A Real Renaissance Man

Today in class I was really surprised to hear so many people say they had not heard of Vincent Price. I always thought Vincent Price was one of those actors that everyone had heard of but I guess I was wrong. So for all of those people who do not know Vincent Price, here is what I found on the web about this very interesting actor.

Born 1911; St Louis, Missouri. Died 1993
4Vincent Price is best remembered for his roles in horror movies, specifically the Roger Corman adaptations from Edger Allan Poe.
4Price did not start out with the intentions of becoming an actor but rather an art historian. He obtained degrees in Art History and English at Yale and then taught school for a year. He felt that he needed to further his education though as the students seemed to know more than he did! Price returned to college to take his Masters in Fine Arts at the Courtauld Institute in London, he also studied briefly in Vienna.
4Price's love of art never left him and he used his education to good advantage. He was responsible, in 1951, of founding the Vincent Price Gallery, with his then wife Mary Grant Price on the campus of East Los Angeles Collage. Price had been invited to lecture on the ''Aesthetic Responsibilities of the Citizen,''
4Price's love of American Indian Art led to another little known side of him, his workfor Native Americans, he worked for 15 years with the Department of the Interior
4 In his later years, Price became involved with the rock industry, he was involved in music videos with performers including Alice Cooper, Ringo Starr, and Michael Jackson. Price had his own ideas why he was chosen for this honour.
"I have great admiration for rock `n roll, but not when it's done badly. My God! You know, I have a theory about how I get selected for these things. I think they've based a lot of their stuff on my movies. They go out and do the rock `n roll, and they're all high, and making the noise and flying around, and then they go back to their hotel room, turn on the TV, and there I am! Alice and I met a couple of times, and I liked him, then he asked me to do 'Welcome to My Nightmare'. Then one time I got a call and they said would you come and do a recording with Michael Jackson, called 'Thriller'. I said, "sure, I'll do anything." So I went and did it, and I didn't think anything would happen with it, then it came out and sold 40 million copies! I didn't do it for the money, because I didn't have a percentage of it. It was just fun to do. You know to be identified with the most popular record ever made is not just chopped liver! It has really done me a lot of good, because it has given me a new audience. "
4 As if Price didn't have enough to occupy himself during his career as an actor, he began another career as a TV chef which ran for several series. He had a reputation as an outstanding cook and collector of recipes. He also found time to write a book ,"Joe".
(source - http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/4337/vprice.htm)




Matinee idol VP and Constance Bennett in
Service DeLuxe (1938)






Vincent Price with his trademark arched eyebrow on the cover of a book about his life.











Dr. Jones these photos are from the movie you mentoned in class The Tingler:















Gary there may be a chance that you will be able to hear Vincent Price read some of the graveyard poets verses if you could only get your hands on this little gem:

One of several recordings of ghost stories and poems done by VP during the 1960's for the Caedmon company.

I also would like to let the class know that I was not going crazy when I mentioned "Vincent Twice" today. He was indeed a muppet featured on Seasame Street as part of their "Monster Piece Theatre" segments. Check it out here.

Vincent Price's last film role was in the film Edward Scissor Hands with Johnny Depp.

And finally, for anyone wishing to hear Vincent Price's very distinct voice, they can take a listen here.