When Tim Curry stepped onto my television screen in a backward corset and platform heels, my entire worldview changed.

With thick makeup and charisma that I could feel all the way through the years and screens, Tim Curry as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in Rocky Horror Picture Show was a transformative character that inspired me and countless other queers, whether we were watching him in a shadowcast performance or from our laptops in our bedrooms. His sincere confidence and oozing sexuality made Tim Curry an icon, no matter what role he played, villain or hero, animated or live. 

For me, though, Dr. Frank-N-Furter is Curry’s most memorable role. As a “sweet Transvestite from Transsexual, Transylvania,” he expressed queer identity in a way that was incomprehensible and yet deeply relatable for so many of us. He sought out pleasure for the sake of pleasure, with no qualms about gender or sexual identity. He was inspired by classic movie glamour and longed to dress like the stars.

“Whatever happened to Fay Wray?
That delicate, satin-draped frame
As it clung to her thigh
How I started to cry
‘Cause I wanted to be dressed just the same”

How many queer viewers (some, like me, unsure of their own queer identity) heard Curry’s sensual voice drip over these words and found themselves identifying with a transsexual alien doing a floor show to an empty audience? 

While Frank-N-Furter isn’t exactly a pillar of morality—kidnapping and murdering people he parties with—this deep desire for beauty, for femininity, and pleasure, and for being able to express yourself fully, has moved countless fans of the show. This is evidenced by Rocky Horror Picture Show’s incredible cult following, leading to a Broadway revival opening over 50 years after the movie came out in theaters.

Rocky Horror and Tim Curry, in particular, shaped my queer identity. Watching him strut, dance, seduce, and play in that role opened my mind to the expansive possibilities of gender and sexuality. He taught me that charisma matters more than fitting into conventional roles of beauty, and that the most beautiful you could be was your full self.

Most importantly, he taught me, “Don’t dream it. Be it.”

Thank you, Tim Curry.