Vincent Price

Actors

Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor best known for his performances in horror films, although his career spanned other genres, including film noir, drama, mystery, thriller, and comedy. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, one for motion pictures and one for television. He was born and raised near St. Louis, Missouri. He was also an art collector and arts consultant with a degree in art history, and he lectured and wrote books on the subject. The Vincent Price Art Museum at East Los Angeles College is named in his honor.He was also a noted gourmet cook.

Price started out in films as a character actor. He made his film debut in Service de Luxe (1938) and established himself in Otto Preminger‘s Laura (1944), opposite Gene Tierney. He played Joseph Smith in Henry Hathaway‘s Brigham Young (1940) and William Gibbs McAdoo in Wilson (1944) as well as Bernadette’s prosecutor, Vital Dutour, in The Song of Bernadette (1943), both directed by Henry King; and as a pretentious priest in The Keys of the Kingdom (1944). His first venture into the horror genre, for which he later became best known, was in Rowland V. Lee’s Tower of London (1939), starring Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff. The following year Price portrayed the title character in The Invisible Man Returns (a role he reprised in a vocal cameo at the end of the horror-comedy spoof Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein released in 1948, featuring Lon Chaney Jr. and Bela Lugosi).

Price reunited with Tierney in John M. Stahl’s Leave Her to Heaven (1945) and Jospeh L. Mankiewicz‘s Dragonwyck (1946), with Walter Huston. There were also many villainous roles in film noir thrillers like Michael Gordon’s The Web (1947), The Long Night (1947), Rogues’ Regiment (1948) and The Bribe (1949), with Robert Taylor, Ava Gardner and Charles Laughton. His first starring role was as conman James Addison Reavis in the biopic The Baron of Arizona (1950), directed by Samuel Fuller. He did a comedic turn as the tycoon Burnbridge Waters, co-starring with Ronald Colman in Champagne for Caesar (also 1950), one of his favorite film roles. Other notable films during this time include Bagdad (1949), with Maureen O’Hara.

He was active in radio, portraying the Robin Hood-inspired crime-fighter Simon Templar in The Saint, which ran from 1947 to 1951. In the 1950s, Price moved into more regular horror film roles with the leading role in House of Wax (1953) as a homicidal sculptor, the first 3-D film to land in the year’s top ten at the North American box office. His next roles were The Mad Magician (1954), with Mary Murphy and Eva Gabor; Fritz Lang‘s noir While the City Sleeps (1956), with Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff, Thomas Mitchell, John Drew Barrymore and Ida Lupino; the monster movie The Fly (1958) and its sequel Return of the Fly (1959). That same year, he starred in a pair of thrillers by producer-director William Castle: House on Haunted Hill (1959) as eccentric millionaire Fredrick Loren, and The Tingler (also 1959) as Dr. Warren Chapin, who discovered the titular creature.

Outside the horror realm, Price played Baka (the master builder) in Cecil B. DeMille‘s The Ten Commandments (1956), who’s all star cast included Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, and Edward G. Robinson. About this time he also appeared in episodes of a number of television shows, including Science Fiction Theatre, Playhouse 90 and General Electric Theater. In the 1955–56 television season, he was cast three times on the religion anthology series Crossroads. In the 1955 episode “Cleanup”, Price portrayed the Reverend Robert Russell. In 1956, he was cast as Rabbi Gershom Mendes Seixas in “The Rebel”, and as the Rev. Alfred W. Price in “God’s Healing”.

In the 1960s, Price achieved a number of low-budget successes with Roger Corman and American International Pictures (AIP) starting with the House of Usher (1960), which earned over $2 million at the box office in the United States and led to the subsequent Edgar Allan Poe adaptations of The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), Tales of Terror (1962), The Comedy of Terrors (1963), co-starring Peter Lorre and Rathbone; The Raven (1963), featuring Jack Nicholson; The Haunted Palace (1963), with Chaney and Debra Paget; The Masque of the Red Death (1964), and The Tomb of Ligeia (1964).

He starred in The Last Man on Earth (1964), the first adaptation of the Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend and portrayed witch hunter Matthew Hopkins in Witchfinder General (US: The Conqueror Worm, 1968) set during the English Civil War. He starred in comedy films such as Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) and its sequel Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966), the latter directed by Mario Bava. In 1968 he played the part of an eccentric artist in the musical Darling of the Day, opposite Patricia Routledge. He appeared in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), its sequel Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972), and Theatre of Blood (1973), in which he portrayed one of a pair of serial killers; and Michael Schultz’s Scavenger Hunt (1979), with Richard Benjamin, James Coco, Scatman Crothers, Ruth Gordon, Leachman, Cleavon Little, Roddy McDowall, Robert Morley, Richard Mulligan, Tony Randall, Dirk Benedict, Willie Aames, Stephanie Faracy, Stephen Furst, Richard Masur, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Meat Loaf.

