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Vincent Price (1911 - 1993)
Vincent Leonard Price, Jr., known as "Bink" to his friends, was born 27 May in St. Louis, Missouri, heir to a candy manufacturing fortune. Rather than follow his father into the business, Vincent studied art history, attending Yale and the Courtauld Institiute, as well as studying art in Vienna. He tried his hand at the stage in London, debuting as a judge in the play, Chicago. Following this was a part in Victoria Regina with Helen Hayes, in first the London and later the Broadway productions. Briefly joining Orson Welles' Mercury Theater, Price appeared in both The Shoemaker's Holiday and Heartbreak House before parting with Welles over a personality clash. In 1938 Price began making his first film appearances, debuting in Service de Luxe, with Helen Murphy and Charlie Ruggles. That same year he met his first wife, Edith Barrett, whom he divorced ten years later. Next came a role as Sir Walter Raleigh in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939), with Bette Davis and Errol Flynn. Also in 1939, he appeared with Boris Karloff and Basil Rathbone in The Tower of London, a dark film inspired by Shakespeare's Richard III, in which Price played the ill-fated Duke of Clarence. Over the next twelve years Price played character roles in The Invisible Man Returns (1940); The House of the Seven Gables (1940); The Song of Bernadette (1943); Laura (1944); Dragonwyck (1947); and The Long Night (1947). A hint of the roles he would later to be identified with came in 1948 when he, or rather his voice, was cast as the Invisible Man in the closing scene of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Price had by now begun to settle into villainous roles, as he also in 1948 played Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers, with Lana Turner and Gene Kelly, and also played Boss Tweed in Up In Central Park. In 1951 Price gained considerable critical attention for his portrayal of Mark Cardigan in His Kind of Woman, co-starring with Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, and Raymond Burr. House of Wax (1953), a remake of the 1933 film Mystery of the Wax Museum and the second film to be made in 3-D, marked the beginning of the horror film career with which Price would be forever identified. Price played Professor Henry Jarrod, an artist crippled in a fire whose wax museum was known for its uncannily life-like figures. The film's hero, played by Frank Lovejoy, and his fiancee (Phyllis Kirk) learn that the figures are in fact the bodies of Price's victims, covered in wax. Price next played the title role in The Mad Magician (1954), and Omar Khayyam in Son of Sinbad (1955). In Cecil B. DeMille's The Ten Commandments (1956) he played Baka, the Egyptian overseer killed by Moses (Charlton Heston). After playing the Devil in The Story of Mankind (1957), Price played David Hedison's brother in the original version of The Fly (1958). He also appeared in such classics as The House On Haunted Hill (1958); The Bat (1959, with Agnes Moorehead); The Return of the Fly; and The Tingler (1959). Beginning in 1960, Vincent Price began appearing in movies directed by Roger Corman which were billed as being based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. While this was true of Price's first such film, House of Usher, most were at most suggested by Poe's works. The Raven began with the visitation from the portent of death described in Poe's poem and then ventured off into an original comedy adventure with Price and Peter Lorre as sorcerers battling black magician Boris Karloff, assisted by a young Jack Nicholson. The Pit and the Pendulum, Poe's account of a man's ordeals before the Inquisition, was adapted to the screen as a man's investigation into the possibility that his sister was tortured and frightened to death by her husband. The City Beneath the Sea, a poem about a submerged graveyard, became a movie, War Gods of the Deep, co-starring Tab Hunter, about a secret city of "fish men" off the Cornish coast. The Conqueror Worm (1968), also known as Witchfinder General, was a fictionalized account of Matthew Hopkins, with Price playing the self-appointed Witchfinder. Cry of the Banshee (1970) showed the destruction of a corrupt nobleman and his family by a vengeful witch's curse in the days of Henry VIII. Finally, The Haunted Palace (1961), though crediting Poe as its source, was actually based on the stories of H.P. Lovecraft. Indeed, of all these movies, only Usher; The Masque of the Red Death, and The Tomb of Ligeia could be truthfully said to be based on Poe's works. Still, all were entertainingly spooky to watch, in no small part due to Price's performances. While making the Corman-Poe pieces, Price also appeared in other movies adapted from or inspired by classic authors of the fantastic, including Jules Verne's Master of the World; Guy de Maupassant's Diary of a Madman; and Nathaniel Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales (1963). He also appeared in the 1962 remake of The Tower of London, this time playing Richard of Gloucester, and played the title role in the first and most faithful film adaptation of Richard Matheson's novel about a man fighting to survive in a world taken over by vampires, I Am Legend, released in 1964 as The Last Man On Earth (L'Ultimo uomo della Terra). Price reunited with Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff to appear in another Richard Matheson piece, The Comedy of Terrors. Though by now firmly