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**TL;DR**: A charming and fast paced memoir about an iconic actor.
**Source**: NetGalley - Thank you to the publisher!!

**Scope**: This focuses primarily on Tim’s career, with an intro to his life as a young child then some of his most iconic roles.
**Readability**: This was so easy to read and lovely as well. I enjoyed my time immensely.
****

**Thoughts:**

As a kid there were a handful of actors I could identify at a glance, and by handful I mean 3. Tim Curry was second on the list and I loved his voice and the few roles I watched him in (which was not many considering how well I could pick him out of a cast). I’ve always been a fan, but never knew much about the man, which seems intentional on his part. He’s a private guy, seemingly somewhat introverted outside of his roles.

This memoir gives us some insight first into his childhood then his acting career focusing each chapter on iconic roles he’s filled. He even touches in the end on the stroke that has left him in a wheelchair and the subsequent outlook he’s had. And overall? This just solidified my ‘fan’ status. The charm and wit in this writing sold it to me first. Then the grace he approached and wrote about his roles and previous co-workers with deepened that. Mr. Curry has what seems to be an innate drive to be better, to be optimistic, and based on his writing, an innate kindness to him. Even those he doesn’t like he is gentle with in the prose, and those he loves he speaks to at length.

I know memoirs are often meant to sell you on a person, and if that’s all this was aiming for then well done sir. But this felt genuine and really carried with it a message of optimism and how you should always challenge yourself. I enjoyed my time, and for any fans or memoir readers I think this is a lovely read.

It's not particularly surprising that I would love a memoir from Tim Curry, an actor whose work I've adored from the early days of "Rocky Horror" to the beloved "Clue" to a myriad of other performances that captivated me in ways uncommon.

In short, I've always loved Curry and "Vagabond: A Memoir" reminds me why.

While Curry often made a name for himself playing villains bold and brash, "Vagabond" is a thoughtful, understated literary affair refreshing in its lack of gossip and revealing in Curry's ability to weave together real-life and Hollywood testimony.

Curry avoids the usual gossip fare, nary a word about romance to be found here and no kiss-and-tell celebrity encounters offering juicy reveals.

Curry captivates here, though quietly so. The Tony Award-nominated actor gives us a glimpse inside is childhood as a military brat, his years in boarding school and university, and you can practically feel his exhilaration as he describes his early stage experiences.

Curry is a master of character. He savors language, embraces the written word, and brings dialogue to life like very few actors. It's unsurprising that along with stage and screen he's found success as a voice actor and even in providing narration for books. A Curry character is a complex character, neither all bad nor good and so fiercely human that we love them even when we believe we ought not. If you've ever seen "Rocky Horror," you've never forgotten Curry's turn as Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The same is true for Curry's portrayal of the sadistic clown Pennywise in "It."

While Curry avoids gossip here, his dry English honesty is occasionally sublime as he describes those with whom he worked quite joyously and others not so much.

While many celebrity memoirs are not much more than Hollywood storytelling and a step-by-step journey through a career, Curry's memoir feels like a memoir constantly reminding us of how his upbringing shaped who he's become and how his humanity feeds his remarkable portrayals. For those who know Curry's story, such a memoir would be incomplete without a journey into the 2012 stroke that changed his life and his career. Curry's honesty, neither self-pity nor false bravado, is poignant and also filled with strength, wisdom, and insights. There's a vulnerability to it all, just the right amount, and I'd dare say that "Vagabond" has left Curry even more beloved in my eyes.

A must-read for Curry fans, "Vagabond: A Memoir" is a sublime literary experience from one of this generation's most complex and gifted actors.

Tim Curry is an absolutely precious gem and his memoir is proof of that. He is clearly so grateful for the life he's led. Relive your favorite roles of his as you read through this book!

