are traditions, props and moments that make absolutely no sense if you have never seen the movie before.

And then there are the props. Let’s just say there are some very grown-up traditions associated with Rocky Horror, along with things like toilet paper and a lighter. You really have to experience it to understand it.

And Tim Curry was at the center of all of it. If you didn’t know Curry became unforgettable as Dr. Frank-N-Furter, the outrageous character at the heart of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

The 1975 movie became a cult classic, and Curry’s performance became one of the defining performances of his career. But Frank-N-Furter was only one piece of Tim Curry’s career.

There was Pennywise in It. A movie I have no, intention of watching ever in my life. There was Wadsworth in Clue. There were his stage performances, television roles, voice work and countless other characters. He had a career that reached far beyond the one role that made him a cult icon.

And now I’m thinking about Charlie. Charlie is almost eighteen, and I would absolutely love to take him to a Rocky Horror showing someday. Because I can already imagine the look on his face.

I can imagine him sitting there trying to figure out what in the world he has gotten himself into. And honestly? I think that would be half the fun. Seeing him watching the movie with his dad and seeing who is laughing the loudest.

Tim Curry died August 25, 2026, at the age of 80. But when someone leaves behind a performance that people are still dressing up for, quoting, singing along with and introducing to their children nearly fifty years later, that is something special.

For me, Tim Curry isn’t just the man who played Frank-N-Furter. He’s part of a memory. A memory of David, Travi, a theater in Fort Worth, a big V for virgin on our forehead and one of the strangest—and most entertaining—movie experiences I have ever had.

And someday, I hope I get to make another Rocky Horror memory with Charlie. Because some movies are watched. Some movies are experienced. Some movies we live. The Rocky Horror Picture Show is definitely experienced. And Tim Curry will always be at the heart of it for my family. What about yours?

Thank you,

Glenda, Charlie and David Cates