Vincent Price's Daughter Will Discuss His Life, Career At Missouri History Museum

Actor Vincent Price, who had a long, successful film, television and stage career, was born May 27, 1911 in St. Louis.

In honor of the 100th anniversary of his birth, the nearly two-week long "Vincentennial" observance culminates when Price’s daughter, Victoria Price, discusses his life and career starting at 7 p.m. in the Lee Auditorium in the Missouri History Museum at Forest Park. Price, who passed away Oct. 25, 1993, was also known for his love of cooking, art and travel.

"My father always said, ‘If you are curious, you will never be bored,’" Price said. "He raised my brother and me to be infinitely curious, and no one can give a kid a better gift than that."

In a remarkably diverse career that spanned seven decades, Price gave a gift to millions with such films as House of Wax, The House of Usher, The Raven, The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Edward Scissorhands, to name a few.

He started his career on stage in the 1930s and also guest starred in many of the popular TV shows of the 1960s and 1970s, including Batman, Get Smart, F Troop, The Brady Bunch and The Love Boat. His rich baritone voice and actor’s inflection also made Price a notable narrator, most famously for Michael Jackson’s "Thriller."

His daughter, who wrote Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography, will blend film clips and rare photos as she talks about his life onscreen and off.

"I’m really looking forward to it," she said. "There should be a lot of pictures that people will really get a kick out of."

Victoria Price, who is a writer, teacher and lecturer, lives in New Mexico. She has been in town a couple of days, and visited her dad’s old high school--Country Day (now ) just in time for Thursday’s severe weather.

"I’ve never been in a tornado warning before," she said. "I spent part of the afternoon down in the basement with the students during a tornado warning, so that was the unique experience of the school."

Price’s discussion about her dad, The Vincent Price Legacy: A Daughter’s Reflection, should be as wildly diverse and entertaining as his career.

"I grew up at the height of his fame," she said. "Definitely, I was aware that he was famous, and he was treated a certain way because of the fame. To their credit, my parents were very, very good about not letting me believe that I was in any way special or different than any other kid because of that (fame). They made a real point of that, and that has been a lifesaver over the course of my life, because I did not grow up by any means thinking I was different or unique or should be treated in a special way."

Vincent Price was known as being down-to-earth, kind and generous to fellow performers and people he met on the street.

"He was truly a nice person," Price said. "He never had a sense of privilege that led him to believe he was special."

Price often traded in first-class plane tickets for coach and liked eating in diners as much or more than dining in fancy restaurants, his daughter said.

"He was really a genuine person," she said. "He always treated his co-workers and everybody very, very well."

Price knew the trappings of fame brought special treatment, such as occasionally getting moved to first class on a plane or getting a nicer table with a shorter wait in a restaurant. But he tried to use his status to help others and make a difference for young people and students who needed a hand, Price said.

"He tried to use that privilege to benefit other people," she said.

Ironically for a man who was known as a people-loving raconteur, Price often played villains on screen.

"I think maybe that’s one of the reasons people could identify with his villains," she said. "Of course, there was a little of the campy, nudge nudge, wink wink to it. But there was also the sense that there was someone underneath that menace who wasn’t so (threatening), and maybe that’s what made it easier to take that menace."

People have often told Price that they identified with her father’s characters and that watching him made a difference in their lives.

"As I thought about that over time--you know, why him over Steve McQueen or someone--I think there was this sense of a gentle man, and often in his roles he was wronged by society. So if he took revenge, it was for something that had been done, unfairly, to (his character)."

Price has several favorites among her father’s lengthy resume of films, including Champagne For Caesar, a 1950 comedy also starring Ronald Colman and Celeste Holm.

"I love that movie, because he had such a great time making it," she said. "He loved doing comedy, and it was so much fun for him."

She has mixed feelings about the 1990 Tim Burton film Edward Scissorhands.

"It’s him at the end of his life, and it reminds me of the him I knew at the end of his life," she said, choking up slightly. "It turns poignant for me in that way."

She also really likes 1944's Laura, which co-starred screen beauty Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews.

"It’s such a classic, wonderful film, and he was so fortunate to appear in it," she said.

Price’s volume of work throughout the course of a long, illustrious career is a real treasure trove for his family.

"It’s a gift, frankly," she said.

For instance, she just recommended that a friend record life history interviews with her mother.

