Line #15 Creator/VincentPrice


1	[[quoteright:325:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vincent-price0101.jpg]]
2
3	->''"A man who limits his interests limits his life."''
4
5	Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 — October 25, 1993) was an American actor from St. Louis, Missouri, best remembered for his villainous roles in such horror classics as ''{{Film/House of Wax\|1953}}'', ''{{Film/House on Haunted Hill\|1959}}'', ''Film/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath'', ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum'', and ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes''. He possessed a ''very'' distinctive voice and the most twirlable mustache you ''ever'' saw on a living person.
6
7	He also provided the creepy narrator voice and EvilLaugh in Music/MichaelJackson's "Music/{{Thriller}}" and at the end Music/AliceCooper's "Devil's Food" to introduce "Black Widow". On the 1960s ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}'' TV series, he had a semi-recurring role as the [[{{Foreshadowing}} world's greatest criminal mind]], [[HurricaneOfPuns Egghead]], notable as one of only two villains on the show (the other being King Tut) to deduce Bruce Wayne's secret identity. He also voiced the DiabolicalMastermind of ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', Professor Ratigan (which he would later say was one of his favourite roles). In addition, in 1971 he spent a few days in Canada doing segments for that goofy mainstay of Canadian kids' TV, ''The Hilarious House of Frightenstein'', with his segments being distributed among the series' impressive 130-episode run. In the 1970s Price also lent his face and name to a number of novelty products, such as a kit that allowed children to create their own ''shrunken heads'' (using only apples, however) which was advertised in comic books throughout that decade.
8
9	With the possible exceptions of Creator/BorisKarloff and Creator/PeterLorre, Price has the most homaged and imitated voice when it comes to evil cartoon characters. Hell, he even lent his own voice to some of those homages: [[InkSuitActor he appeared]] in ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' as Vincent van Ghoul and narrated Creator/TimBurton's animated short film ''WesternAnimation/{{Vincent}}''. His other television credits include hosting the 1980s Creator/{{PBS}} series ''Mystery!'' and the 1950s GameShow turned interview show ''ESP''.
10
11	Price was good friends with the two great Film/HammerHorror actors, Creator/ChristopherLee and Creator/PeterCushing, and starred alongside both of them in various films. Strangely enough, Lee and Price had the same birthday (27 May), and Cushing's birthday was the day before theirs.[[note]] Though they were not born in the same year; Price was the oldest, Cushing was born two years (less one day) later, and Lee was born nine years (and one day) after Cushing.[[/note]] One of his closest friends was the above mentioned Peter Lorre, whose eulogy Price read at his funeral.
12
13	An extremely progressive person for his time, he publicly denounced racial and religious intolerance as early as 1950, and even got a position on the Indian Arts and Crafts Board under the Eisenhower administration (which he claimed came as a surprise to him, considering he was a Democrat). He immediately [[OpenMindedParent came out in support of his daughter]] when she admitted she was a lesbian, going so far as to decry openly homophobic political figures, like Anita Bryant (and if his daughter is to be believed, this is likely in part due to him having queer tendencies himself).
14
15	He was also a great lover of fine art and amassed an impressive personal collection. He was so well-regarded within art circles that Sears-Roebuck asked him to build a catalog the company could sell to everyday Americans. Essentially given a blank check, he purchased thousands of pieces, including original works from names such as Rembrant, Chagall, and Picasso, that became available for purchase at very affordable prices, helping bring fine art to the masses. However, this collaboration only lasted around a decade because art prices caught fire and Price was unwilling to put his name to a product that could only be afforded by the elite.
16
17	Highly eccentric, he considered his guest appearance on ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' a "[[SesameStreetCred tremendous honour]]" (before the show really became a worldwide sensation), in a similar manner to how major musical artists know they've "made it" when Music/WeirdAlYankovic parodies their songs.
18
19	In his later years, Price struggled with both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and Parkinson's disease, which made acting difficult for him. He eventually passed away from complications related to lung cancer in 1993, at the age of 82.
