Last year was my year of Tim Curry. Not because I knew him personally, but because we conducted three interviews. The first was in February, by phone, for a piece marking the 50th anniversary of the original Broadway production of "The Rocky Horror Show." In September, we met in Hollywood to discuss his memoir, "Vagabond." In November, we spoke after the death of playwright Tom Stoppard.

Curry, who died Tuesday at age 80, was ferociously smart and extraordinarily funny. He remained a superb storyteller even after a 2012 stroke paralyzed his left side and largely ended his acting career. His memoir proved those chops endured.

During our lunch, he slipped into his grandmother's Scottish accent and mimicked me after I inadvertently made him laugh. We discussed the frosty reception "Rocky Horror" received on Broadway. He revealed he didn't realize he was beautiful, stating he was "gorgeous in attitude" and "gorgeous in a certain kind of courage." Curry returned to Broadway repeatedly, earning Tony nominations for Mozart in "Amadeus," Alan Swann in "My Favorite Year," and King Arthur in "Spamalot." His film performances remain comfort watches, from Frank-N-Furter in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" to Wadsworth in "Clue" and Long John Silver in "Muppet Treasure Island.".