identified with horror, Price also took time to appear in more lighthearted ventures, playing the title role in the spy spoof, Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) and its unofficial sequel Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (Spie vengono dal semifreddo, 1966), as well as appearing in the Elvis Presley flick The Trouble With Girls and doing several turns as "super guest-villain" Egghead on the Batman televisions series. In 1967 he co-starred with George Nader in one of that actor's last movies, House of One Thousand Dolls (La Casa de las mil muñecas). In 1971 Vincent Price first played what many consider his greatest role, that of the title character in The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Mixing sometimes graphic horror with black comedy, beautiful art deco stylings, and classic music from the 1920s, the film follows the exploits of Dr. Anton Phibes as he avenges his beloved wife Victoria by killing the members of the surgical team he blames for her death, using the Biblical Ten Plagues of Egypt as his inspiration. One victim, played by Terry-Thomas, is slowly and completely drained of blood, another is frozen in hail fired through a dry ice machine, and the attending nurse is consumed by locusts. Dr. Phibes was produced, co-written, and directed by Robert Fuest, creator of the Avengers television series, who based the flamboyant, organ-playing Phibes in part on his friend, the flamboyant, organ-playing Anton LaVey, founder and head of the Church of Satan. A sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes, entitled Dr. Phibes RisesAgain, appeared in 1972. This time, Phibes was vying with centuries old alchemist Biederbeck (played by Count Yorga's Robert Quarry) for possession of an ancient Egyptian papyrus with which Phibes hoped to resurrect his wife. Two further sequels, Bride of Phibes and The Seven Fates of Dr. Phibes, were scripted but never produced. Theatre of Blood, released in 1973, follows the same basic plot line of The Abominable Dr. Phibes, but is otherwise an entirely original piece. In this, Price plays a ham Shakespearean actor who kills the members of a dramatic critic's group according to the plays in which they gave him unfavorable reviews. First victim Michael Hordern, who scathed Price in Julius Caesar, is stabbed to death by a mob of Price's accomplices on the Ides of March. Arthur Lowe is decapitated as he sleeps in a reenactment of Cymbeline, while coifed and powdered queen Robert Morley is fed his own poodles (his "babies") in a shepherd's pie, as in the climax of Titus Andronicus. In a scene playing on the line "Spare for no faggots," Price, assisted by Diana Rigg doing a turn in male drag, poses as effeminately gay hairdresser "Butch" to dispatch Coral Browne in a modernized rendition of the burning of Joan of Arc in Henry VI, Part I by frying her in an improvised electric chair. During filming of Theatre of Blood, Price, who had just divorced his second wife Mary Grant, developed a friendship with Browne which quickly developed into love, and the two were married the following year. The same year that he married Coral Browne, Price appeared in Percy's Progress, a low-brow comedy about the world's first penis transplant, and co-starred with Robert Quarry and Peter Cushing in Madhouse, which was neither a critical nor commercial success. He also provided the narration for The Devil's Triangle, a documentary about the mysterious disappearances of planes and ships in the waters off Bermuda. From here, Price's film and television work became more sporadic, and he devoted more time to his other passions, cooking and art. He wrote several cookbooks, and also a book on art, I Like What I Know, and appeared on a celebrity cooking show hosted by Robert Morley, demonstrating some of his favorite recipes. He also devoted more time to the East Los Angeles Community College Art Foundation, which he had helped found in 1951, and devoted several items from his personal collection to its gallery. As the success of Halloween and the Friday the Thirteenth movies brought a renewed interest in horror, Price found himself the center of attention from a new generation of fans. Now hosting the PBS series, Mystery!, Price was approached by Tim Burton to narrate his animated short, Vincent, about a young boy named Vincent Malloy, who dreams of one day being like his idol, Vincent Price. Not surprisingly, this was a semi-autobiographical piece on Burton's part. In Disney's The Great Mouse Detective, Price provided the voice for Rattagan, a role which he counted among his favorites. A close friendship developed between Price and Cassandra Peterson after his films were featured by her alter ego, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. In 1984, he had a cameo role in the camp comedy Bloodbath at the House of Death. Price also agreed to do the "rap" segment of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" in 1983, a decision he later came to regret. Price agreed to do the bit for scale, then was surprised to see the song become one of the biggest hits in recording history. When he began insinuating that he had been cheated, Price was presented by two of Jackson's brothers with the album's gold record plaque, a gift he accepted graciously, though dropping more than a few hints that a royalty check would have been more appreciated. Years later, when asked if he believed the child molestation charges filed against Jackson were true, Price's response was, "They must be true. After