20	----
21	!!Works on TV Tropes:
22
23	[[folder:Film]]
24	* ''Film/TowerOfLondon'' (1939)
25	* ''Film/TheInvisibleManReturns'' (1940)
26	* ''Film/TheSongOfBernadette'' (1943)
27	* ''Literature/{{Laura}}'' (1944)
28	* ''Film/{{Wilson}}'' (1944)
29	* ''Film/LeaveHerToHeaven'' (1945)
30	* ''Film/{{Shock}}'' (1946)
31	* ''Film/{{The Web\|1947}}'' (1947)
32	* ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers\|1948}}'' (1948)
33	* ''Film/AbbottAndCostelloMeetFrankenstein'' (1948) (brief but memorable voice cameo)
34	* ''Film/TheBribe'' (1949)
35	* ''Film/HisKindOfWoman'' (1951)
36	* ''Film/{{House of Wax\|1953}}'' (1953)
37	* ''Film/TheMadMagician'' (1954)
38	* ''Film/{{Serenade}}'' (1956)
39	* ''Film/{{The Ten Commandments\|1956}}'' (1956)
40	* ''Film/WhileTheCitySleeps'' (1956)
41	* ''Film/{{The Fly\|1958}}'' (1958)
42	* ''Theatre/TheBat'' (1959)
43	* ''Film/{{House on Haunted Hill\|1959}}'' (1959)
44	* ''Film/ReturnOfTheFly'' (1959)
45	* ''Film/TheTingler'' (1959)
46	* ''Film/HouseOfUsher'' (1960)
47	* ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum'' (1961)
48	* ''Film/MasterOfTheWorld'' (1961)
49	* ''Film/TalesOfTerror'' (1962)
50	* ''Film/{{Tower of London\|1962}}'' (1962)
51	* ''Film/{{The Raven\|1963}}'' (1963)
52	* ''Film/TheComedyOfTerrors'' (1963)
53	* ''Film/TheHauntedPalace'' (1963)
54	* ''Film/TwiceToldTales'' (1963)
55	* ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth'' (1964)
56	* ''Film/TheMasqueOfTheRedDeath'' (1964)
57	* ''Film/TheTombOfLigeia'' (1964)
58	* ''Film/DrGoldfootAndTheBikiniMachine'' (1965)
59	* ''Film/SpiritsOfTheDead'' (1968) (narrator, US version)
60	* ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' (1968)
61	* ''Film/MoreDeadThanAlive'' (1969)
62	* ''Film/CryOfTheBanshee'' (1970)
63	* ''Film/ScreamAndScreamAgain'' (1970)
64	* ''WesternAnimation/HereComesPeterCottontail'' (1971) (voice)
65	* ''Film/TheAbominableDrPhibes'' (1971)
66	** ''Film/DrPhibesRisesAgain'' (1972)
67	* ''Film/TheatreOfBlood'' (1973)
68	* ''Film/{{Madhouse\|1974}}'' (1974)
69	* ''Film/{{Scavenger Hunt\|1979}}'' (1979)
70	* ''Film/TheMonsterClub'' (1980)
71	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Vincent}}'' (1982) -- narrated
72	* ''Film/HouseOfTheLongShadows'' (1983)
73	* ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' (1986) (voice)
74	* ''Film/TheWhalesOfAugust'' (1987)
75	* ''Film/FromAWhisperToAScream'' (1987)
76	* ''Film/DeadHeat'' (1988)
77	* ''Film/EdwardScissorhands'' (1990)
78	* ''WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler'' (1993) (voice) [[note]]Due to the film's infamous TroubledProduction, Price had actually done most of the voicework ''nearly two decades earlier'', only occasional lines for script revisions were recorded in the 90s to still count it as one of his final roles.[[/note]]
79	[[/folder]]
80
81	[[folder:Others]]
82	* The [[RadioDrama Radio version]] of ''Series/TheSaint'' (1947, 1949, 1950)
83	* ''Series/{{Batman\|1966}}'' (1966)
84	* ''Series/VoyageToTheBottomOfTheSea'' "episode The Deadly Dolls"
85	* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' (1977)
86	* ''Music/{{Thriller}}'' (1982) -- narrated the iconic Music/MichaelJackson longform [[Music/MichaelJacksonsThriller music video]]
87	* ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo'' (1985) (voice)
88	* ''Ride/PhantomManor'' (1992) (narration) [[note]] While Price had already recorded narration for the ride at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks Disneyland Paris]]. However, it was eventually removed and rerecorded by Gérard Chevalier, who had provided a dubbed French voice for Price in some of his movies. Price's original narration was restored during the Fall of 2022. [[/note]]
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	!! Tropes present in Vincent Price's works:
92
93	%%Please do not add any personal tropes. This page is for his works.
