Lean, sinister, and utterly hypnotizing, Vincent Price was among the movies’ greatest villains as well as one of the horror genre’s most adored and enduring stars. Born May 27, 1911 in St. Louis, Missouri, Vincent Price graduated from Yale University and though he is now celebrated for his wonderful acting in horror films, he did not start out with the intentions of becoming an actor. His passion at the time was actually dedicating himself to become an art historian. He obtained degrees in Art History and English at Yale and went on to obtain his masters in the study of fine arts in London, England.

It was while he was in London during the year 1934 that he was bitten by the theatre bug and first appeared as an actor at the Gate Theatre as a judge and a policeman in the play Chicago. He made his screen debut in 1938 and after many minor roles, he began to perform in low-budget horror movies such as The House of Wax (1938). He became known for his very distinctive, low-pitched, grating, hauntingly atmospheric voice and mock-serious facial expressions. Happy to be typecast as a villain, he began making his name in such works as Wilson and Laura (1944) and Leave Her To Heaven (1946), before finally starring in Shock! and Dragonwick (1947). He is also very well known as the eerie voice of the narrator for Edgar Allen Poe’s The Raven.

In the 1970s, Price went back to his first passion and devoted himself almost entirely to art history, lecturing and publishing books on the subject. He reappeared for one more role, Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands in 1990 and passed away three years later in Los Angeles. 

Price continues to have a huge following, even after his death. Memorable treasures that represent him are snatched up immediately and added to a hauntingly superb horror collection. One such item was presented in the current Hake’s auction, a division of Geppi’s Entertainment. Up for bid was a Vincent Price silk theatre promotional banner for The Invisible Man Returns, which Price starred in during the year 1940. Based on H.G. Wells’ classic story, the  banner features a silhouette of a man with raised club in hand as shadow appears on the background. It sold for 626.18 on Thursday, September 4. Visit Hakes.com for more information on this and other wonderful items in auction #195!