Tim Curry's Best Horror TV Role Arrived 3 Years After Pennywise

Published Sep 13, 2026, 10:30 AM EDT

Adrienne Tyler is a movies & TV features writer, with a focus on horror. She has written for Netflix, FanSided, & more. She was a regular guest on the Netfreaks podcast and was a YouTuber at some point. Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once.

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Tim Curry is a horror icon, and when it comes to TV, his most popular role is that of Pennywise in the 1990 miniseries It – however, his best horror role on TV arrived three years later. Tim Curry’s acting career began in theater in the late 1960s, with his big break arriving in 1975 when he played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, an adaptation of the 1973 musical The Rocky Horror Show, where Curry also played Dr. Frank-N-Furter.

Curry’s TV career began in 1968, and while The Rocky Horror Picture Show helped boost it, he gained more recognition in 1990 when he was cast in the adaptation of Stephen King’s novel It. Curry famously played Pennywise, It’s most notable shape, becoming the living nightmare of many viewers. Curry’s Pennywise is still one of the most terrifying TV villains of all time, but it must be said that his most impressive horror role on TV arrived three years later in Tales from the Crypt.

Some of the most influential horror shows in TV history have been anthologies, one of them being Tales from the Crypt. The show aired on HBO from 1989 to 1996, and it had an impressive team of executive producers, with names like Richard Donner and Robert Zemeckis among them. Tales from the Crypt ran for seven seasons and had various notable guest stars, among them Tim Curry, who, in season 5, played three characters in one episode.

Tim Curry Played 3 Characters In 1 Episode Of Tales From The Crypt

Tales From the Crypt season 5 debuted in October 1993 with the episode “Death of Some Salesmen”, directed by Gilbert Adler. The episode follows Judd Campbell (Ed Begley Jr.), a salesman who is actually a scammer, as he steals money from people by selling them expensive burial plots in a fake cemetery. However, his life takes a turn for the worse (and in a karmic way) when he targets a family of farmers: Ma, Pa, and Winona Brackett, all of them played by Tim Curry.

The Bracketts have a fortune buried in their basement, but the family also hates salesmen, as they have been tricked by them too many times. The Bracketts know well what Judd is trying to do, and so they put him through a real-life nightmare as he tries and fails to trick them. As Judd quickly finds out, the Bracketts have developed some deadly methods to deal with dishonest salesmen, and there might not be a way out.

Tim Curry is remembered and praised for his incredible acting range, which shone through in his horror roles, mostly in his one episode in Tales From the Crypt. Not only did Curry perfectly play three different characters to the point where it would be hard to realize it’s the same person behind the prosthetic makeup (if it wasn’t for some flaws in the makeup), but his voice acting skills also stand out as he gave each character a different voice, fitting with their personalities.

Curry’s performances as Ma, Pa, and Winona are equal parts scary and funny, mostly Winona, who is especially creepy and disturbing. Despite Tales From the Crypt now being a classic of horror TV, it’s also an underrated show, and as such, Curry’s episode isn’t widely known, but it’s definitely worth checking out.

Tim Curry’s Horror Talent Remains Unmatched

There are many horror icons in both film and TV, but none has come close to the greatness of Tim Curry. In addition to his iconic performances in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, It, and Tales From the Crypt, Curry also played the Lord of Darkness in Legend, the ringmaster of a traveling freak show in Wolf Girl, and his final film roles were in the indie horror movies Stream and Stream 2: Sudden Death.

Curry played a wide variety of horror characters that could be terrifying, seductive, disturbing, and some even funny, all of them showing his mastery in the craft of acting. Curry was also the blueprint for an entire franchise thanks to his role as Pennywise, which was key to the current It franchise. Tim Curry will forever be a horror legend, and even his most obscure and lesser-known projects are worth watching, as his performances were always a delight.

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  John Kassir

  Crypt Keeper (voice)

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  Michelle Johnson

  Liz Kelly-Dixon