94
95	* ActorAllusion: Narrated Tim Burton's short film ''Vincent'', about a young boy named Vincent Malloy who wanted to be "just like Vincent Price."
96	* AffablyEvil: Many of his roles. His characters are evil but they also have impeccable manners and he practically oozes charisma every time he's on screen, making them nearly impossible not to like.
97	* AwesomeDearBoy: Accepted the role of Professor Ratigan in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'', simply because he had always wanted to voice a villain in a Disney movie. He would even go on to call it one of his favorite roles.
98	** In fact, he said in an interview around the time of the film's release, "If anybody but Disney had asked me [to audition for the role], I would have been offended."
99	* BlackComedy: Ladies and gentlemen, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxi57Id3ymI "How To Cook A Small Boy."]]
100	* ClassicallyTrainedExtra: Price was trained in classical theater, did a stint with Creator/OrsonWelles' Mercury Theater company before moving into films and performed a one-man theater show as Creator/OscarWilde later in his career. He loved ''Film/TheatreOfBlood'' for giving him the chance to perform Shakespeare, albeit while murdering his costars!
101	* CreatorsFavorite: [[invoked]] Price has gone on record saying that playing Professor Ratigan in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' was one of his all time favorite roles, and that he considered his performance in ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' to be one of his best. He was also very fond of his performance as [[ConMan James Reavis]] in ''The Baron of Arizona.''
102	* TheDanza: As Vincent van Ghoul in ''WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo''.
103	* DrivenToMadness: A few of his characters are led into insanity by various tragic circumstances.
104	* DyeingForYourArt: Fairly frequently.
105	** In some films when he was too young to actually have grey hair his hair was dyed grey to portray characters such as Cardinal Richelieu, or the much older than Price himself was at the time Valdemar in ''Film/TalesOfTerror''.
106	** He lost weight for the war film ''The Eve Of St Mark'', gained weight to portray a heavyset priest in ''The Keys Of The Kingdom'', then had to lose that weight again and some more to play a drug addict in ''Dragonwyck''.
107	** For ''Film/HouseOfUsher'' he both lost weight and bleached his hair (along with pale makeup, and shaving off his usual moustache) to portray the tragic, sickly-looking and possibly albino Roderick Usher; he stated that his intention was to transform himself into a figure as unearthly looking as Creator/ConradVeidt in ''Film/TheCabinetOfDrCaligari'' and to appear as if he'd never been outside in the sun.
108	* EvilIsBigger: He stood 6' 4" (195 cm), so this trope helped secure his reputation in horror films.
109	* EvilIsHammy: His theatrics as villains are the main reason to watch his films. Especially in ''Film/TheatreOfBlood'' where he played a GiftedlyBad Shakespearean actor who murders critics. (''Witchfinder General'' is a significant exception here.)
110	* EvilLaugh: One of the undisputed ''masters'' of this trope, his cackling is so distinctive that when Ride/PhantomManor initially replaced his narration track with a fully French-language one, they couldn't bear to give up his villainous laughter.
111	** "Thriller" ends with a pretty epic one from Price, too.
112	* EvilSoundsDeep: His low, almost purring vocals were a major part of his image and he was very skilled at putting them to terrifying use.
113	* FauxAffablyEvil: Most of his roles with some even approaching a genuine AffablyEvil charm, but not always. Ratigan is the biggest example, at least to Disney fans. Matthew Hopkins in ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' on the other hand has [[DownplayedTrope only]] the thinnest veneer of manners, and was sufficiently sadistic to seriously disturb Price and make him regret agreeing to do the role.
114	* InkSuitActor:
115	** His character in ''The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo'' is pretty much just Price playing himself with magical powers.
116	** When acting, Price was known to do [[MilkingTheGiantCow exaggerated Shakespearean gesticulation]]. He also did it when he voiced ''The Great Mouse Detective'''s BigBad, Prof. Ratigan (his favorite role), so the animators sketched him during voice-over sessions and animated the poses into Ratigan.
117	* LargeHam:
118	** Though he was capable of nuance, Price's characters tended to be larger than life, but thankfully not cheesy.
119	** ''Usually'' not cheesy. In ''Film/TheatreOfBlood'', he took the cheese to eleven, and [[RuleOfFunny for good reason.]]
