Victoria Price: To Horror Fans Everywhere! December 04 2013, 5 Comments

I need to make a confession that may not endear me to some of you: I am NOT a horror fan. I know. . .It seems at best a bit ironic for the daughter of Vincent Price to say she doesn't like horror movies--and at worst, perhaps a kind of sacrilege. But here's why. Imagine you’re a little kid who absolutely adores your dad. You think he’s the kindest, gentlest, sweetest, most loving person you know. And then imagine that you see him doing horrible things to people--like really horrible--killing them and dipping them in vats of wax! And even worse, you have to watch horrible things happen to him--being burned, boiled alive, hacked to death by angry mobs, just to name a few. How would that make you feel?

The reason I’m confessing this to you is because I want to be honest: Most horror fans know more about my dad’s horror movies than I do. So, I never want to claim to know something I don't. . .But in one very significant way, I have become a horror fan--or more accurately, I have become a fan of horror fans. Because without you, my dad’s legacy would not be what it is. You are the ones that keep him alive. So many of his fellow actors who were much more famous than he was at the beginning of his career are barely remembered. Think of people like Robert Taylor, Tyrone Power, or Ronald Coleman. All three were way bigger stars than my dad during the 1930s and 40s. But now they are mostly remembered by classic movie buffs. Not Vincent Price, though. Quite a few people have suggested that my dad may be more famous now than he was twenty years ago at the end of his life and career. And that's because of his scary movies; because of people like Tim Burton and Michael Jackson, who loved those scary movies; and because of fans like you. Thanks to you, my dad not only has never been forgotten, but he has been introduced to new generations of fans. And, for a daughter who loved him, that makes me happier than you can imagine.

I am fortunate to get to travel the world meeting my dad's fans, and hearing all your stories about how much he meant to you. I love seeing your Vincent Price tattoos, discovering your favorite films or recipes from my parents' cookbook. I love it, not only because it keeps my dad alive in my heart and mind, but because he is so alive in yours!

But the truth is, I think about my dad all the time. I think about him because, to this day, he remains one of the most interesting, loving, nice, generous, joyful, fun, funny clever, interested, interesting, curious, wonderful people I have ever met. And I have the good fortune of having extraordinary friends--people who have invented life-saving medical devices, who have won Wimbledon, who have climbed Mount Everest, who have written award-winning books and plays and movies. And I’m not alone in my assessment of my dad. When I wrote his biography, I interviewed well over 200 people, and not one had a negative thing to say about him. Now that’s pretty extraordinary--to work in Hollywood for over 60 years and still remain a genuinely nice man who always found time for his fans. I can’t tell you the number of people over the years who have told me about their lengthy correspondences with my dad, or how he took time to encourage them in their artistic careers, or how he always spent time after a show or lecture taking one on one with the people who waited to see him.

Was he perfect? No, of course not. In fact, my dad was so notably absent during my childhood that, as a little girl, I actually thought he worked at the airport--because we spent so much time dropping him off and picking him up there. And he would be the first person to sell you he wasn't perfect. But all of the good things people say about him--all true!

And so, as the years have passed and people have continued to share their stores with me about him--about his great sense of humor, his many kindnesses, about the way he found time to write them postcards or mentor them or spend time with them--I’ve come to realize that Vincent Price as not extraordinary because he was famous, because he had one of the longest careers in hollywood, because he had an amazing voice, because he epitomized a genre, or because he contributed to so many other fields in the arts besides acting. No. Vincent Price was extraordinary because he lived his live WELL. He lived it with gusto, joy, kindness, love, humor, and generosity--and he shared those qualities with everyone he med. And it was infectious--he made you believe that life was an incredible adventure, and all you had to do was dive in wholeheartedly. He made you believe in the power of good--which is pretty ironic, don’t you think, for one of the most famous bad guys in movie history?

 

And so, it is with great pleasure that we are finally launching vincentprice.com as a place where Vincent Price fans can come to connect, gather information, pass on their stories, and learn about what we're doing to promote the Vincent Price legacy. Bear with us as we begin to put this website together--and please tell us what you want to see here. We have some great ideas--including creating official Vincent Price fan clubs in various countries, as well as some cool new memorabilia. But first, in time for the holidays, we are pleased just to have this site up. Please be sure to check out our new shop, where you'll find some gifts for the Vincent Price fan in your family. And Happy Holidays from our family to yours!