Speaking during a recent promotional appearance, Pearce described the dates as a projection rather than a confirmed production schedule. “We’ll probably shoot it ’27. It’ll come out ’28,” Pearce said while discussing the sequel.

The actor has also said that the film is not yet fully ready to enter production, citing the need to raise money and finalize the screenplay. Those conditions mean that a 2028 release remains a target rather than an announced release date.

The update was reported in August by the Star Observer Digital Spy and Australian Women’s Weekly, which each connected Pearce’s remarks to the continuing development of the sequel.

A Sequel More Than 30 Years in the Making

The original Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was released in 1994 and was written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The film follows three performers travelling across the Australian Outback in a bus named Priscilla.

The central characters are Bernadette Bassenger, a transgender woman played by Terence Stamp, and drag performers Adam Whitely, played by Pearce, and Anthony “Tick” Belrose, played by Weaving. The film became internationally recognized for its combination of road-movie storytelling, comedy, music and drag performance.

The movie has also remained significant within LGBTQ+ popular culture because it placed queer characters and drag performers at the center of a commercially visible Australian film. Its ongoing cultural reach has included stage adaptations and continued screenings, although those developments are separate from the proposed film sequel.

What Is Known About the Follow-Up

Elliott announced in 2024 that he was developing a sequel and expected to return as its writer, director and producer. At that time, Elliott said the original principal cast members were attached to return, including Stamp, Weaving and Pearce. Variety likewise reported that the project was seeking a production partner and financial backing.

The current reporting indicates that financing remains an unresolved part of the project. Pearce’s comments also suggest that the screenplay is still being finalized, despite earlier reports that Elliott had completed a script.

That difference may reflect changes made during development, but the sources do not establish why the script is still described as unfinished. The project’s final title, production company, budget, distributor and confirmed release date have not been reported in the recent coverage reviewed for this article.

The Question of Terence Stamp’s Involvement

While Stamp, who played Bernadette in the original film, passed away at age 87 in August 2025, his participation in the sequel has been definitively confirmed. Following his death, director Stephan Elliott revealed to Deadline that Stamp spent the final months of his life pre-filming all of his scenes as Bernadette.The actor was initially hesitant about a sequel but agreed after receiving assurances about the script's direction. To protect the integrity of the performance and avoid the use of digital or AI clones, Stamp worked with Elliott to completely capture his character's material on camera before his passing.As a result, Bernadette will appear in the film through newly captured, authentic footage rather than archival clips or special effects, making the sequel Stamp's final screen role. This pre-filmed contribution preserves the core dynamic of the original trio alongside surviving leads Weaving and Pearce.

Why the Update Matters

The proposed sequel would revisit a film that has maintained a prominent place in queer cinema and Australian screen culture for more than three decades. The original movie’s focus on a transgender woman and two drag performers helped make its characters recognizable to audiences well beyond Australia.

The new update is notable because it comes from Pearce, rather than only from an earlier statement by Elliott. His comments provide a possible production window while simultaneously making clear that the project still depends on practical steps behind the scenes.

For now, the most supportable conclusion is that the sequel remains in development, with Pearce expecting a possible 2027 shoot and 2028 release. No production start, completed financing package or locked release date has been publicly confirmed by the sources cited here.

The song’s planned unveiling has drawn renewed attention after Parton died at age 80 on August 25, 2026, according to recent reporting and an Associated Press retrospective.

Parton wrote and recorded “My Place in History” in 2015, the year Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort opened, and arranged for the recording to remain inaccessible to the public until her 100th birthday.

The instructions reportedly specify January 19, 2046, rather than a general release sometime during that year.

The “Dream Box”

The recording is housed in a chestnut wooden box known as the “Dream Box,” which is displayed or preserved at the DreamMore property.

According to the placard described by Variety, the box is “a repository of Dolly’s wishes and memories for the future.”

The box also serves as a tribute to Parton’s uncle and early musical mentor, Bill Owens, who worked to preserve the American chestnut tree.

Reports say that the capsule contains the song in more than one physical format, along with equipment intended to make playback possible decades after the recording was stored.

Variety reported that the box contains cassette and compact-disc copies of the song, as well as corresponding players.

The inclusion of playback devices reflects a practical concern: a recording can survive physically while becoming difficult to access if the technology required to play it disappears.