120	** In the 1951 ''His Kind of Woman'', Price co-starred with Robert Mitchum and Jane Russell, playing an Creator/ErrolFlynn-style matinee idol who, when he helps Bob fight mobsters, gets a huge rush from real-life peril and leaps into the fray loudly spouting Shakespeare. Ham and cheese with plenty of relish.
121	** Professor Ratigan lives this trope until the climax, in which he turns into a vicious rat who tries killing the protagonist by knocking him from Big Ben only to [[DisneyVillainDeath fall himself]].
122	** Zigzag of ''The Thief And The Cobbler'', being the comedic villain of the film, chews the scenery in nearly every shot he's present, along with [[RhymesOnADime Rhyming On A Dime]].
123	* LeanAndMean: His lithe build was a recognizable part of his image.
124	* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Tended to play villainous roles, but was a generally nice guy in his personal life.
125	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: When Series/SesameStreet patterned the "Vincent Twice, Vincent Twice" Muppet on his physical features, he was ecstatic and considered it a great honor to have his likeness made into a Muppet.
126	** Marvel superhero ComicBook/DoctorStrange (Stephen Vincent Strange) is based on Vincent Price's appearance.
127	* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Price was born in St. Louis and trained for the stage in London; he varied the resulting [[UsefulNotes/AmericanAccents Mid-Atlantic accent]] only a bit to play characters from all over the United States and England.
128	* OneForTheMoneyOneForTheArt: Although he sometimes took roles to finance his support of the arts, he always made a point of having fun even when in bad movies.
129	* PlayingAgainstType: For a guy who is best remembered for playing campy, hammy villains, he had quite a hefty number of these:
130	** WesternAnimation/The13GhostsOfScoobyDoo: He invokes DarkIsNotEvil as Vincent Van Ghoul, a fittingly creepy, yet charming warlock [[InkSuitActor drawn to look like himself]] that's ultimately heroic with the end goal of helping Scooby and his friends re-capture the 13 Ghosts that escaped from the Demon Chest.
131	** His final live-action appearance as the Inventor in ''Film/EdwardScissorhands''-- a MadScientist who lives in the stereotypical Gothic castle and has a creation, but is the most kindly and loving person you could ever meet. Extremely memorable and touching, since it is probably the role most like his real self.
132	** ''[[spoiler: The Tingler]]'' builds him up as the VillainProtagonist only to have him ultimately turn out to be a pretty okay guy
133	** ''[[spoiler: House on Haunted Hill]]'' has the twist ending that he was the intended victim all along.
134	** Perhaps most amusingly, in ''Film/{{The Raven\|1963}}'', he played an [[LargeHam overdramatic]] and darkly-styled but heroic CampStraight magician.
135	** In ''Film/TheLastManOnEarth'', he was a normal man struggling to survive in a world overrun by zombie-like vampires.
136	** In ''Film/ThePitAndThePendulum'' he plays a tragic character who is [[spoiler: driven insane by his wife and becomes the villain at the movie's climax.]]
137	** To a degree in ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral''; he's a villain, like most of his famous roles, but he's a genuinely sadistic and psychopathic villain instead of a campy, panto one.
138	** In ''Film/TheWhalesOfAugust'' (1987), he plays a kindly, gentle ImpoverishedPatrician who romances Creator/LillianGish.
139	** In ''His Kind of Woman'', he's a foppish actor modeled after Errol Flynn.
140	** In the original ''Film/{{The Fly\|1958}}'' he's a perfectly nice guy just trying to understand what terrible fate has befallen his brother.
141	** An EarlyInstallmentWeirdness case was his sympathetic portrayal of UsefulNotes/{{Mormonism}} founder Joseph Smith in 1940's ''Brigham Young''.
142	* PungeonMaster: As villain Egghead in the '60s ''Series/Batman1966'' show. This character used an absolutely [[{{Pun}} egg-scrutiating]] number of puns that is only rivaled by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger's Mr. Freeze's cold/winter-related puns in ''Film/BatmanAndRobin''.
143	* VillainProtagonist: Played a good number of these.
144	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Tim Burton, his late-in-life friend, was in the early stages of a documentary about him called ''Conversations With Vincent'' when he passed away.
145	----
146	->''[[WesternAnimation/TheThiefAndTheCobbler For Zigzag, then, it is... the end.]]''

Context Creator / VincentPrice