British actor Tim Curry, whose flamboyant performance as Dr Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show made him one of the most recognisable cult figures in cinema, has died aged 80.

Curry died at his home in Los Angeles on Tuesday, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause of death was given.

Born in Cheshire in 1946, Curry studied drama and English at the University of Birmingham before making his professional stage debut in the original London production of Hair in 1968. His career changed course when he was cast by Richard O’Brien in The Rocky Horror Show, which opened at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 1973.

Tim Curry as Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Picture Show

As the gleefully decadent scientist Frank-N-Furter, Curry became the defining presence of the stage musical and its 1975 film adaptation. Wearing corset, stockings, pearls and heavy make-up, he delivered a performance that combined rock-star charisma, theatrical excess and comic menace.

The film initially divided critics but became a phenomenon through midnight screenings and audience participation, eventually becoming one of the longest-running theatrical releases in cinema history. Curry’s performance, in particular, became a...