If you are a fan of Tim Curry, you owe it to yourself ro read this book. He is smart, funny, sarcastic and can laugh at himself. He chronicles all his famous roles and the stories behind them. A fantastic read and I would highly recommend.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. This is a breezy memoir mostly focused on fond remembrances of Mr Curry’s acting life. The stories he tells are interesting if perhaps a bit light on depth. He comes across as a pleasant person who is grateful for the life he’s led. You won’t come away feeling as though you’ve gotten to know him, but more like you spent a pleasant afternoon in his company.

While I enjoyed this, at the end he says he would like to fall in love again. Wait, did we read about anytimehe fell in love? Also he says something and then mentions that's maybe for the next book? Otherwise enjoyable...very detailed

The initial adjectives which popped in my head when I finished Tim Curry's Vagabond are going to sound like I a damning it with faint praise, but hear me out. The book is just plain pleasant and delightful. Yes, that simple.

First, you will probably not see this memoir in many headlines when it comes out. Curry does not dish on his romantic life. He doesn't go out of its way to be some treatise on acting, and he doesn't throw anyone under the bus (well, mostly, he does get slightly catty at times, and yes that is the word he used). Instead, what you get is a (professionally) candid recap of the major portions of Curry's life and career. He is delightfully self-effacing, and while he doesn't dish on his romantic life, he does open up about his family in a way that left me feeling like I do know Curry better than when I started. I have read celebrity memoirs that feel like the celebrity in question is not being especially open. Curry doesn't lay it all out on the table, but he gives us some honest glimpses.

What you expect to be here is in here. Rocky Horror, Congo (oh, don't bring that up if you ever meet him), Clue, his voice acting, and of course his stage shows. These are all handled rather quickly and are not comprehensive of all his work, but that isn't to say they aren't enlightening. You get the feeling that Curry barely accepts the fact that he deserves a memoir, but he also is plugged in enough to know what you want to hear about. The book zooms by, but I was left satisfied. Well, except for one thing.

My sole criticism is that he didn't talk about his guest starring role in the second season of Psych as Nigel St. Nigel. If you get the reference, then we should be best friends.

(This book was provided as an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing.)

I was in high school in the 80's and Tim Curry was a huge part of those years. My best friend and I spent many a Saturday night at the late showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, dancing and singing along. Those are some of my best memories! As I got older, I came to appreciate the many talents of Tim Curry, other than my beloved Frank. He is so much more! I jumped at the chance to read this, and I recommend it for any fan or just a biography lover. My image of this sharp, charmingly funny British guy remains intact, and I loved hearing his voice in the writing. Obviously, my favorite chapter was the Rocky Horror part! There was more darkness than expected in the parts about his parents and how they shaped him. I also found it hilarious that he does not like clowns. Hello, Pennywise? Don't read this for any insider Hollywood gossip. There isn't really any. Read it for the fascinating memories and insight into the private life of this amazing actor and man. His attitude toward his later health issues is an inspiration for anyone. I cannot say enough about this book!

Thank you to #NetGalley, Tim Curry and Grand Central Publishing for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

I will post my review to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Instagram and other retail and social media sites upon publication day of October 14, 025.

“Everybody has a well of hurt and darkness somewhere. Many people never find a means to channel it, whereas I’ve flushed it out often, for a living.”

This was one of the better memoirs that I've read. Both entertaining and heartfelt, Curry comes across as genuine and modest; even his occasional remarks about sex appeal feel as though they are made with a snide but knowing wink. He does give honest, less than stellar feedback about a couple of people that he worked with yet still manages to sound respectful even then. I love it when you already enjoy an actor in every single thing he does and then when he releases an autobiography, he still shines on the page. (Sadly, that's not always the case.)

I love Curry’s respect for the script and his desire to honor the words on the page. He also has a deep appreciation for animation, and none of those voiceover roles were just a paycheck for him. He flat out doesn’t mention "Ferngully" at all, which I thought was a little bizarre. Though I did see the list of his extensive voice acting work at the end of the book and it was a LOT, so perhaps it wasn't that strange. (He chose to focus mainly on his time with "The Wild Thornberries.")

