Vincent Price--Native St. Louisan
Vincent Price was a writer, a lecturer on art, and a star of stage, screen, and television. He was also a native St. Louisan, who always remembered his roots.
Vincent Price : a daughter's biography
Victoria Price.
New York : St. Martin's Press, 1999.
The distinguished icon of the classic American horror film was hardly a ghoul. In this candid memoir, his daughter reveals a man both complex and human as he deals with his marriages, his sexuality, his family, and his passion for the arts. photo insert.
Vincent Price was born in St. Louis on May 27, 1911, and attended both St. Louis Community School (where he had his first leading role in Robin Hood) and Country Day. "I became fascinated with where I lived," he said. "There I found my way in the arts."
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Lifetime art collector
Vincent Price began collecting art in his youth with the purchase of a Rembrandt etching for $34.50 on the installment plan.
As an adult, Price's interest in art continued. He owned a famous art collection and authored several art books including The Vincent Price Treasury of American Art. In 1951 Price donated some of his personal art objects to the East Los Angeles College. |
| (view the Vincent Price Art Gallery) |
His love of art led him to study at Yale and London's Courtauld Institute, and it was in London that he dedicated himself to acting. His success was rapid: by the age of 24, he was a leading man on Broadway, and in the next few years he worked with Orson Welles' Mercury Theater and made his film debut.
Murder at the Academy Awards : a red carpet murder mystery
by Joan Rivers with Jerrilyn Farmer.
New York : Pocket Books, c2009.
This was the beginning of a career which included 100 films, ranging from Oscar winners The Song of Bernadette and Laura to the horror classics House of Wax, The Fly, and The Abominable Dr. Phibes.
Throughout his life, Vincent Price kept returning to St. Louis. As his daughter Victoria said, "He always loved performing in his hometown." His local appearances included three shows at the Muny, throwing the first pitch at a Cardinals game, and even performing "The Raven" with the St. Louis Symphony.
His affection for St. Louis was reciprocated, and he was awarded with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1989. Vincent Price died on Oct. 25, 1993.
Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff.
