Vincent Price
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Vincent Leonard Price, Jr.
May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993
An American film actor, remembered for his distinctive voice and serio-comic attitude in a series of distinctive horror films. His tall 6' 4" stature and polished, urbane manner made him something of an American counterpart to the older Boris Karloff.
Price was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Vincent Leonard Price and Marguerite Willcox. His father was president of the National Candy Company. His grandfather, Vincent Clarence Price invented "Dr. Price's Baking Powder", the first cream of tartar baking powder, and secured the family's fortune. Vincent Jr. attended St. Louis Country Day School. He was further educated at Yale in art history and fine art. He was a member of Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity and the Courtauld Institute, London. He became interested in theater in the 1930s, appearing professionally on stage from 1935
He was married three times and fathered a son, named Vincent Barrett Price, with his first wife, former actress Edith Barrett. Price and his second wife Mary Grant donated hundreds of works of art and a large amount of money to East Los Angeles College in the early 1960s in order to endow the Vincent and Mary Price Gallery there. Their daughter, Victoria, was born in 1962. His last marriage was to the Australian actress Coral Browne, who appeared with him (as one of his victims) in Theatre of Blood (1973). He converted to Catholicism to marry her, and she became a US citizen for him.
Price and Christopher Lee were born on the same day (27th May) and Peter Cushing was born on the 26th.
An avid gourmet chef, he wrote a number of cookbooks.
Was notoriously superstitious. He once joked that he kept a horseshoe, a crucifix and a mezzuza on his front door.
One of his most favorite roles was the voice of Professor Ratigan in the Disney feature The Great Mouse Detective (1986), especially since two original songs had been written for him.
Had his own mail-order book club in the 1970s, "Vincent Price Books", specializing in mystery and detective novels.
He was the Wednesday night host for CBS Radio's "Sears Mystery Theater" (1979). He was still Wednesday's host when it became "The Mutual Radio Theater" on Mutual Radio (1980).
Host of BBC Radio's "The Price of Fear" (1973-1975, 1983).
Portrayed Simon Templar on "The Saint" for CBS Radio (1947-1948), Mutual Radio (1948-1950) and NBC Radio (1950-1951).
His ashes were scattered off the Californian coast of Malibu together with his favorite gardening hat
Started an egg throwing fight while making a guest spot as the villain Egghead on the 1960s TV series "Batman" (1966).
Although always a gentleman, he was considered an eccentric and often engaged in over-the-top theatrics while discussing his favorite subjects, cooking and poetry.
In 1964 at the request of a personal friend, he narrated a brief history of Tombstone, Arizona (titled, "Tombstone, The Town Too Tough To Die") for use in the diorama at the site of the O.K. Corral gunfight site. He reportedly recorded the 20-minute piece in a single take at a recording studio in Hollywood and when asked about his fee, asked for his pal, the owner of the exhibit at the time, to buy him lunch. Price never visited Tombstone but his narration is still used in the diorama.
Made a short speech about the black widow on Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" album.
Attended the St. Louis, Missouri private high school, Country Day.
Appeared in several movies with 'house' in the title - most of them horror movies - including The House of the Seven Gables (1940), House of Wax (1953) and House on Haunted Hill (1959).
He received a degree in art history from Yale, and wrote a syndicated art column in the 1960s. An avid art collector, he founded the Vincent Price Gallery on the campus of East Los Angeles College and encouraged others to develop a personal passion for art.
He often expressed an interest in doing Shakespeare, which is why Theater of Blood (1973) was one of his favorite roles.
Charlton Heston starred in The Omega Man (1971) and Will Smith starred in _I Am Legend, the remakes of Price's The Last Man on Earth (1964). Prior to this, Heston and Price worked together in The Ten Commandments (1956).
He starred in "How to Make a Movie," a short film that was included in the "Vincent Price: Moviemaking the Hollywood Way," a home movie outfit sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co.
