The entertainment world lost a true titan of the extraordinary with the passing of Tim Curry at the age of 80. For millions of devoted fans across generations, Curry was more than just an actor - he was a master of the delightfully macabre, a performer who taught us how to embrace our inner eccentricities. 

Whether he was sashaying across the screen as the seductive, leather-clad sweet transvestite Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), or haunting our childhood nightmares as the terrifying, shape-shifting clown Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries It, Curry possessed a rare, magnetic genius that could effortlessly pivot from intoxicating glamour to spine-chilling terror.

Now that he is gone, many want to know why they lost their beloved star after watching him entertain millions for decades.

According to TMZ, the renowned English actor, Tim Curry, passed away at his Los Angeles residence on Tuesday night. Although the cause of his death has not been revealed, authorities say there is no suspicion of foul play. After suffering a severe stroke in 2012 that left him unable to walk, Curry has struggled with serious health issues in recent years.

Through several interviews, appearances, and his latest memoir called Vagabond, the actor has shared the ordeal of his stroke and the condition in which it left him. He recalled that he was in the middle of a massage when his therapist noticed something odd with him and promptly called the ambulance. He was right on the money, and something was indeed wrong with him, as just seconds later he started to have a stroke.

He was rushed to the hospital, and the doctors performed a difficult brain surgery, as too much blood had filled his brain, and there were also two clots that needed to be removed. The stroke struck in the right hemisphere of the brain, which meant paralysis on the left side of the body, as the motor receptors of that side are in the right hemisphere of the brain. 

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The stroke altered his life in a way that was hard to recover from for the iconic performer.

The stroke, followed by the difficult brain surgery, left him in a wheelchair permanently. Alongside the lifetime wheelchair dependency, he also developed short-term memory loss, which meant the end of his acting career. While speaking to CBS Sunday Morning, Curry said that he has made his peace with death.

"I don't fear death. I try to avoid it. I think we all do, but I suspect that in the end, I will welcome it. I think it may be very comforting to go bye-bye, and I want to earn it," Curry said.

For more than a decade, he was assisted by a team of caregivers, as the late legend could not use his left arm and completely depended on a wheelchair for mobility. Though he was thankful to his caregivers for taking such good care of him and making him laugh, he was not very content with his situation. Plus, his statement about death made it more obvious that he was waiting for it to take him. His passing becomes the second celebrity death in two consecutive days, the other being Dolly Parton’s.  

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Do you think the lingering effects of the stroke were the reason for his death? Do let us know.