Parton’s Earlier Explanation

Parton had discussed the time capsule before the recent reports, including in interviews and in her 2020 memoir Songteller: My Life in Lyrics.

In a previously reported explanation, Parton said she had written a song that listeners would not hear until she was 99, while the formal instructions associated with the box identify her 100th birthday in 2046 as the opening date.

That difference has produced inconsistent references to 2045 and 2046 in some coverage.

The clearest documented date is January 19, 2046, because that date appears in the instructions described by Variety and corresponds to Parton’s 100th birthday.

Parton also reportedly expressed regret about having to wait so long to hear the song again, turning the long-term plan into a recurring anecdote about her own musical impatience.

What Is Known About the Recording

The title “My Place in History” is public, but the complete recording has not been released.

The song’s full melody, arrangement and lyrics remain undisclosed in the recent reporting reviewed for this article.

Earlier reporting quoted a lyric fragment—“I hope I’ve earned it, and hope you still remember me”—but the complete context of that line cannot be established without access to the recording or an authorized full lyric publication.

Recent coverage has described the song as Parton’s “last” or “final” song, but those labels should be understood as referring specifically to the recording she designated for release from the time capsule, not necessarily to every unreleased recording in her archive.

A Delayed Musical Legacy

The planned opening gives the song a fixed place in the future history of Dollywood and Parton’s catalog.

It also means that listeners will not be able to evaluate the recording until the capsule is opened, unless Parton’s representatives or Dollywood alter the instructions before then.

No such change has been reported by the independent sources reviewed here.

For now, the documented facts are limited but unusual: Parton recorded the song in 2015, sealed it in the Dream Box with playback equipment, and specified that it be opened on January 19, 2046.

Until then, “My Place in History” remains a deliberately withheld piece of Parton’s musical work—one whose first public performance, release or listening event is intended to take place nearly three decades after its recording.

The reported development has drawn attention because Barton is less internationally established than several other actors linked to the role, including Jack Lowden, Callum Turner, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal and Harris Dickinson.

The reports describe Barton as a leading candidate rather than the confirmed choice. No public announcement has named the next James Bond, and the casting process remains ongoing.

What Has Been Reported

Page Six reported that screen tests are scheduled to begin in early September and that Barton is expected to audition alongside five better-known performers.

The names listed in that report were Barton, Lowden, Turner, Elordi, Mescal and Dickinson.

Reuters separately described the story as a report that Barton could be “The One” for the 007 role in filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming Bond film for Amazon MGM.

Entertainment outlets subsequently repeated the reported shortlist and Barton’s position at its top. TV Insider identified Barton as the reported frontrunner while emphasizing that the claim originated with Page Six and that no casting decision had been announced.

The Times of India also characterized Barton as a “surprise frontrunner” and reported that he was expected to screen-test with the other named candidates.

Amazon MGM Has Not Confirmed the Casting

Amazon MGM has not confirmed Barton’s involvement, the reported shortlist or the identity of the next Bond. According to the reports, the studio declined to comment specifically on the casting process and referred to an earlier statement that the search was underway.

Producer Amy Pascal has reportedly indicated that the next Bond could be announced by the end of 2026. That timing would place any decision after the reported September screen tests.

The distinction between a reported frontrunner and an official casting announcement is significant. A shortlist can change during auditions, and the reports do not establish that Barton has been offered the role or signed a contract.

Barton’s Screen Career

Barton is best known for playing David Nelson in Netflix’s Heartstopper. The character is the older brother of Nick Nelson, played by Kit Connor, and appeared in the series’ later episodes.

He has also appeared in the historical drama SAS: Rogue Heroes and had a small role in Yorgos Lanthimos’ film Poor Things.

Those credits have made Barton recognizable to television audiences while leaving him less familiar to global film audiences than some of the other names reported to be under consideration.

His reported emergence reflects the possibility that the production is considering both established stars and less familiar British performers. However, the available reporting does not confirm that the filmmakers have selected Barton over the other candidates.

The Wider Production

The next Bond film is being developed for Amazon MGM and is expected to be directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Villeneuve is reported to be involved in the casting process alongside casting director Nina Gold. Page Six’s sources described Barton as an actor who had attracted their attention during a search for a less established performer.

The reports do not provide a public production title, a confirmed release date or a final cast. They instead describe a casting process that is expected to move into another stage when screen tests begin.

