Vincent Price was among cinemas greatest villains as well as one of the horror genre’s most beloved and enduring stars. Born 27 May 27, 1911, in St Louis, Missouri, Price graduated from Yale University, and later studied fine arts at the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London. It was while he was in the UK that he made his theatrical debut in the Gate Theatre’s 1935 productions of Chicago and Victoria Regina, followed by work on Broadway, in stock and with Orson Welles’ famed Mercury Theater.
Under contract to Universal at the tail end of the 1930s, Price travelled to Hollywood, making his screen debut in 1938’s Service de Luxe, before returning to Broadway for a revival of Outward Bound. His tenure at Universal was largely unsuccessful, with the studio confining him to supporting roles, although his first three films did give the rising actor the chance to show his range in comedy, romance and melodrama, and provide audiences with a glimpse of the genre that would make him famous: horror.
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