He was a longtime member of St. Victor's, and his wife Coral Browne was buried there with a Mozart Requiem Mass accompanied by a full orchestra.
He attended the opening night of the first production of Richard O'Brien's "The Rocky Horror Show".
Provided quasi-"rap" voiceover for Michael Jackson's Thriller (1983) (V).
Close friend of Cassandra Peterson, the actress whose most famous "character" is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
In 1951, Price founded the Vincent Price Gallery and Art Foundation on the campus of the East Los Angeles Community College. It is celebrating its 45th year.
In the 1960s, Price and Peter Lorre starred as crimefighting antique dealers in the unsold pilot, "Collector's Item."
Played "the spirit of the nightmare" in Alice Cooper's 1975 television special, Alice Cooper: The Nightmare (1975) (TV).
In 1990 Price was hired by Walt Disney Imagineering to voice the role of the Phantom for "Phantom Manor", a new ride for the upcoming Euro Disneyland, scheduled to open in 1992. He was given a French script but the takes were so bad, the entire performance was deemed unusable. After working on the French script for over three hours, Craig Fleming, who adapted the script and directed the recording sessions, gave him an English version of the script. Price recorded the entire piece in two takes. The English recordings were placed in the attraction, but after a few months of operation, Euro Disney (the company that owns and operates the resort) felt there was not enough French in Euro Disneyland. So by 1993, in an attempt to add more French to the park, Price's narration was removed from the attraction and replaced by the French spiel, this time recorded by Gérard Chevalier. Price's narration can be found on a Disney Haunted Mansion CD. The CD, which contains a full ride-through of the attraction, claims Price's narration was "never used at Disneyland Paris", but that's because the park was still called Euro Disneyland when it was used. Today the park is now known as Parc Disneyland (as of 2002) and although his narration is long gone, one part of his performance remains in Phantom Manor: his laugh. Although the spoken dialog of the Phantom character was changed, Price's original recordings of the Phantom's evil laughter still remain intact, inside the attraction.
Was a member of the family that started the company that makes Magic Baking Powder.
He would often attend showings of his films in costumes; often to play pranks on movie-goers.
At times he struggled to get parts early in his career due to his 6' 4" frame, as producers often avoid casting actors who are much taller than their leading men.
Converted to Catholicism shortly after marrying Coral Browne, a Roman Catholic. According to Price's daughter, the Australian-born Browne then became an American citizen for him.
His role in Edward Scissorhands (1990) was intended to be much larger, but since Price was very ill from emphysema and Parkinson's disease he was only able to appear in two scenes.
Price voted for Republican candidate Wendell Willkie in the 1940 presidential election, since both his parents were conservatives. Shortly thereafter his political views altered completely and he later became one of the most active liberal Democrats in Hollywood.
Played the devil in The Story of Mankind (1957).
Won $32,000 in an appearance on the game show "$64,000 Question.".
Best remembered in Canada for his appearances on "The Hilarious House of Frightenstein" (1971).
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Quotes By Vincent
Someone called actors 'sculptors in snow.' Very apt. In the end, it's all nothing.
I don't play monsters. I play men besieged by fate and out for revenge.
'Gothic' is just a word recalling a multitude of sins!
[Tim Burton's film Vincent (1982)] was immortality - better than a star on Hollywood Boulevard.
A man who limits his interests limits his life.
A lot of the recent actresses look and act like my niece. Now, she's a good girl, but I wouldn't pay to see her.
Doing a religious picture is a boring thing because everybody is on their best behavior - hoping for the keys to the kingdom, I guess.
What's important about an actor is his acting, not his life.
I hate being old and ill! Don't get old if you can avoid it!
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sometimes feel that I'm impersonating the dark unconscious of the whole human race. I know this sounds sick, but I love it.
Vincent Price
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According to Price, when he and Peter Lorre went to view Bela Lugosi's body at Lugosi's funeral, Lorre, upon seeing Lugosi dressed in his famous Dracula cape, quipped, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?"
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