"Not being able to hear someone’s voice after they’re gone is hard," Price said. "I know from my mother, when I interviewed her for the book about my dad, she didn’t like the sound of her voice, so she refused to let me record her. And I don’t remember what her voice sounded like anymore. Well, not only do I remember what my dad’s voice sounds like--at the drop of a hat I can turn on ‘Thriller’--but I can see him throughout his life talking. Yes, granted, they’re roles. But it’s a glimpse into him. And that is a tremendous gift. Other people don’t have that."

It’s not just film but also the interviews Price did.

"Somebody just sent me a great interview that my dad did for British television," she said. "I’d never seen it before. I was cracking up. It was just this reminder for me of what an erudite and funny and self-effacing and clever man he was."

Price shared stories of his famous friends and co-stars with his daughter.

"There were certain people he was infatuated with," she said. "He thought Ava Gardner was unbelievably beautiful. He was very grateful to have worked as many times as he did with Gene Tierney. And he was head over heels for (Greta) Garbo, and when he had the opportunity to meet her, he was absolutely blown away. He wrote a wonderful piece for the Yale Review about her. He was so nervous that he said when he met her, he didn’t really know what to talk about. What they ended up talking about was baking bread. They ran into each other the next day on the street, and she said, ‘Oh, didn’t we have a lovely time talking about baking bread.’ So it proves even a star can be starstruck."

Her visit to St. Louis has been a real trip down memory lane. Tuesday night, she went to University City and saw her dad's star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in The Loop.

"I had the best time," she said. "Of course, my dad’s star was right in front of an art gallery. How perfect is that?"

She also saw the star of Mary Wickes.

"She was my Auntie Wickesy," Price said. "I was closer to her than to any of my real aunts. She came to everything--she was really family."

Friends surprised Price by putting her up in the Vincent Price Suite in The Loop’s Moonrise Hotel.

"It was hysterical," she said. "I had no idea it was going to happen--I laughed so hard. First of all, it was a little bit disconcerting, because everywhere I walked, my dad was looking at me. He was even watching me pee, which was a little bit weird. I was almost tempted to turn the picture around."

Family First

When remembering her father, Price is particularly fond of the time the family spent together at an isolated beach house in California.

"He was not super good at relaxing," she said. "He was a workaholic and loved to be active. He was an infinitely curious person who loved to be traveling and seeing the world and interacting with people and having new experiences. But he loved the ocean. So when he went to the beach he completely relaxed. He didn’t comb his hair for three days, he wouldn’t shave his beard. He looked like the old man and the sea. We would walk up and down the beach together holding hands. He would teach me how to skip stones. We’d look for great pieces of driftwood that looked like things. I remember finding one that looked like a goat, that I treasured for years. He would teach me how to look for moon stones, or we’d get up and watch the grunion run. It was just a magical time, because I saw a Vincent Price that nobody got to see."

Price knew her father well, but there were still some revelations when she researched the biography.

"The biggest surprise for me was his youthful anti-Semitism," she said. "That shocked me because he was the least prejudiced person I’d ever met. It was actually a wonderful thing to find out, because what I saw was that many young men of his class were similarly anti-Semitic. In fact, much of the world was at that time. But what was interesting to me was not that he had been, but that he changed. He looked past the conventions of his own upbringing and thought to himself, ‘I don’t believe this. I’m not going to live like this.’ To the point where he was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Jewish Anti-Defamation League."

They listed all his accomplishments and concluded by saying, "and that great Jew--Vincent Price, which he loved," she said. "That’s an example of somebody who sees the error of their own upbringing and is able to change that. I thought that was a great object lesson for all of us."

Admission to Price’s discussion is free. The evening will also include a performance of Edgar Allan Poe’s "The Tell-Tale Heart," featuring John Contini. Victoria Price will also introduce Edward Scissorhands, which will be shown at 8:30 p.m. Saturday in The Muny’s open air Bank of America Pavilion in Forest Park. Bring your own lawn chairs and refreshments. Admission is free.

Getting There from Wentzville

Take Highway 40 east to McCausland Avenue and turn left (north). The road becomes Skinker Avenue after crossing Clayton Road. Take Skinker to Lindell Boulevard and turn right (east). The Missouri History Museum will be on the right, 5700 Lindell at De Baliviere Avenue.