Kaylee’s Reviews > Vagabond > Status Update

Okay, a dinner party & night of Charades with Tim Curry, Carol Burnett, Bernadette Peters & Steve Martin? Oh to have been a fly on the wall during one of those! The hilarity that must have ensued.
I love reading his deep affection for and friendship with female costars like Susan Sarandon, Carol, & Bernadette.
His description of his relationship with Ian McKellen as a “very British rivalry” is amusing as well.

Imagine leading such a wild life you can just casually mention spending an evening partying with Carly Simon, Truman Capote, & Andy Warhol.
“I would compare myself & get stuck in a trap of self-indulgent debate that serves nobody & does nothing.” I needed this reminder that even successful actors get stuck in this self-defeating loop.

“We all exist in a kind of photo-developing bath of sexual contradictions, & the more of them that we recognize, the more fun we can have.”
Advice on playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter: “if you’re going to attempt to truly enter the character, wear your high heels like a man.”
I also love his aside to the drag community, expressing his admiration for true drag artists & his appreciation of their support.

“Nobody knows who the fuck they are, really, for a very long time … That investigation is a means of getting to know yourself, of assembling your character & accepting that … the pieces of yourself may not fit into one box, & that’s fine. It’s tricky, especially because exploring your contradictions doesn’t mean that you’re going to resolve them without leaving aspects of yourself behind.”

Curry’s family history & childhood are interesting & divert from the period typical stereotypes. His maternal grandfather raised 2 girls as a single dad in the 1920s - fairly unheard of if resulting from a divorce (rare at the time). His father was the empathetic & understanding parent while his mother was mercurial. He lost his father at age 11 & had to grieve alone, finding solace in music & theater.

Not gonna lie, reading the words “I’m very much still alive,” within weeks of losing Mr. Curry hits a little hard.
“While there are scraps of my nature in all of my characters, I am none of them.” This line & subsequent paragraph needs to be read & internalized by many people in fandoms. The wrath actors get for taking certain types of roles or not always acting like a specific character is ridiculous.