Curry offers very insightful analyses into playing dark, villainous roles and how he approaches them. The chapter on "Rocky Horror" is delightful and was probably my favorite. There was and still is a lot of heart behind Frank-n-Furter. He doesn't go into quite as much detail about Pennywise, maybe because that role was not his favorite, but I was amused to learn that Curry apparently "loathes clowns." I think when it comes to behind-the-scenes stories, this book strikes an interesting balance of being right in the middle of providing just enough and still leaving me wanting a little bit more. But Curry makes it very clear in the intro that he is not going to gossip or give you any sort of glimpse into his romantic life, and I respect that. (Truthfully, he does gossip about Hollywood a little bit.) And the things he does choose to include are still pretty intimate and personal, especially when it comes to his childhood and what he perceives to be his career lows. I was never bored during this read, and the final chapter was especially inspirational and moving.

This is also how I learned that Princess Diana was a "Rocky Horror" fan.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the Publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own and any quotes may change before the book is published.

One plus two plus two plus one.

Biggest TW: Alcoholism, Drug Use, Stroke

I’m a huge fan of Tim Curry so I was really excited to see this approval in my inbox. I stopped what I was reading to star this. I devoured it. This is not a juicy tell all and that’s why I liked this. It was the story of someone’s journey and it looked at his craft and love of performing. He gives us A LOT without giving away his privacy but never really felt like he was holding back. I loved how he broke down his life in the periods around his biggest roles. Streamlined it very nicely. I hope he writes another book. He teases maybe he has one in him, I hope he gives it to us. One of my favorite memoirs of the year for sure.

Thank you net-galley for the ARC! I’m such a huge fan of Tim Curry and I loved this book. He’s had SO many great roles and I enjoyed diving into them. I took a star off because I wanted him to go deeper into some of his projects & I also occasionally got confused on the timeline. Recommend!

It doesn’t really matter how you first came to know and adore the genius of Tim Curry. Be it a vamp in a corset and platforms to a slightly bumbling father who means well, a terrifying clown to The Darkness, or a butler to a concierge, a conman going after an orphan or the man so wonderfully in synch with a cast of Muppets, all of them are him. And all of them bring a smile to your face when you journey with him through his life, his love of his art, his ability to take chances, and oh, that wickedly fast wit. I might love that the most.

This is a person who is unafraid to lay bare his own worries and fears. He’s willing to be your guide through it all. And while some, like my husband, didn’t realize he’s still here, he very much is. He’s just as human as you and me, but also something MORE. He’ll bring you through every stage of his life with humor, insight, truth that comes from living to tell the tales, and the wisdom of knowing there is always something more to learn in this life.

So I say thank you to you, sir. Thank you for this proof that being a vagabond is what you make it. And I continue to love knowing that I’ve been on this planet at the same time as you and your genius.

Actor Tim Curry states early on in his memoir that he identifies with vagabonds, those that understand that things can change at any time, picking up and using what they can, depending mainly on themselves. This identity echoes throughout this engaging discussion of his career in various ways. Vagabond is on the shorter side, but that’s not to say it’s lacking in information. The reader journeys with Curry from his birth in England and subsequent moves due to his father’s military career, to his first acting stage acting roles, to his success in blockbusters and cult favorites in the 80s and 90s, to his 2012 stroke. Curry is a fantastic storyteller, with a matter of fact tone that draws the reader right in. Even though he cautions the reader at the beginning of the book that they won’t be reading any salacious details or celebrity gossip, any Curry fan will be hooked immediately by his deadpan humor and self-deprecation.

The early death of his father, as well as his relationship with his mother, are discussed heavily in the book, as Curry obviously feels both have very much shaped not only his personal life, but how he approaches his roles. While there is a small tendency to be a bit self-indulgent at times (and it is his memoir, so he can do what he pleases), the book offers the reader interesting reflections on dealing with your personal darkness, as well as Curry’s own ways of dealing with the darkness of the characters he plays.

