<P> It (also known as Stephen King's It) is a 1990 American supernatural horror drama made - for - television directed by Tommy Lee Wallace and adapted by Lawrence D. Cohen from the Stephen King novel of the same name . It is the first of two adaptations of the novel; the second being the 2017 film adaptation and its upcoming 2019 sequel . </P> <P> The story revolves around a predatory shapeshifter which has the ability to transform itself into its prey's worst fears, allowing it to exploit the phobias of its victims . It mostly takes the human form of a sadistic, wisecracking clown called Pennywise . The protagonists are The Lucky Seven, or The Losers Club, a group of outcast kids who discover Pennywise and vow to destroy him by any means necessary . The series takes place over two different time periods, the first when the Losers first confront Pennywise as children in 1960, and the second when they return as adults in 1990 to defeat him a second time after he resurfaces . </P> <P> It features an ensemble cast, starring Richard Thomas, John Ritter, Annette O'Toole, Harry Anderson, Dennis Christopher, Tim Reid and Richard Masur as the seven members of the Losers Club, and Tim Curry as Pennywise . The child counterparts of the Losers that appear in part one are played by Jonathan Brandis, Seth Green, Emily Perkins, Brandon Crane, Adam Faraizl, Marlon Taylor and Ben Heller . Michael Cole, Jarred Blancard, Gabe Khouth, Chris Eastman, Olivia Hussey, Frank C. Turner, Tony Dakota, Ryan Michael, Tom Heaton and Chelan Simmons also play supporting roles . </P> <P> Originally planning a four - part eight - hour series, ABC enlisted writer Lawrence D. Cohen to adapt the 1,138 - page King novel . Cohen's script condensed the source work into a two - part, three - hour TV movie that retained the core elements of the novel, but Cohen was forced to abandon numerous subplots by virtue of the novel's length and the network's time - slot restrictions . Production on It began in early 1990, and the series was filmed over a period of three months in New Westminster, British Columbia in mid-1990 . </P>

Who played pennywise the clown in the original it