bloodteethandflame

To say that Tim Curry was an icon is an understatement.

Right after Dolly Parton, too…what a gut punch.

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You know, even though I am not usually a person who feels affected by the death of a celebrity – let alone two celebrities – but I am affected by the death of Dolly Parton and the death of Tim Curry.

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I mean, I’m not even a country music fan (and I’ve only seen two of her movies), but I was saddened to hear of Dolly’s passing all the same because she was, by every account I’ve ever read, a wonderful, caring human being who used her presence, her wealth and her fame to uplift others in so many ways.

Also, even though I am not a Christian, she seemed to be the sort of loving, dedicated and compassionately non-judgmental person after which the Bible encouraged Christians to strive to model themselves. Dolly Parton was one person who seemed to genuinely strive to embody those humanistic devotional creeds — to be kind to others, to be humble and compassionate towards everyone, to help the less fortunate, and to uplift others with love and patience, and to try to do good deeds and good works — which might be familiar to those who have been to Sunday school in the 1970s.

In that sense, Dolly Parton gave me hope for a very long time that not all Christians are instantly going to condemn me (or anyone else) for having differing beliefs, making different choices, or living lifestyles different from their own.

And on another more personal note, when my youngest son was born in the early 2000s, the hospital signed us up for her Imagination Library program, and yes, it’s true that my son was sent a selection of hardbound age-appropriate children’s books every month or so – for free.

(Though, unfortunately, we moved counties three years after he was born, and I never did update our address, so we didn’t receive that lovely letter of encouragement that is signed by Dolly herself when a child reaches age five at the end of the program.)

But, for me, Dolly’s legacy was never only about the music, the movies, that Dollywood park in Tennessee, or even the free books.

She supported education, science, and human rights.

She helped families in need.

She gave back to communities, in her hometown, in her home state, all over the U.S and the world.

She encouraged people. Here’s a great example.

She had some profound things to say about beauty, confidence, acceptance, human rights, dignity, work, and love.

And time and time again, she used her success to create opportunities for others.

That is the Dolly I’ll remember.

Not only the singer, or the songwriter, or the actress…

But the woman who gave hope, opened doors, and left the world much kinder than she found it.

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And Tim Curry…

This past January, I read his memoir, Vagabond, which had been released a few months beforehand.

As a matter of fact, it was the first book that I read for the Goodreads 2026 Reader’s Challenge.

It took a long time for me to read it – and it’s not as if I’m a slow reader – it’s just that Tim Curry is a delightfully skilled storyteller.

I mean, I must’ve stopped reading at least two dozen times to run out to the living room where my husband was, to share with him some thoughtfully well-written paragraph where Tim Curry writes about this or that heartfelt and/or surprisingly chaotic moment in the overarching adventure that has been his life. (Sufficed to say, my husband has probably heard two-thirds of that book, but read aloud to him in five to ten minute increments!)

As well, I scribbled several pages’ worth of memorable quotes and some of the more inspiring passages into my notebook.

So many of his inspiring and thoughtful takes on his life events personally resonated with me, a sullen girl weirdo from the 70s.

Such a great 5 star read!

( ^^^^The above quote may have even been taken from Vagabond, by the way.)

So, fast forward to this past Sunday (August 23rd)

I was bored and in a kind of reading slump, and I was casting about for another interesting book to read.

I then decided to read Vagabond again, since I enjoyed it so much the first time.

So, there I was, up at Chapter 6 or so, right around the point where Curry begins to talk about The Rocky Horror Picture Show…

I decided to take a break from reading, and I was scrolling through social media, to see a friend’s post mentioning that Dolly Parton had died.

Since one never knows these days – it wouldn’t be the first time that I saw a false death report – I Googled to see if it was true.

It was.

*sigh*

It felt as if only two hours later, I stumbled upon another death announcement for Tim Curry.

My first thought was how can this be?

But there it is.

A gut punch, indeed