Vincent Price Remembrance...30 Years

We are 6 days removed from the sad anniversary of the October 25th death of Vincent Price. I decided to write this blog entry on Halloween Day, on purpose, because for several generations of people Vincent was synonymous with Halloween. While it's true that horror movies became increasingly gory and eye shocking as the 1980's dawned...and Vincent appeared in several of those kind of horror movies in the 1980's...the legacy of his film career is tied to the wide appeal of the style of horror film he was often cast in. The films almost always were set in historical time periods...the 15th century, 16th century, 17th century, etc. He appeared in films set in contemporary times as well but if you were to ask fans of Vincent Price to randomly select their top 10 favorite movies chances are 90 percent of those films will have been set in past centuries rather than in contemporary times. 

Vincent Price passed away on October 25, 1993...and as I've always made mention of and as countless others have made mention, his passing away during the Halloween season sounded like something straight out of a satiric horror movie script. The ironic fact of when it took place made his death even more surreal. Local television stations were still airing his Halloween/horror movie themed television commercials for Tilex mildew remover. He had been making those commercials for a number of years but since they weren't dated and it was for a product still available in stores the commercials continued airing even after the production of new commercials had ended. His horror movies were airing on late night television. 

I have my share of Vincent Price movies...almost all of them are on VHS tape. A few are on DVD. His movies are widely available online and so I've moved to video hosting sites if ever I'm wanting to see one of his movies. So many of his best known movies were based on poems and short stories from the pen of Edgar Allan Poe...and a series of those movies were directed by Roger Corman...although Vincent would continue starring in Poe-related films for other directors into the early 1970s. The official "Poe cycle" under the direction of Roger Corman included nearly every fan's favorite Vincent Price movies:

1. The Fall of the House of Usher

2. The Pit and the Pendulum

3. The Raven

4. The Masque of the Red Death

5. The Tomb of Ligeia

Now, in addition to those, there were other highly entertaining Vincent Price fan favorites: Shock, House of Wax, Dragonwyck, The Story of Mankind, House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler, Return of the Fly, Tales of Terror, Twice Told Tales, The Haunted Palace, The Comedy of Terrors, Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General, Cry of the Banshee, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Theatre of Blood, and Madhouse. 

Vincent holds a rare distinction of appearing in two films utilizing the same title but taking on different roles in each. Vincent co-starred in the film, Tower of London, in 1939 and played the role of the Duke of Clarence. The stars of the film were Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff...then, more than 20 years later, Roger Corman directed Vincent in a quasi-remake in 1962. In 1939 Basil Rathbone played the role of Richard III...but Vincent took the role in the 1962 release. Vincent had one of the longest careers in the entertainment industry...from his earliest supporting roles in the late 1930s to his starring roles beginning in the mid to late 1940s. He became a drive-in movie attraction, specifically in the 1960s, and throughout it all maintained a genuine appreciation for practically everything he was involved in. He had clashes with only a few co-stars and a director or two in his multi-decade career.    

Vincent Price was a one-of-a-kind performer/entertainer. He was not confined to just one style although horror films are what his lasting legacy continues to be. He had very prolific careers on the theatrical stage, on radio, and on television. In fact, Vincent has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his Film and Television careers. In addition to his acting in the theater, on radio, in movies, and on television he also had a long time passion for the arts and did lectures on art as well as on gourmet cooking. There were several cookbooks published and he had a long time association with the East Los Angeles College where paintings that he purchased and donated to the college were put on display beginning in the early 1950s. This eventually morphed into the much larger Vincent Price Gallery and decades later it became the Vincent Price Art Museum which is operational to this day at the East Los Angeles College. In my opinion Vincent Price should also have a Star for his radio work...not only for his guest starring work in numerous dramatic anthology programs and sitcoms but also for his starring role as Simon Templar in "The Saint". Vincent portrayed the character the longest on radio...starring as Simon Templar, on and off, from 1947 until 1951.