In 1979, Price starred with his wife in the short-lived CBS TV series Time Express. In 1979, he hosted the hour-long amusement park and roller coaster television special “America Screams”, riding on many of the roller coasters himself and recounting their history. During 1979–1980, he hosted the “Mystery Night” segment of the radio series Sears Radio Theater. In 1981, Price Played Grover in the original stage musical production of The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover. In 1982, Price provided the narrator’s voice in Vincent, Tim Burton‘s short film about a young boy who flashes from reality into a fantasy where he is the iconic actor. In 1982, Price provided the spoken-word sequence to the end of the Michael Jackson song Thriller (the music video was directed by John Landis).

In 1983, he played the Sinister Man in the British spoof horror film Bloodbath at the House of Death. He appeared in House of the Long Shadows with Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, and John Carradine. He had worked with each of those actors at least once in previous decades, but this was the first time that all had teamed up. One of his last major roles, and one of his favorites, was as the voice of Professor Ratigan in Walt Disney Pictures’ The Great Mouse Detective in 1986.

From 1981 to 1989, Price hosted the PBS television series Mystery! In 1985, he provided voice talent on the Hanna-Barbera series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo as the mysterious “Vincent Van Ghoul” who aided Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, and the gang in recapturing 13 demons. In 1984, Price appeared in Shelley Duvall’s live-action series Faerie Tale Theatre as the Mirror in “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”, and the narrator for “The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers”.

In 1987, he starred with Bette Davis, Lillian Gish, and Ann Sothern in Lindsay Anderson’s The Whales of August, a story of two sisters living in Maine facing the end of their days; his performance in the film him earned the only award nomination of his career: an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. His last significant film works include Catchfire (1990), with Jodie Foster, Dennis Hopper (who also directed), Fred Ward, Charlie Sheen, Joe Pesci, Catherine Keener and Bob Dylan; and Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990), with Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Diane Wiest, and Alan Arkin.

Each review will be linked to the title below.

(*seen originally in theaters)

(**seen rereleased in theaters)

