Los Angles, California - Actor Tim Curry has died at the age of 80 after a series of serious heath struggles.

The English actor best known for his star turn as Dr Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic musical film The Rocky Horror Picture Show has died, celebrity website TMZ reported Wednesday.

Curry, who had struggled with his health for more than a decade after a debilitating stroke, died at his home in Los Angeles, TMZ said, citing unnamed sources.

The actor, who launched his career in London's West End theater district, first played the gender-bending mad scientist in Rocky Horror before reprising the role in the 1975 film, which is still a staple of midnight cinema showings more than 50 years later.

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His other credits include the sinister clown Pennywise in a 1990 television mini-series version of Stephen King's It and films such as Annie, Clue, and Muppet Treasure Island.

An impressive theatrical resume that began in the 1960s saw him do turns at the Royal Court Theatre and the Citizens Theatre, taking on roles written by Shakespeare, Brecht, and Tom Stoppard, among others.

Curry was nominated for Tony and Olivier awards for his theater work in New York and London.

One of his more memorable performances was on Broadway and in the West End as King Arthur in Monty Python's Spamalot, the stage adaptation of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

His slightly cartoonish good looks and an unparalleled ability to both camp and to vamp meant he was much in demand for roles that required a certain air of villainy.