Victoria Price celebrating dad’s ‘Terror’ at drive-in
The Mahoning Drive-In’s “Vincent Price Twice” event, set for Sunday at the theater on Seneca Road off Route 443 in Lehighton, will include an appearance by the late horror actor’s daughter Victoria.
Two classics from the Merchant of Menace’s partnership with director Roger Corman, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, will screen in 35 mm: 1962 anthology “Tales of Terror” and 1964’s deceased-wife hauntfest “The Tomb of Ligeia.”
Victoria, a public speaker and author, will meet fans, sign copies of her books and introduce the films.
“I’ve been told ‘Tomb of Ligeia’ was one of my father’s favorite films,” she said. “I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Shepard, and Castle Acre Priory is one of my favorite places to visit in the U.K.”
Born in Santa Monica, California, the writer’s books include 1999’s “Vincent Price: A Daughter’s Biography” and 2018 inspirational memoir “The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self.”
Price — whose 100-plus-films career also includes “House of Wax,” “The Fly” “House on Haunted Hill” and “The Last Man on Earth” — starred in numerous theater, TV and radio projects. His spooky voice-over in Michael Jackson’s Halloween perennial hit “Thriller” ranks among his iconic works.
The art historian and second wife Mary wanted their daughter to have as normal a childhood as possible. Their worst nightmare, Victoria said, “was that I would grow up to be a Beverly Hills brat.”
Victoria attended school with children of other famous parents, though her dad “seemed much more lit up and full of life, joy and enthusiasm for everything than almost any grown-up I knew.”
In terms of Price’s films, Victoria, because she loved dogs, appeared as an extra in the 1971 TV movie “Mooch Goes to Hollywood.” She was on the set of 1970’s “An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe,” for which her mom designed the costumes, and also 1973’s “Theatre of Blood.”
Growing up, Victoria, who has an older half-brother, “loved being the daughter of this person I adored, but I wanted to be my own person. Nepotism was a dirty word in my parents’ generation.”
Once Victoria realized “I was carrying on his legacy of joy, not his legacy of fame, all my reticence about dragging behind on his coattails faded. It wasn’t about me; it was about sharing a legacy of love.”
Among lessons her parents passed along, “my father told me that boredom was the eighth deadly sin and that if I was always curious, I would never be bored. So true, and that has saved me so many times, especially spending 2020 in a small town where I knew no one.”
Price, who passed away in 1993, also taught Victoria “to be interested in everyone and everything,” while Mary, who passed in 2002, taught Victoria discipline, how to see and to have daily practices.
In addition, her parents, who divorced in 1973 and lived into their 80s, showed Victoria “how to choose love over fear in ways that saved my life when I needed it,” and to learn something every day.
Though the daughter of a horror icon, Victoria — who appeared as a newscaster in her father’s last feature film “Edward Scissorhands” in 1990 — does not consider herself a horror fan. However, she has “come to love ‘The Abominable Dr. Phibes.’ It is a guilty pleasure.”
Victoria, who loves “all the films that showcase my father’s wonderful comedic timing,” attends and speaks at horror conventions. She wants Price fans to know he was the least scary person on the planet.
“I’ve never met anyone who has had a negative thing to say about him, and most people who knew him light up at the chance to talk about him.”
Quoting Maya Angelou, Victoria added: “‘People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’ That’s how I want to live.”
Victoria, who earned a bachelor’s degree in art history and theater from Williams College in Massachusetts, has worked as a teacher and interior designer, and was ordained as an interfaith and interspiritual minister. A nomad since 2016, the inspirational speaker has much more to accomplish.
Though valuing her food-connoisseur parents’ workaholic work ethic, Victoria wants “more boundaries for more creative time. I have a lot of writing, photography and public service I would like to do.”
As for her father’s legacy, Victoria anticipates two events this month: the release of a new documentary, “Vincent Price: What Keeps Us Alive,” and the launch of the online Vincent Price Archive.
Victoria, co-creator of Hollywood Horrorfest’s Vincent Price Award, enjoys connecting with fans who love Price as much as she does.
“As long as people can find my dad’s work, he will have fans forever.”