Every Form IT Takes in the 1990 Miniseries

While Tim Curry’s Pennywise the Clown is its preferred form, the titular creature in the 1990 IT miniseries transformed into several other disguises. With two successful big screen movie adaptations of IT now in the books – mixed reviews of IT Chapter Two aside, it was still quite profitable – it’s likely that the miniseries will start to fade into the background. Or at least that will probably happen for future generations, people that didn’t grow up with it as the definitive adaptation of Stephen King’s epic novel.

For those around in the 1990s, it’s doubtful that the memory of IT‘s miniseries will ever fade, thanks to the efforts of Curry as Pennywise. The casting for the miniseries wasn’t bad overall, with a great job done on the kids especially, but it’s not an exaggeration to say that Curry makes the miniseries the classic many regard it as. Curry is so creepy, scary, and gleefully evil that one can’t take their eyes off him whenever Pennywise is onscreen. He’s almost as mesmerizing as IT’s deadlghts.

That said, Pennywise was far from the only form taken by IT throughout the miniseries’ 3-hour-plus running time. Without any further ado, here’s a rundown of every IT transformation to be seen in the two-part program.

Pennywise the Dancing Clown (Tim Curry)

Of course, one can’t talk about IT’s various forms without mentioning Pennywise the Dancing Clown, although it would take Pennywise until 2017 to actually dance onscreen. As mentioned above, Tim Curry is absolutely magnetic in the role, and as great as Bill Skarsgard did in the movies, Curry will remain the definitive Pennywise for many.

Ben’s Dad (Steve Makaj)

Played by prolific Canadian character actor Steve Makaj, Ben Hanscom’s dad appears as a posthumous character, kind of. During Ben’s first encounter with IT, the creature tries to lure him in by disguising itself as his dad, who Ben says was a fighter pilot shot down in the Korean War. It’s very unsettling, but sadly is a bit too brief.

Swamp Skeleton (Tim Curry)

When pretending to be Ben’s dad doesn’t do the trick, IT immediately turns into an algae-covered skeleton and reaches out of the lake to try and grab Ben’s leg. The skeleton is a special effect, so no actor physically plays it, but Tim Curry does voiceover work as it taunts Ben.

Georgie Denborough (Tony Dakota)

IT‘s most famous scene, in both the book and its adaptations, is the early encounter that ends with Pennywise killing Bill Denborough’s little brother Georgie. Several times later in the miniseries, IT uses Georgie’s image to taunt Bill, including one time with a picture that inexplicably bleeds.

Mummy (Tim Curry)

This variation of IT that looks like a mummy is also (seemingly, no separate actor is credited) played by Tim Curry, and Curry’s voice can be heard speaking to Stan as he’s lured into a creepy old house while bird-watching. Notably, Ben encountered IT’s mummy form in the book, not Stan.

Werewolf (Tim Curry)

In part 1 of IT, the kid Losers’ Club heads to their local Paramount Theatre to take in a screening of the 1957 film I Was a Teenage Werewolf. The next day, Richie Tozier encounters a werewolf in the basement of his school. For lack of another credit, one assumes the werewolf was also Tim Curry under make-up.

Alvin Marsh (Frank C. Turner)

Frank C. Turner, another veteran character actor, played Alvin Marsh in IT 1990, Beverly’s abusive father. At least in this version, he doesn’t appear to be sexually abusive, but it’s doubtful that comforts Bev when he’s slapping her around. IT takes his form more than once, always to taunt Bev.

Gas Station Attendant (Boyd Norman)

Boyd Norman’s gas station attendant only appears in one scene, but it’s a good one that many people remember. Bill’s wife Audra has followed him to Derry, and stops to ask for directions. The conversation gets creepier until the attendant is revealed to be IT in disguise, with Pennywise asking Audra if she wants a balloon.

Mrs. Kersh (Florence Paterson)

The scene where Beverly Marsh returns to her childhood home is a very memorable one in King’s book, and both screen adaptations. While there, Bev meets Mrs. Kersh, who appears to live there following Alvin’s death. Of course, the scene gets weirder and weirder until it’s revealed that Kersh is actually IT, messing with Beverly.

Belch Huggins (Chris Eastman)

Reginald “Belch” Huggins is one of Henry Bowers’ gang of juvenile delinquents, and while definitely a bully, he’s not the monster Henry is. That is until he returns as an IT-powered zombie to help Henry escape from Juniper Hills and target the adult Losers’ Club.

Stan Uris’ Head (Richard Masur)

Richard Masur will be a familiar face to most, and is certainly a fine actor, although he doesn’t look anything like the kid version of Stan Uris. After Stan is driven to suicide, IT appears to the Losers’ Club inside Derry’s library as Stan’s decapitated head, hanging out in a fridge. Masur is clearly having lots of fun playing a head, camping it up.

Beverly Marsh (Annette O’Toole)

The only Losers’ Club member to be imitated by IT in the miniseries while they were still alive, Beverly Marsh arrives in Ben’s hotel room in part 2 to reveal that she knows he wrote the poem she loved so much as a kid. It’s a cathartic scene, that is until “Bev” turns into Pennywise, who says “Kiss me, fat boy!” to Ben.

A Rottweiler (A Dog)

When IT is helping Henry Bowers escape from Juniper Hills, he needs to take out Koontz, the sadistic guard on duty. So he turns into a clown with the head of a vicious rottweiler. It comes off pretty silly, but Koontz’s fear of dogs was spelled out better in the book, where IT transformed into a doberman pinscher.

Fortune Cookies

When the Losers’ Club first has dinner together after arriving back in Derry, things seem like lots of fun, at least until IT makes their post-meal fortune cookies turn into all kinds of hideous abominations. One sprouts what looks like a spider leg, while another hatches a bird embryo, and another sprays blood on Bev.

The Deadlights

The Deadlights are the closest thing to reflecting what IT’s true form is, which is actually not something humans can successfully perceive. Blinding and hypnotic, they’re capable of enrapturing anyone who makes the mistake of looking into them.

Giant Spider

In the book and both adaptations, IT takes the physical form of a giant spider creature to battle the Losers’ Club, albeit one with a Pennywise top in IT Chapter Two. In the miniseries, the spider is realized by a rather dumb-looking puppet, and even worse stop-motion animation. Tim Curry has made it known how much he hated that part.

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