Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography 1999
Amazon.com
Review
Those who only think of Vincent Price as the deliciously evil star of
numerous horror films are in for an enjoyable surprise with Victoria
Price's Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography. The younger Price, through
a dedicated search of clippings, letters, and her father's old journals,
paints a beautifully rich portrait of a man with personal grace, intellectual
fire, and a kind heart. Price reveals everything from odd little tidbits--Vincent
was cast in his first London stage production due to his gum-chewing
abilities--to profound depths, such as his lifelong love of art and
his serious reputation as a student and collector. Price also had a
surprisingly good sense of humor, indulging in genially self-deprecating
jokes about his own occasionally abysmal movies.
Though this is definitely a loving memoir of her father, Victoria Price
is not blinded by her affection for him. She gives an earnest attempt
at presenting the whole man--fact-checking and debunking a few cherished
family legends and unflinchingly reporting her father's youthful anti-Semitism.
(As Price grew more worldly and met some actual Jews, he reversed his
position and became an active supporter of B'nai Brith and the Jewish
Anti-Defamation League.) But A Daughter's Autobiography's may best value
may be as a handbook for actors: through the numerous ups and downs
of his career, Price remained a consummate professional. He never stopped
working to improve his skills, deliberately sidestepping romantic-lead
parts to take on more challenging roles, and was unfailingly generous
to his costars. A truly engrossing look at the noble character of one
of the silver screen's greatest villains. --Ali Davis --This text refers
to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
A legendary screen villain and host of PBS's Mystery, Vincent Price
(1911- 1993) was also a gourmet chef, a bestselling author, an enthusiastic
art expert and collector and a general all-around good guy, according
to this vivid biography. Written by his daughter Victoria, who writes
for television, the book takes us from Price's early acting career,
where one of his first jobs was as Helen Hayes's leading man on Broadway,
to his days, starting in 1938, under a Hollywood contract, beginning
with supporting film roles (Laura; Song of Bernadette). By the 1950s,
he had patented his suavely villainous screen persona in The Fly, House
of Wax and The Ten Commandments. By the time Victoria was born to Price
and his second wife, Mary, in 1962, he was enjoying his greatest success
in film, his low-budget but highly profitable collaborations with Roger
Corman (The Pit & the Pendulum, Masque of Red Death). Victoria Price
explores her father's life as if unraveling a mystery, never ignoring
his failings (his secret signing of a loyalty oath during the blacklisting
era; an affair that destroyed his 24-year marriage) or secrets (including
his possible bisexuality). Definitive, exhaustively researched and superbly
written, the book contains none of the sentimentality the subtitle may
suggestAin part because of the vast material the author had access to,
including over 200 pages of transcribed conversations during her father's
final years, two nearly completed memoirs by him, a lifetime of preserved
correspondence and the firsthand recollections of dozens of contemporaries.
Victoria Price tells Vincent's tale with such clear-eyed pride that
the reader cannot help being won over. Photos not seen by PW.
