Almost three years after suffering a stroke that continued to affect his speech and left him using a wheelchair, Tim Curry, 69, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 19th annual Actors Fund Tony Awards Viewing Party in Los Angeles.
He was honored for his Broadway career by the Actors Fund, a human services group that supports professionals in the performing arts and entertainment. It provides assistance with the cost and arrangements of funerals and burials.
"I'm doing well and I'm looking forward to it," the actor told Los Angeles Magazine before the party. "I've done a few benefits for the Actors Fund and I think it's a marvelous organization. I hope not to have to use it," the acclaimed character actor quipped.
The talented, hilarious actor hasn’t lost his spark, possessing the same wit people know and love from his turns as Dr. Frank N Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (a role originating on the West End in 1973).
Tim hasn’t been seen out very often since suffering a major stroke in July 2012 at his Los Angeles home.
He has used his humor to help him through the situation and when asked how important it was for him – he replied: “Vital. Absolutely vital. It’s not tough to maintain. It is just part of my DNA.”
Speaking prior to the event about receiving the award for his stage work, he said: “It means that it just sort of solidifies the kind of work the American acting community has given me for years now.
“It’s very gracious of them, I think. I was thrilled when they told me and I am thrilled now,” he said.
The other recipients of the Actors Fund Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's Tony Awards Viewing Party were Theodore Bikel, Alfred Molina and Scandal's Joe Morton.
