Tim Curry’s Pennywise Helped Make a Fictional Maine Town Famous

The actor is known for several major roles, but here in Maine, he’s probably best known for this specific portrayal.

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Stephen King’s ‘It’ was published in 1986 and follows a group of childhood friends in the fictional town of Derry, Maine, as they confront an evil entity that often takes the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown.

While many people may be familiar with the more recent ‘It’ movies and television projects, the story was first adapted for the screen as a two-part television miniseries that aired in 1990.

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That adaptation introduced audiences to Tim Curry’s portrayal of Pennywise, the shape-shifting villain at the center of King’s story.

The miniseries follows the group as children and later as adults when they return to Derry to confront the evil that terrorized them years earlier.

Credit: It, Hulu on YouTube

Derry serves as the central setting for much of ‘It’ and has since become one of the most recognizable fictional locations associated with King’s work.

While the town does not exist in real life, Derry is widely associated with Bangor, Maine, where King has lived for decades and which helped inspire elements of the fictional community.

Araya Doheny, Getty Images

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And there you have it! Tim Curry’s 1990 portrayal of Pennywise helped introduce Derry and one of King’s most famous villains to a major television audience.

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