all, he fucked me too." Vincent's later years were spent caring for Coral, who had developed cancer and eventually died from the disease in 1991. He still made occassional film and television appearances, but did mostly narrations and voice-overs. The Whales of August (1987), with Bette Davis and Lillian Gish, gave him a chance to remind audiences that he was more than just a great horror actor, but a great actor, period. In what many consider his swan song, he appeared in Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), playing Edward's creator. Shortly after recording the voice for Zigzag in the posthumously released Arabian Knight, Vincent Price died from lung cancer. He was cremated and his ashes scattered at sea. That Vincent Price was one of the greatest actors in the genre of horror, and in film in general, has never been in dispute, even though the quality of the films he appeared in sometimes left much to be desired. Most also accept that he was heterosexual, though there have been rumors and speculations to the contrary. A 1978 sketch on Saturday Night Live spoofing the "Frankie and Annette" beach movies of the early 60s included Dan Aykroyd playing a mincing caricature of Price, inviting "all you boys" to come to his beach house for a barbecue. Price, who had in fact appeared in the original films as aged beach bum "Big Daddy," was either unaware of the sketch or not particularly offended, as others over the years had sued the show for less. When writing her own biography of her father, Victoria Price acknowledged that rumors about her father's bisexuality did exist, but concentrated more attention on the revelation that in his youth Vincent had held anti-Semitic notions learned during his years growing up in Missouri. To his credit, Price abandoned and regretted his youthful prejudices after work in the theater and film brought him into close contact and friendship with several Jews and taught him that his preconceived notions were wrong. Indeed, throughout his life, as is common with those actors who specialize in villainous roles, Vincent Price endeared himself to all who knew him as a great friend and sincerely loving and generous individual. Vincent Price's film credits include Service de Luxe (1938); The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939); Tower of London (1939); The Invisible Man Returns (1940); The House of the Seven Gables (1940); Green Hell (1940); Brigham Young - Frontiersman (1940); The Song of Bernadette (1943); Laura (1944); A Royal Scandal (1945); Dragonwyck (1946); The Long Night (1947); Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948); The Three Musketeers (1948); Bagdad (1949); Champagne for Caesar (1950); Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950); His Kind of Woman (1951); The Las Vegas Story (1952); House of Wax (1953); The Mad Magician (1954); Casanova's Big Night (1954); Son of Sinbad (1955); While the City Sleeps (1956); Ten Commandments, The (1956); Story of Mankind, The (1957); House on Haunted Hill (1958); The Fly (1958); The Tingler (1959); The Bat (1959); The Return of the Fly (1959); Fall of the House of Usher (1960); . Pit and the Pendulum (1961); Master of the World (1961); Tower of London (1962); Tales of Terror (1962); Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962); Twice-Told Tales (1963); The Raven (1963); The Haunted Palace (1963); The Comedy of Terrors (1963); Beach Party (1963); Diary of a Madman (1963); The Last Man on Earth (1964); The Masque of the Red Death (1964); War Gods of the Deep (1965); Tomb of Ligeia, The (1965); Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965); Dr. Goldfoot and the 'S' Bombs (a.k.a. Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs, 1966); House of 1,000 Dolls (1967); Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General (1968); Scream and Scream Again (1969); The Oblong Box (1969); Cry of the Banshee (1970); Abominable Dr. Phibes, The (1971); Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972); Theatre of Blood (1973); Madhouse (1974); Percy's Progress (a.k.a. It's Not the Size That Counts,1974); Devil's Triangle, The (1974); Scavenger Hunt (1979); The Monster Club (1980); Vincent (1982); Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984); The Great Mouse Detective (1986); The Whales of August (1987); Edward Scissorhands (1990); and Arabian Knight (1995). His stage credits include Victoria Regina, The Shoemaker's Holiday, Heartbreak House, and Mr. Manningham. Television shows he appeared on include The Red Skelton Show; The Jack Benny Porgram; The Steve Allen Show; Playhouse 90; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Have Gun, Will Travel; The Man From Uncle; F-Troop; seven appearances as "Egghead" on Batman; Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In; Get Smart; Here's Lucy; Love, American Style; The Brady Bunch; Night Galley; M*A*S*H; The Brady Bunch Hour; The Muppet Show; The Bionic Woman; The Love Boat; Faerie Tale Theater; and Tiny Toon Adventures. His books include A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965); The Vincent Price Treasury of American Art (1972); and I Like What I Know (date unknown). Outside Links: Internet Movie Database: Vincent Price Vincent Price Gallery - East Los Angeles College Vincent Price Gallery The House of Phibes Yahoo Group St. Louis Walk of Fame - Vincent Price House of Horrors - Vincent Price Vincent Price at Brian's Drive-In Theater
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Entry updated 30 April, 2004
