Price’s reputation as a master of the macabre was established in 1953 with his appearance in the three-dimensional horror movie House of Wax. With his six-foot-four frame, well-spoken English, and highly bred demeanor, he gave performances that were always singled out favorably by the critics, though the films themselves were not. In 1947 Universal-International signed Price to a long-term contract. During this period he also worked for RKO and Republic Pictures. As a freelance actor he also appeared in Up in Central Park, The Three Musketeers, and Son of Sinbad. Under contract to Twentieth Century Fox he appeared in many films, including Song of Bernadette, Wilson, Leave Her to Heaven, Dragonwyck, and, most notably, Laura, in the role of Shelby Carpenter. In 1940 he was called back to Broadway to star in Angel Street.įrom Broadway, Price moved again to Hollywood, where he established a permanent residence. Gathering further stage experience with Orson Welles’s Mercury Theatre and in summer stock, he continued playing a variety of parts. In December 1938 he returned to Broadway in Outward Bound. In 1938 he accepted his first Hollywood offer to appear in a film, Service DeLuxe, with Constance Bennett. Price had begun an acting career that would span more than fifty years. The play ran at the Broadhurst Theater until June 1937. He then won the role of Prince Albert in the West End production of Victoria Regina and was such a hit that the play’s producer retained him for the same role on Broadway opposite Helen Hayes. He was able to secure a small part in a production of Chicago at the Gate Theater and made his stage debut on March 13, 1935. Although he had failed to launch his acting career in New York, Price was still a theater buff. In England he studied fine arts at London University and the Courtauld Institute. With financial assistance from his family, he decided to go to London for further study. Unsuccessful, he took a position as an apprentice teacher at the Riverdale Country Day School. He was able to attend private schools, travel to Europe at age sixteen, and graduate from Yale University in 1933 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in fine arts and English.Ĭonvinced from an early age that he would like to be an actor, Price sought theater work in New York following his graduation from Yale. The family wealth shaped young Vincent’s life and future career. His father, a wealthy candy maker, was the president of the National Candy Company. One of four children born to Vincent Leonard and Margaret Cobb Price, he had a pedigree that included being the descendant of Peregrine White, the first colonial child born in Massachusetts. Vincent Price, a versatile actor of stage, screen, and television, was born in St.
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