Many actors rarely get the chance to create and embody one unique, memorable character in their career, and Tim Curry has been able to do so not once, but numerous times. Curry reflects on many of these characters, including Dr. Frank-n-Furter (love that the only prop he’s ever kept from a role is those shoes) Pennywise, Darkness, King Arthur in Spamalot, and almost everything in between, and each chapter is so fascinating that if Curry wanted to write a book about each of his famous roles, I’m sure he’d find many interested readers. Vagabond is an accessible, easy to get into book about a not so accessible man.

This is how I put it - there are two chunks of fans of Tim Curry. There are those who discovered him pre-90's and those who grew up with him in the 90's. Being I was born in the late 80's, I grew up with him in the 90's.

I have to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me a chance at reading this early.

There is so much to say about this book. For years, going around on various message boards in the Y2k era, after discovering him in Rocky Horror, I found that so many people who say 'Tim Curry is rude to his fans' 'he hates Rocky Horror' or 'he wants to distance himself when he finishes a role'. In this book, he addresses all that and with a voice that comes across warm, apt, and precise.

There is no gossip / drama, and there is no dishing on his love life (the gossip he knows is little to none due to lack of wanting to start / be around drama, and the other is private to him). The title of his autobiography is apt because you realize that at an early age his father moved constantly, so he never really felt he fit in anywhere.

If you're looking for him to spend a LONG time talking about the various films and stage productions he did, he d0esn't. The longest would be Rocky Horror (the stage show and the film). If you're expecting him to go over every film he did in his career, he doesn't. He focuses on the ones that people bring up to him or ones that stick out in his memory. He suffers from long-term memory loss, so the amount he was able to recall is enough and very nice to read.

A lot of things make sense, and its refreshing to hear him talk about things in his own terms. As I spoke about earlier, he refutes a lot of the gossip and negative talk about him through the book and the answers he give makes sense. I say that as a fan, it's better to read it coming from him than someone doing a review. It did make me happy to see that he does (now that he is older) he has come to appreciate fan interactions and is very warmed by those who respond to him in Rocky Horror.

Tim Curry is a very treasured individual, and once that I have respect for. He has allowed us all a window into his private life. He is a sensitive soul and feels deeply. If he ever comes to a convention I'd like to meet him just to say thank you for allowing us a chance at putting to rest a lot of the gossip and, well, for being uniquely him.

I flew through this one. It was like sitting down and being told the many memories of an amazingly wonderful performer I adore. Tim Curry is every bit as charming, witty, funny, and dramatic as one would hope.

He tells stories of his childhood which I had never heard before. It was fascinating to read about his life before fame and to understand where that joie de vivre comes from in his performances. Whether to escape or prove himself, whatever the reason, the man can act and he can certainly tell a story. It was fun to read chapters of his numerous milestones within his career (obviously I couldn't wait to read about RHPS and Clue, but was charmed by so many little memories here and there).

He warns you right in the beginning he will not be indulging people who read celebrity memoirs for gross stories about hopping from bed to bed etc. which I find refreshing. I don't have overly delicate sensibilities but there's something horrible and icky reading about one side of sexual encounters, it was a relief not to come across that in here. He's far too classy to indulge in that sort of thing, I suspect.

The chapters are quick and filled with his fond memories of costars and directors, horror stories about prosthetic makeup, learning to dance, and at the end, his health struggles. I was wondering if it would be a very sad ending but he refuses to wallow and he's still impish and unwaveringly grateful. It's a delight to learn that we share such a love of gardening, that was a lovely surprise! What a great experience reading his memoir, it felt like a personal tribute to the people and projects that got him to where he is—I truly enjoyed it from the first pages. Also, the sassy little "About the Author" at the end? Perfection.

Thank you Tim Curry, Grand Central, and NetGalley, what a wonderful book!