For now, Barton’s status is best described as a reported frontrunner in an unconfirmed casting process. The next definitive development would be an official announcement from Amazon MGM or the filmmakers, rather than further reporting about unnamed industry sources.

Remini confirmed the news on August 26 by sharing a Variety report on Instagram and writing, “It’s true!!” Bravo subsequently published its own confirmation, describing Remini as entering her “diamond era,” a reference to the symbolic diamond traditionally associated with full-time Real Housewives cast members.

The casting marks Remini’s move into a new unscripted television role after a career that has included acting, hosting and documentary work. She is best known for starring as Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, which ran from 1998 to 2007, and for later appearing in the sitcom Kevin Can Wait.

A New Addition to the Season 16 Cast

Remini will join returning full-time cast members Kyle Richards, Erika Jayne, Dorit Kemsley, Bozoma Saint John, Rachel Zoe and Sutton Stracke, according to Variety. Kathy Hilton and Jennifer Tilly are also expected to return in “friend of the cast” roles, a recurring status used by the franchise for personalities who appear prominently without holding full-time cast positions.

Tracy Tutor, a real estate agent and former cast member of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, is also joining the program for the new season. Tutor announced her participation on Instagram on August 19, before Remini’s casting was reported.

Production on Season 16 had already begun by the time Remini’s casting was announced, and she was expected to start filming in Los Angeles later in the week. USA Today also reported that production began earlier in the summer.

Bravo has not announced a premiere date for the sixteenth season.

From Sitcom Stardom to Reality Television

Remini’s addition gives the series a cast member with longstanding recognition beyond the reality-television genre. Reuters reported that Remini, 56, confirmed the casting announcement on August 26 after Variety first reported that she would join the series.

The announcement follows a period in which Remini has remained publicly associated with both entertainment projects and criticism of the Church of Scientology. Bravo identified her previous work on projects concerning her departure from Scientology as part of her public television history.

Remini left Scientology in 2013 and later hosted and executive-produced Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, an A&E documentary series examining former members’ accounts of the organization. The Church of Scientology has disputed criticism from Remini and other former members, while Remini has continued to speak publicly about her experiences and allegations involving the organization. Those earlier disputes are part of Remini’s public profile, but the current casting reports do not state that Scientology will be a subject of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

What Is Confirmed—and What Is Not

The confirmed information is that Remini has joined the Season 16 cast in a full-time capacity and that both she and Bravo have publicly acknowledged the move. Deadline reported that sources confirmed her participation, while Variety described her as a full-time cast member.

Reports also agree that Remini is expected to film in Los Angeles and that Season 16 includes Tutor as another new addition.

A premiere date, episode count and details about Remini’s storyline have not been announced in the available reports. The reports likewise do not describe the terms of Remini’s contract or disclose how many episodes she is scheduled to appear in.

For Bravo, the casting brings a widely recognized actor into a format built around the personal and professional lives of women connected to Beverly Hills. For Remini, it represents a new regular role in a franchise whose cast members are followed both on television and through social media.

As filming proceeds, further details about the season are expected to come from Bravo and the cast.

The release is the clearest recent event surrounding Smith, who has been making renewed noise this month through the album, interviews and continuing live performances. The project’s release date and title were announced before August, but its arrival on streaming services and in physical formats on 2026-08-21 places it within the requested three-week news window.

An album built around intimacy

The album’s title refers to the eye color of Cowan, Smith’s fiancé. In an interview with The Guardian, Smith described the record as emerging from a period of greater health and happiness, while the publication reported that Smith moved from the United Kingdom to New York three years earlier to be with Cowan.

Smith’s lead single, “My Guy,” was released with the album campaign. Capitol Music UK announced the song alongside the album’s original announcement, identifying Hazel Eyes as Smith’s fifth album and confirming its 2026-08-21 release date.

Reviews published around release day characterized Hazel Eyes as a change in scale and mood from some of Smith’s more theatrical recent work. Variety described the album as “low-key but adventurous,” while Hot Press gave it an 8/10 rating and called Smith “in superb form.” These are critics’ assessments rather than objective measurements, but they indicate that the record has received substantial attention from music publications beyond LGBTQ+-focused media.

The album’s public framing is significant because it places queer love at the center of a mainstream pop release without presenting the relationship solely as a controversy, a coming-out narrative or a political argument. Smith’s relationship with Cowan is instead part of the album’s stated emotional premise. The Guardian reported that Smith connected the record to their relationship and that the album was released through Capitol on 2026-08-21.