Service de Luxe Robert (1938) – directed by Rowland V. Lee
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) – directed by Michael Curtiz
Tower of London (1939) – directed by Rowland V. Lee
1940 The Invisible Man Returns (1940) – directed by Joe May
Green Hell (1940) – directed by James Whale
The House of the Seven Gables (1940) – directed by Joe May
Brigham Young (1940) – directed by Henry Hathaway
Hudson’s Bay (1941) – directed by by Irving Pichel
The Song of Bernadette (1943) – directed by Henry King
The Eve of St. Mark (1944) – directed by John M. Stahl
Wilson (1944) – directed by Henry King
Laura (1944) – directed by Otto Preminger
The Keys of the Kingdom (1944) – directed by John M. Stahl
A Royal Scandal (1945) – directed by Otto Preminger & Ernst Lubitsch
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) – directed by John M. Stahl
Shock (1946) – directed by Alfred L. Werker
Dragonwyck (1946) – directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
The Web (1947) – directed by Michael Gordon
The Long Night (1947) – directed by Anatole Litvak
Moss Rose (1947) – directed by Gregory Ratoff
Up in Central Park (1948) – directed by William A. Seiter
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – directed by Charles Barton – uncredited voice
Rogues’ Regiment (1948) – directed by Robert Florey
The Three Musketeers (1948) – directed by George Sidney
The Bribe (1949) – directed by Robert Z. Leonard
Bagdad (1949) – directed by Charles Lamont
The Baron of Arizona (1950) – directed by Samuel Fuller
Champagne for Caesar (1950) – directed by Richard Whorf
Curtain Call at Cactus Creek (1950) – directed by Charles Lamont
Adventures of Captain Fabian (1951) – directed by William Marshall
His Kind of Woman (1951) – directed by John Farrow & Richard Fleischer (uncredited)
Pictura: An Adventure in Art (1951) – directed by E. A. Dupont, Luciano Emmer, Enrico Gras, Alain Resnais, Robert Hessens, Marc Sorkin, Olga Lipska, & Lauro Venturi – documentary
The Las Vegas Story (1952) – directed by Robert Stevenson
House of Wax (1953) – directed by Andre DeToth
Dangerous Mission (1954) – directed by Louis King
Born in Freedom: The Story of Colonel Drake (1954) – directed by Arthur Pierson
Casanova’s Big Night (1954) – directed by Norman Z. McLeod – uncredited cameo
The Mad Magician (1954) – directed by John Brahm
Son of Sinbad (1955) – directed by Ted Tetzlaff
Serenade (1956) – directed by Anthony Mann
While the City Sleeps (1956) – directed by Fritz Lang
The Vagabond King (1956) – directed by Michael Curtiz – uncredited narrator
The Ten Commandments (1956) – directed by Cecil B. DeMille
The Story of Mankind (1957) – directed by Irwin Allen
The Fly (1958) – directed by Kurt Neumann
House on Haunted Hill (1959) – directed by William Castle
Return of the Fly (1959) – directed by Edward Bernds
The Big Circus (1959) – directed by Joseph M. Newman
The Tingler (1959) – directed by William Castle
The Bat (1959) – directed by Crane Wilbur
House of Usher (1960) – directed by Roger Corman
Master of the World (1961) – directed by William Witney
Pit and the Pendulum (1961) – directed by Roger Corman
Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile (1961) – directed by Fernando Cerchio
Rage of the Buccaneers (1961) – directed by Mario Costa
Confessions of an Opium Eater (1962) – directed by Albert Zugsmith
Tales of Terror (1962) – directed by Roger Corman
Convicts 4 (1962) – directed by Millard Kaufman
Tower of London (1962) – directed by Roger Corman
The Raven (1963) – directed by Roger Corman
Diary of a Madman (1963) – directed by Reginald Le Borg
Beach Party (1963) – directed by William Asher
The Haunted Palace (1963) – directed by Roger Corman
Twice-Told Tales (1963) – directed by Sidney Salkow
The Comedy of Terrors (1964) – directed by Jacques Tourneur
The Last Man on Earth (1964) – directed by Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney Salkow
The Masque of the Red Death (1964) – directed by Roger Corman
The Tomb of Ligeia (1965) – directed by Roger Corman
War-Gods of the Deep (1965) – directed by Jacques Tourneur
Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965) – directed by Norman Taurog
Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs (1966) – directed by Mario Bava
The House of 1,000 Dolls (1967) – directed by Jeremy Summers
The Jackals (1967) – directed by Robert D. Webb
Witchfinder General (1968) – directed by Michael Reeves – aka Conqueror Worm
Spirits of the Dead (1968) – directed by Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, & Federico Fellini – anthology – English version – uncredited
More Dead Than Alive (1969) – directed by Robert Sparr
The Trouble with Girls (1969) – directed by Peter Tewksbury
The Oblong Box (1969) – directed by Gordon Hessler
Scream and Scream Again (1970) – directed by Gordon Hessler
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe (1970) – directed by Kenneth Johnson
Cry of the Banshee (1970) – directed by Gordon Hessler
Cucumber Castle (1970) – directed by Hugh Gladwish – TV movie
Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971) – directed by Jules Bass & Arthur Rankin Jr. – TV movie
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) – directed by Robert Fuest
Mooch Goes to Hollywood (1971) – directed by Richard Erdman – TV movie
What’s a Nice Girl Like You…? (1971) – directed by Jerry Paris – TV movie
Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1972) – directed by Douglas Hickox
Theatre of Blood (1973) – directed by Douglas Hickox
Madhouse (1974) – directed by Jim Clark
Percy’s Progress (1974) – directed by Ralph Thomas
Journey Into Fear (1975) – directed by Daniel Mann
The Butterfly Ball (1976) – directed by Tony Klinger
Scavenger Hunt (1979) – directed by Michael Schultz
Pogo for President (1980) – Marc Paul Chinoy – aka I Go Pogo
The Monster Club (1981) – directed by Roy Ward Baker
Freddie the Freeloader’s Christmas Dinner (1981) – directed by John Trent – TV special
Vincent (1982) – directed by Tim Burton – short
Fun with Mr. Future (1983) – directed by Darrell Van Citters – short
House of the Long Shadows (1983) – directed by Pete Walker
Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983) – directed by John Landis – short
Bloodbath at the House of Death (1984) – directed by Ray Cameron
The Little Troll Prince (1985) – directed by
Ray Patterson – TV special
The Great Mouse Detective (1986)** – directed by Burny Mattinson, David Michener, John Musker, & Ron Clements
Escapese (1986) – directed by David Steensland – TV movie
The Nativity (1987) – directed by Don Lusk
From a Whisper to a Scream (1987) – directed by Jeff Burr
The Whales of August (1987) – directed by Lindsay Anderson
Sparky’s Magic Piano (1987) – directed by Lee Mishkin – short
Dead Heat (1988) – directed by Mark Goldblatt
Catchfire (1990) – directed by Dennis Hopper
Edward Scissorhands (1990) – directed by Tim Burton
The Heart of Justice (1992) – directed by
Bruno Barreto – TV movie
The Thief and the Cobbler (1995) – directed by Richard Williams – posthumous release

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