Postcards and Cocktails
Twilight Hour Tuesday. Thriller
On October 25th, 1993, 29 years ago today, the American actor Vincent Price died.
The dashing Price mastered the perfect blend of classy charm and sinister evil to become known as “The King of Horror Films.” Appearing in over 100 pictures Price is best remembered for his role in the classic horror film “The House on Haunted Hill” (1959). However, the list of his roles include The Fly (1958), Return of the Fly (1959), The Pit and the Pendulum (1961), The Last Man on Earth (1964), Theatre of Blood (1973), and his last film role, Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands (1990).
Director, writer, and actor John Waters best describes Price’s theatrical style:
“One raise of the eyebrow and you knew you were about to be thrilled by a debonair, evil, yet sympathetic villain… I can’t even imagine these films without Vincent Price in them. He was just a fine actor, never pretentious. He gave upscale a good name, and he was always handsome, dignified, charming, and a little bit sinister.”
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on May 27th, 1911, Vincent Price’s father was president of the National Candy Company and his grandfather was the inventor of Dr. Price’s Baking Powder, affording the family financial comfort. Price attended Yale University from 1929-1933 earning a degree in Art History and English. From Yale he went on to study in England and by 1935 began acting on the London stage in a production of Victoria Regina.
A cultured gentleman, Vincent Price was both a gourmet and a gracious entertainer. He wrote an extensive cookbook with his second wife Mary Grant Price entitled A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965). The beautifully bound book features 456 pages of recipes collected from the mid-twentieth century’s finest dining establishments. Mary and Vincent Price went on to write two more cookbooks together.
The versatile Price was approached to narrate a speaking part on Michael Jackson’s hit song “Thriller” (released in 1982). Vincent Price finished his part in only two takes. The memorable monologue written by Rod Templeton pushed Price into the psyche of a whole new audience and the song lives on as a Halloween classic to this day.
“Darkness falls across the land, The midnight hour is close at hand, Creatures crawl in search of blood, To terrorize y’awls neighborhood, And whosoever shall be found, Without the soul for getting down, Must stand and face the hounds of hell, And rot inside a corpses shell”
-excerpt from Price’s monologue on “Thriller.”
Try the Chablis Cassis, from the Price’s Treasury of Great Recipes, a chilled aperitif served to Vincent at Antoine’s in New Orleans. RECIPE: Place one tablespoon of Crème de Cassis in a chilled wine glass and top with chilled Chablis.
Keep them coming Anne. Love these tidbits of cocktail culture.
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