Smith’s account of queer visibility

Smith came out publicly as nonbinary in 2019 and uses they/them pronouns. In the August interview with The Guardian, Smith reflected on the loneliness they experienced as a young queer artist and discussed the hostility that followed their public identity. The newspaper also reported that Smith had come out as nonbinary in 2017, reflecting the sometimes-different dates used in public accounts of Smith’s coming-out history.

A separate Apple Music interview, reported by Star News Korea, quoted Smith as saying they had always been nonbinary but only later found the language to describe that identity. The account presents Smith’s gender identity as an ongoing process of recognition and articulation rather than a single event.

That distinction matters in coverage of LGBTQ+ artists. Nonbinary people may describe their identities and coming-out experiences in different ways over time, and Smith’s comments underscore that public terminology can follow personal understanding. Smith’s own stated pronouns and identity should therefore remain the basis for reporting, rather than assumptions based on appearance, partnership or performance.

Smith has also described the act of singing about queer love as meaningful in the current political and cultural climate. LGBTQ Nation reported that Smith called singing queer love songs “something radical” in an interview connected to the album and their engagement. The statement frames the album’s romantic subject matter as both personal and culturally visible, without requiring the songs to function as slogans.

Fashion, partnership and public culture

Cowan’s involvement gives the album a direct connection to fashion as well as music. Smith and Cowan’s engagement was reported after Smith referred to Cowan as their fiancé in an interview with The New York Times, according to LGBTQ Nation and PinkNews. Those reports identify Cowan as a fashion designer and describe the album title as a reference to his eye color.

The pairing also illustrates how queer pop culture often moves across creative fields. Smith’s music, Cowan’s fashion work and the visual language surrounding Hazel Eyes intersect in a public narrative about partnership. The available reporting supports that connection, but does not establish that Cowan designed the album’s cover, costumes or broader visual campaign.

A release extending beyond the record

Hazel Eyes has also been connected to Smith’s continuing To Be Free live series. A report citing a 2026-08-21 Universal Music Canada announcement said that the album’s release coincided with a new leg involving dates in Mexico and the United Kingdom. Because the available report is secondary to the label announcement, the full schedule and all venue details should be checked against Smith’s official tour listings before publication.

The live context is important to queer audiences because Smith’s career has long connected recorded pop with performance, clothing and public conversations about gender. However, the sources reviewed for this article do not document a new ritual, club night, festival appearance or community-led event tied specifically to the Hazel Eyes release during August 2026.

For now, the most clearly documented development is the album itself: a major pop release by a nonbinary artist that makes romantic partnership its organizing subject. The record’s public reception, Smith’s interviews and its connection to fashion designer Christian Cowan place Hazel Eyes at the intersection of queer life through music, celebrity culture and fashion.

“A straight icon? What’s the straight part?” Khan said in the interview with The Observer.

When the interviewer clarified that “straight” meant heterosexual, Khan responded: “Am I? How do you know what the f--- I am?”

“I don’t ever share that part of my life,” Khan continued. “That’s nobody’s business but mine.”

Khan’s remarks do not constitute a public declaration of a specific sexual orientation, and the available reporting does not identify her with a particular LGBTQ+ label.

After the interviewer withdrew the characterization, Khan replied, “There you go,” before adding: “I am for everybody. I don’t care what you sleep with at night. If your heart is in the right place, that’s all I care about.”

A Private Answer to a Public Assumption

The exchange occurred as part of a broader Observer interview about Khan’s music, personal life and relationship with audiences.

The article framed Khan’s connection to queer audiences through “I’m Every Woman,” the 1978 song written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson.

The song has been part of drag and ballroom repertoires for decades, according to The Observer.

Khan also curated London’s Meltdown festival in 2024, where she programmed Adonis Afters, described by the newspaper as a queer rave, and issued a call for nonbinary choir singers.

Those details help explain why the interviewer connected Khan with queer visibility, but they do not establish Khan’s sexual orientation.

Khan instead placed the emphasis on inclusion while retaining control over what she discloses about her intimate life.

Comments on Relationships and Prince

During the same interview, Khan was asked about the personal experiences behind lyrics on her forthcoming album, Chakzilla.

