A stroke 13 years ago left Tim Curry partially paralyzed, but it hasn't diminished his memorable laugh, or the mystique about him. In 50 years on the screen, he's played so many types – campy, comical, menacingly sinister – yet his most inscrutable role is still Tim Curry.

And being an enigma is exactly how he wants it. "I think it's important," he said. "I encourage it."

Though Curry is out with a new memoir, "Vagabond" (to be published Tuesday by Grand Central), he's keeping some secrets to himself. "One of the keys is to not encourage an identity, I think, and I've tried to nurse that," he said. "I have protected that, and continue to."

Grand Central Publishing

Born a military brat in Hong Kong, Curry grew up moving from place to place. As a boy, he worshipped his dad, a chaplain

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