VINCENT PRICE
Vincent Price
- © Warner Bros.
- (Vincent Price in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex, 1939)
Biography
BIO
Vincent Price was born Vincent Leonard Price, Jr. in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1911. His father was president of the National Candy Company (makers of “Cherry Mash”). His grandfather invented Dr. Price's Baking Powder and established the family fortune. Price was educated at Yale in art history and fine art.
He became interested in theater in the 1930’s and made his Broadway debut, at the age of 24, in 1935. He went on to appear in another 11 productions on the New York stage through 1978, including starring roles in the musical Darling of the Day (1968) and the solo act Diversions and Delights (1978).
Price co-starred in his first film role in 1938 for Universal Pictures. In the 1950’s, he moved primarily into horror films as well as television.
In the late 1970s, Price increased his voice work after the onset of Parkinson's disease. After appearing in more than 90 feature films, his last film role was in 1990.
Price married three times:
- Edith Barrett, actress, 1938–1948, one child, divorced. Their son is the acclaimed poet V. B. Price.
- Mary Grant, costume designer, 1949-1973, one child, divorced. Their daughter is the actress/writer Victoria Price. The couple donated hundreds of works of art and a large amount of money to East Los Angeles College and endowed the Vincent and Mary Price Gallery there.
- Coral Browne, actress, 1974-1991, widowed. He converted to Catholicism to marry her and she became a U.S. citizen for him.
Price was a lifelong smoker and suffered from emphysema.
He died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, in 1993. Price was 82 years old.
Additional Broadway stage history is available at: 
Additional biographical information is available at: 
Other Pictures
- © Twentieth Century Fox Film
- (Vincent Price in The Song of Bernadette, 1943)
