Tim Curry Tribute

  Tim was my idol. My absolute number one. People send me memes and articles about him all the time—even people I’m not particularly close to. That’s because Tim wasn’t just my favorite actor; he became a huge part of my world.

    It all started in 2020, when I would listen to the Audible version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula late at night. He was an actor I had always liked, but I had never really delved deeply into his work. Before long, I was binge-watching his movies and taking the opportunity to speak with him through video chats on GalaxyCon, a site he had a contract with. I even purchased his autograph through OC Celebrity, another organization that represented him, and I still have the certificate of authenticity. Tim didn’t just “wow” me with his prolific and consistently high-quality work. He inspired so many different parts of my life. I took up gardening and wine tasting as hobbies because of him. He was a passionate horticulturalist and a lover of French red wines.

    Once I began exploring his voice-over work more deeply, I became inspired to create the character for my puppet, Josephine. Here’s an interesting fact: Dr. Frank-N-Furter originally spoke with a German accent. But one afternoon in the 1970s, Tim encountered some rather “posh” ladies on the subway, all of whom had exaggerated English accents. Their unique voices struck a creative chord with him—and that’s how Frank’s iconic voice was born.
Josephine is my interpretation of how I imagine those ladies might have been. I made her a retired Broadway star with an incredibly inflated opinion of herself. To honor Tim’s influence, I gave her the last name “Hector,” after his character in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. (Betcha didn’t know that character actually had a name!)

  Speaking with Tim during lockdown was such an amazing experience. During my first two video chats with him, I told him how much he had inspired me as a ventriloquist, and he was thrilled to hear it. I even managed to make him laugh.
In 2021, I fractured my right forearm in an automobile accident. I became deeply depressed from the cabin fever that followed, especially because I was without a vehicle. When you live on a mountain in upstate New York, there is literally NOTHING within walking distance. A taxi ride to the post office would cost me $70 each way. That is not hyperbole.

    During my third video chat with Tim, I opened up to him about what I was going through. I told him how much his movies had helped me through those incredibly difficult and lonely times. He listened, and he showed me such compassion. I was crying heavily during that video, and he didn’t judge me for a second. At the end of the video, I blew him a kiss, and he blew one back. Tim had very little physical strength after his tragic stroke in 2012, but he raised his hand to blow me that kiss anyway. I watched his little hand shake as he did it, and I couldn’t believe it. He did NOT have to do that. Our conversation ended with me saying, “God bless you, Tim.” His response was, “Right back at'cha!”

    He was quite possibly the sweetest man I have ever met. He was the kind of person who could turn two minutes of your life into a moment you would remember forever. I will always be grateful that I had the chance to tell him that he saved my life. There simply aren’t enough words to describe how much that meant to me.

Tim, I love you, and I always will. Among the angels in heaven, you will have the most beautiful singing voice of them all. You’ve earned your wings :)

Sleep well, my beautiful Tim.
You will always be a part of me.

And please give Louise a big hug when you see them. I know they’ll be so happy to see you.