The Vault of Horror Commemorates the Vincent Price Centennial!

It would be an understatement to say that Vincent Price helped shape my development as a horror fan. Rather, for me, as for so many fans of the genre, Vincent Price epitomized horror. He was the genre. No other personality before or since (and that is not to say there have not been many great ones) has so perfectly captured the essence of horror as Price, combining genuine terror with outrageous fun at every turn. A true original, his work continues to inspire us, and today we remember it in particular because he would have been 100 years old.

Price was born 100 years ago today in St. Louis, Missouri, and the world is certainly a better place for that occurrence. He has enriched us, entertained us and delighted us, and I thank him for it from the bottom of my heart. In honor of this momentous day, please enjoy the little Price pastiche I've put together below, consisting of links to some of the many Vincent-related posts the Vault has featured over the years. You can also check out Brutal as Hell for some stupendous coverage...

The Tuesday Top 10: Favorite Vincent Price Roles - From The Tingler to The Brady Bunch, and all points in between!

The Many Faces of Vincent Price - A visual tribute. Egghead included!

The Many Faces of Vincent Price, Vol. 2 - More amazing Price shots...

Vincent Price Day: Sweet Dreams - A fantastic fan tribute video I posted on the anniversary of Mr. Price's death.

Trailer Trash: Vincent Price Edition - Clips for The Invisible Man Returns, House of Wax, Dr. Phibes and much more!

Retro Review: House on Haunted Hill (1959) - The legend at his campy best. Remake be damned.

Retro Review: Theater of Blood - My absolute favorite Price film. Well, maybe tied with Phibes...

Retro Review: The Last Man on Earth - The finest adaptation of Matheson's I Am Legend, in my humble opinion...

The Priceless Vincent Price - Another most excellent Price fan video...

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Vincent Price Day: SWEET DREAMS....

Seventeen years ago today, horror lost its greatest legend and ambassador. Fortunately, we still have the films which will sustain his memory for all time... Take a moment now to commemorate and celebrate the one and only Mr. Vincent Price. There will never be another. Sweet dreams, dark prince...

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Remembering a True Gentleman of Horror

A Happy Birthday in Hammer heaven to one of the genre's greatest legends, Peter Cushing, who would've been 97 today...



For more on Mr. Cushing:

The Official Site of the Peter Cushing Association
The Peter Cushing Shrine
Peter Cushing at HouseofHorrors.com
Good and Evil: The Peter Cushing Fanlisting

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Happy Mother's Day from The Vault of Horror!

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Happy Birthday to the Undisputed King of Horror

On this date in 1911, in St. Louis, Missouri, one Vincent Leonard Price Jr. entered this mortal plane. For my money, there had never been before, nor has there been since, an actor who more naturally and effortlessly epitomized the horror genre like he did. The world was quite literally made a better place for his being in it, and even though he left us nearly 16 years ago, the body of work that remains will continue to thrill lovers of Grand Guignol for generations to come. Thank you, Mr. Price for populating our nightmares with your brilliant performances, and making sure we never forget how important it is to smile once in a while, even when you're being scared out of your wits...

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An Amazing Tribute to Horror's Greatest Movie Legend

Recently, VoH reader and proprietor of Single Image Toys John Hadlow put together this superb video montage tribute to the one and only Vincent Price, which he shared on both his YouTube and Facebook pages. I've never done this before, but I'm sharing that video today right here. It's on the level of any Oscar telecast tribute montage I've ever seen, and John should be proud of his work. Check it out:

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The Blob's Golden Anniversary

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the classic 1950s B-horror flick The Blob--and to celebrate the occasion, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania is kicking off Blobfest 2008, a tribute to everyone's favorite extra-terrestrial ooze.

Site of much of the action filmed for the 1958 movie, including the famous climactic scene in which moviegoers at Phoenixville's Colonial Theatre flee the acidic gelatin, the town has been holding Blobfest for years now, but naturally, this year's event is extra-special.

A party at the theater will kick off the festivities on Friday night, according to the Phoenixville News. Other events will include a reenactment of the Colonial Theatre scene, as well as a retrospective hosted by Kris Yeaworth, son of the film's late director Irvin "Shorty" Yeaworth. Naturally, the movie itself will be screened several times over the weekend, and so will two other '50s B-classics: Universal's Creature from the Black Lagoon and William Castle's The Tingler. Ricou Browning, the swimmer who portrayed the Gill-Man in his underwater scenes, will introduce Black Lagoon. Also on hand in the theatre will be makeup effects master Tom Savini.

For more info, go to thecolonialtheatre.com. Sounds like a fun time. Although there's no mention of it, I hope there is also some kind of plan to honor The Blob's co-screenwriter Kay Linaker, who passed away earlier this year.

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Lon Chaney Shall Not Die

Today The Vault of Horror marks the 125th anniversary of the birth of the great Lon Chaney Sr. How fitting indeed that April Fool's Day would be the birthday of Hollywood's greatest illusionist.

Born Leonidas Frank Chaney on April 1, 1883, he would go on to become the single greatest celebrity of the silent film era, with only Charles Chaplin being a possible exception. He was best known for his incredible skill with makeup--so much so that he even wrote an entry on the subject for the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

Always doing his own work, Chaney was able to dramatically transform himself for a wide variety of roles, most memorably including Fagin in Oliver Twist (1922), Quasimodo in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), Prof. Echo in The Unholy Three (1925), Erik in The Phantom of the Opera (1925), Alonzo the Armless in The Unknown (1927), Prof. Edward C. Burke in London After Midnight (1927) and Tito Beppi in Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928). In those early days of movie makeup, Chaney suffered greatly under painful applications, and even lost some of his vision due to his work on The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.

Many have attributed his fascination with unusual, often deformed roles to the fact that he grew up the son of parents who were both deaf and a mother who was an invalid. His ability to communicate so effectively without words and under heavy makeup might also be attributed to this.

His career was confined almost entirely to the silents, and in fact he made only one talkie, a 1930 remake of The Unholy Three, in which he performed the voices of five different characters. He was in line to portray Dracula in Tod Browning's 1931 production when he became ill with lung cancer brought on by heavy smoking and aggravated by a piece of artificial snow that became accidentally lodged in his throat while working on his final silent film, Thunder (1929). Lon Chaney passed away on August 26, 1930 at the age of 47.

Although known primarily for his work in horror, Chaney was also an accomplished dramatic stage actor, as well as a gifted comedian, dancer and singer. He was played by James Cagney in a 1957 biopic, The Man of a Thousand Faces. His son, born Creighton Chaney but using the screen name Lon Chaney Jr., became a prominent horror actor in his own right, but never quite escaped the awesome shadow of his legendary father.

(Special thanks for the animated GIF go to LonChaney.com, the family's official website.)

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