Tim Curry's Skull Was 'Smashed In' During Emergency Surgery to Save His Life After Devastating Stroke — 14 Years Before His Death at 80
Tim Curry recounted the serious stroke that almost took his life years ago.
Aug. 26 2026, Published 12:23 p.m. ET
Tim Curry's skull needed to be "smashed in" after his debilitating stroke in 2012 that left him partially paralyzed, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The cult movie icon died on Tuesday, August 25, decades after the massive stroke, at age 80.
Tim Curry's 2012 Stroke Details
The actor, who passed away Tuesday, August 25 at age 80, was never the same after.
Curry opened up about his near-fatal health crisis in his recently released memoir, Vagabond, in which the Rocky Horror Picture Show star recounted experiencing the stroke, undergoing emergency brain surgery and the long recovery that followed.
As Radar reported, Curry's career was cut short when he collapsed at his Los Angeles home over a decade ago. He shared that he was having a massage at the time of the stroke, and initially wasn't even aware that it had occurred.
Curry wrote that he felt "a little out of sorts" though he didn’t believe that he required medical attention. However, his massage therapist insisted on calling 911.
He spent months in intensive rehabilitation and relied on round-the-clock assistance for the rest of his life. But Curry was thankful the therapist made the right call.
"I probably owe my life to the fact that he ignored me, went with his instinct and called an ambulance," Curry wrote.
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