Inside Tim Currys stroke that left him paralyzed and struggling to speak as actor dies at 80

Legendary actor Tim Curry, known for playing unforgettable oddballs like Dr.Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” died late Tuesday at his Los Angeles home at age 80No foul play is suspected, law enforcement sources told TMZ, which broke the news Wednesday.Curry’s official cause of death has not been revealed.

The Emmy Award winner, however, had battled serious health problems for more than a decade after suffering a major stroke that left him with lasting mobility and speech issues.As fans mourn the British-born actor and singer — whose career spanned film, television and stage — here’s a look back at the health battles he faced throughout his life.In July 2012, Curry was getting a massage when he suffered a major stroke.He later revealed in his memoir, “Vagabond,” released last year, that he initially didn’t realize what had happened.

The three-time Tony nominee recalled feeling “a little out of sorts,” but didn’t think he needed medical attention.His massage therapist disagreed and called 911 — a decision that Curry believed saved his life.“I probably owe my life to the fact that he ignored me, went with his instinct and called an ambulance,” Curry wrote.

He was 66 at the time.The actor — who delighted and terrified fans as Pennywise in the 1990 Stephen King miniseries “IT” — recalled that paramedics became alarmed after checking his vital signs and rushed him to the nearest hospital.Curry was sedated before undergoing an emergency craniectomy, a life-saving procedure in which doctors remove part of the skull to give a dangerously swollen brain room to expand and relieve pressure.“It turned out that my brain was inflamed enough, or filled with enough blood that bone from my skull had to be removed and implanted into my abdomen to keep my brain, and me, alive,” he wrote.“When I emerged from the hospital, I had to wear a sort of protective helmet as my brain was literally exposed to the elements.”The �...