“I don’t want to discuss that,” Khan said, explaining that revealing too much about what she wants could lead someone to try to arrange it for her.

She said she would “mosey along and let life do what it do,” adding that one item on her list was “not necessarily a partner.”

“I’m not looking for that,” Khan said. “I’m partnered out.”

The *Observer* reported that Khan has been married twice.

The interview also addressed recurring questions about whether Khan had a sexual relationship with Prince, with whom she collaborated and maintained a close friendship.

Khan opened that portion of the conversation by asking, “Oh God, you’re not going to ask me if I’ve slept with Prince, are you?”

She said the assumptions made about her were troubling, telling the interviewer: “It’s sad that they just assume I’m either a whore or a singer. Make up your mind! What do you want me to be?”

Khan said she was not going to “lie to you and add to your fantasy,” concluding: “This ain’t Disneyland. I’m living for real.”

The Album Behind the Interview

Chakzilla is described by The Observer as Khan’s follow-up to her 2019 album Hello Happiness.

The newspaper reported that the album was largely co-written with Australian singer and songwriter Sia and features Lenny Kravitz and Snoop Dogg.

The album was scheduled for release on September 18 through Khan’s Earthsong Records imprint, with licensing by BMG, according to the interview.

The article said the single “Curious Subject” had already been released at the time of publication.

Khan’s comments about her identity came in an interview promoting that project, but she did not present them as an album announcement or as a formal coming-out statement.

Why the Wording Matters

The central point of Khan’s response was not to substitute one label for another, but to reject the premise that the public is entitled to classify her sexuality.

Her statement leaves her sexual orientation undisclosed while affirming her connection to people across sexualities and identities.

That distinction is important because support for LGBTQ+ people, participation in queer cultural spaces and identification as LGBTQ+ are separate matters that should not be conflated without a person’s own confirmation.

Khan’s remarks therefore offer no basis for describing her as straight, bisexual, queer or any other specific identity unless she chooses to do so herself.

Instead, her stated position is that she is “for everybody” and that her private life belongs to her.

Grint, who starred in all eight “ Harry Potter ” movies from 2001 to 2011, will join the play at the Lyric Theatre from Feb. 2 to May 30, 2027.

“Ron Weasley has been a part of me since I was 11 years old and I can’t wait to meet him again in this stage of life,” Grint said in a statement. “There is something so full-circle and so special about stepping back into Ron’s shoes now when we are both fathers; it is somehow both very familiar and completely new.”

It will mark the second time a member of the “Harry Potter” film cast has joined the stage production. This year, Tom Felton reprised his role of Draco Malfoy, seeing box office receipts jump.

The play picks up 19 years after the end of the final novel, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” An adult Potter is married to Ginny Weasley, sister of his best friend, Ron, who married brainy Hermione. Both couples have children and all are in danger again. Ron runs his own joke shop, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.

“His return creates a powerful bridge between the story audiences first fell in love with and the story of family, legacy and the passage of time that ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ carries forward,” producers Sonia Friedman and Colin Callender said in a statement.

Grint made his Broadway debut in the original production of “It’s Only a Play,” opposite Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. He made his West End debut in Jez Butterworth’s play “Mojo,” starring opposite Ben Whishaw.

Larger-than-life at 5-foot-nothing, the country star, actor, philanthropist, entrepreneur and theme park enthusiast who died Tuesday, transcended celebrity in rhinestones and fringe. She was embraced by fans across gender, race and class, embodying a mythology typically inaccessible to even the most influential historical figures.

It’s hard to name a more adored artist — one who could deliver a perfectly timed dirty joke seconds before a folk classic of her own composition. (This is where, if Parton were reading along, a self-deprecating quip would come in — lest anyone forget she was a whip-smart jokester, too.)

Throughout her endeavors, Parton worked to build a better world, while becoming inextricable from the American imagination. It is one of her greatest legacies: to take what you have and help someone with it.

One of the most beloved artists of all time

In 2015, when Parton returned to Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, Grand Ole Opry announcer Bill Cody introduced her as “the most beloved artist of all time,” quickly amending it to “female artist.” As history has proven, he was correct the first time.

Parton’s legacy starts with the immortality of her music: songwriting as solace, an exercise in creativity and an unwavering ability to write experience into art. Across her career, Parton wrote and performed perennial hits (“Jolene,” “Coat of Many Colors,” “Little Sparrow,” take your pick) and others that took on a life of their own (most famously, “I Will Always Love You,” made immortal by Whitney Houston ).

Parton grew up in poverty, one of 12 kids in East Tennessee’s rural Sevier County, where she started writing songs as a toddler. By 10, she was on the radio and TV in Knoxville, Tennessee. By 13, she had made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. At 21, she joined “The Porter Wagoner Show,” her star power quickly eclipsing its host.

The accomplishments — and the trials and tribulations that came with them, which she let roll off her shoulders with enviable resiliency — came fast and furious, as they do with once-in-a-lifetime talents. There are the 10 Grammys, the numerous Hall of Fame inductions, and the fact that she revolutionized the world of country music for women alongside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette, creating a path for crossover artistry. But there are also her Hollywood forays. It’s telling that her first feature film, “9 to 5,” celebrated women in the workplace and messed with their devious bosses.

One of her superpowers was rooted in a kind of irony: Everything about Dolly Parton is truly Dolly Parton or else she wouldn’t partake — down to the false eyelashes and big wigs. She built an economic empire with down-home sensibilities. If authenticity is currency in popular culture, Parton showed the world how it was done.

An honest-to-goodness iconoclast

There’s a moment in her 1983 television special, “Dolly in Concert,” where Parton calls herself “the original punk rocker.” It’s a fitting description: Armed in a uniform of high heels, acrylic nails (the better to write songs with), tight clothes and a big blond beehive, the image of Parton was enough to scandalize. Jokes about her breasts were prevalent for decades; she wielded them like a weapon.

Her first big break came in 1967 with a single, ironically titled “Dumb Blonde.” It’s a clever admonishment of a man who calls a woman stupid. It was fabulously misunderstood and misconstrued, forecasting the wonderful hypocrisy inherent in many public appreciations of Parton: She had full autonomy; make a low-brow pass at her and she’ll have the last laugh. Always.

That spirit was inherent in her business ventures as well. Too poor to travel to Disneyland as a child, Parton opened her Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, amusement park, Dollywood, in 1986. Many thought it was a bad idea; it proved to be her most lucrative business venture. It’s also, crucially, a blessing for the local economy. According to a 2021 study by the Tennessee Aviation System Plan, Dollywood brings in $1.8 billion each year.

A great unifier

Parton’s career kicked off in the transformative ’60s, perfectly aligning with the emergence of the women’s liberation movement. Though she didn’t use the word herself, much of Parton’s career — and in particular, her songwriting — has been viewed as a kind of feminism. Take the early hit, 1968’s “Just Because I’m a Woman.” Parton’s sweet soprano and idiosyncratic tremolo are on full display as she reminds her male partner that he need not judge her for having previous sexual partners because he has done the same. “My mistakes are no worse than yours,” she sings, “Just because I’m a woman.”

Or consider 1970's “Down from Dover,” a tearjerker about a pregnant teenager abandoned by her family and the child’s father. She gives birth to a stillborn baby, alone, without medical treatment. “I guess in some strange way she knew she’d never have a father’s arms to hold her,” Parton sings. “And dying was her way of telling me he wasn’t coming down from Dover.” It’s evocative then and now.

Still, across political divides, Parton is welcomed with open arms. It may have something to do with the fact that, when it came to capital-P party line, Parton valued apoliticism. During the 2016 presidential election, she said a woman would do a great job in office. When it was viewed as an endorsement of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, she said her words were taken out of context. She never said who she voted for. And she declined the Presidential Medal of Freedom three times, twice from President Donald Trump and once from President Joe Biden so as to not appear biased. As a result, she was beloved by all — even in periods of unmitigated division.

A fantastic philanthropist

With the same resolve she exhibited in her performances, Parton was dedicated to charity work.

In 1988, she launched the Dollywood Foundation, originally designed to combat high school dropout rates. Its early '90s Buddy Program paired junior high students in Sevier County and gave $500 to each if they both finished high school. In 2016, when wildfires ravaged her native Great Smoky Mountains, the foundation announced it would give $1,000 each month for six months to families who lost their homes. The following year, it was revealed the foundation’s My People Fund helped 900 families with roughly $9 million in the first six months after the fires.

In 1991, she launched a sanctuary for bald eagles that couldn't survive in the wild; in 2000, she started a college scholarship giving $15,000 to five high school seniors in Sevier County. In 2020, she donated $1 million to COVID-19 research at Vanderbilt University, which helped fund Moderna’s vaccine.

Best known is her Imagination Library, founded in 1995. Parton’s father was illiterate; it inspired her to launch an organization providing books to those without resources. By 2025, she had given away over 200 million books to children in need.

Parton was truly one of one — a generous country music heroine from the small-town South turned global phenomenon.

“I hope I’ll be remembered as somebody that tried to do some good in the world,” she told The Associated Press in 2024. “And left, you know, a few good things behind.”

Curry’s longtime agent and manager, Marcia Hurwitz, confirmed his death, according to The New York Times. A cause of death was not immediately available.

Reports from The Guardian and Deadline also identified Curry’s Los Angeles home as the location of his death. The reports said that Curry had experienced significant health problems since suffering a major stroke in 2012.

A Defining Performance in Rocky Horror

Curry became internationally known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in The Rocky Horror Show, the stage musical created by Richard O’Brien, and in the 1975 film adaptation, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The production’s blend of science-fiction imagery, horror conventions, glam-rock aesthetics and sexual transgression helped make Curry’s performance one of the most recognizable in modern cult cinema.

As Frank-N-Furter, Curry played a charismatic scientist whose elaborate costume, unapologetic sexuality and command of the film’s musical numbers became central to the movie’s cultural afterlife. The Guardian described the role as the performance that made Curry famous, while Deadline identified it as his signature part.

The film developed a long-running participatory following, with audiences attending screenings in costume and responding aloud to the movie. Curry’s performance remained particularly significant to generations of viewers drawn to the work’s challenge to conventional gender and sexual norms. The characterization itself is a fictional role and should not be treated as a statement of Curry’s personal gender identity or sexuality.

Stage and Screen Career

Before and alongside his film work, Curry established himself as a stage performer. The New York Times highlighted his portrayal of Mozart in the original Broadway production of Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus. The role demonstrated the range that would define Curry’s career: he could bring flamboyance and intensity to a comic or theatrical figure while retaining the precision of a trained stage actor.

Curry also appeared in films including Clue and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. His work in Clue placed him in an ensemble built around stylized comedy and rapid-fire dialogue, while his appearance in Home Alone 2 introduced him to another large popular audience.

In 1990, Curry played Pennywise the clown in the television adaptation of King’s It. The role placed him in a markedly different performance register from Frank-N-Furter. Instead of musical theatricality and erotic camp, Curry used voice, stillness and menace to portray the supernatural antagonist confronting the story’s central group of children.

His screen work also included villainous and eccentric characters, but his career was not limited to live-action film. The coverage of his death noted his work across stage, film and television, as well as his broader status as a performer whose career extended over several decades.

Health and Later Years

Curry suffered a major stroke in 2012 and subsequently used a wheelchair, according to Deadline. The publication reported that he had faced serious health difficulties for more than a decade.

Those details provide context for the later period of Curry’s life, but they do not establish the cause of his death. No official cause was immediately released in the initial reports.

Curry continued to be associated with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a work that has held a distinctive place in LGBTQ+ cultural history because of its celebration of sexual self-expression, gender nonconformity and outsider community. His portrayal of Frank-N-Furter contributed to that legacy, although the character is fictional and Curry’s personal identity should be described separately from the role.

A Lasting Cultural Legacy

Curry’s influence rested not only on the number of productions in which he appeared but also on the unusual clarity of his performances. Frank-N-Furter, Pennywise and his other prominent characters were visually and vocally distinctive, yet they belonged to different genres and demanded different techniques.

For LGBTQ+ audiences and allies, Rocky Horror has long been an important point of connection, particularly through communal screenings and the film’s resistance to rigid expectations about gender, desire and presentation. Curry’s work in the film helped make that resistance visible to mainstream audiences without reducing the character’s appeal to a single identity label.

At the same time, Curry’s career extended beyond one cult film. His stage work, mainstream movie appearances and horror performances established him as a versatile actor capable of moving between celebrated theatrical productions, broad comedy and psychological or supernatural horror.

Curry died as a performer whose most famous role remained continually rediscovered by new audiences. His work in The Rocky Horror Picture Show ensured that his image would remain part of a living, participatory tradition, while his performances in Amadeus, Clue, It and other productions documented a career substantially broader than any single character.