Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Arts & Culture

Podcast Episode 48: Abertoir's Patron Saint Vincent Price

Artist Graham Humphreys created this artwork of horror icon Vincent Price's most famous screen characters for The Legacy Tour that the actor's daughter Victoria has been doing.
Graham Humphries
Artist Graham Humphreys created this artwork of horror icon Vincent Price's most famous screen characters for The Legacy Tour that the actor's daughter Victoria has been doing.

Horror icon’s daughter Victoria Price remembers her father

48: Abertoir’s Patron Saint Vincent Price
Episode 48: Abertoir’s Patron Saint Vincent PriceAbertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales lists Vincent Price as their patron saint. I speak with the horror icon's daughter about her famous father. Subscribe to the Cinema Junkie podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher.

Vincent Price is listed as the official patron saint of Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales. The horror icon’s daughter Victoria Price was in Wales last week to celebrate her dad and the festival’s 10th anniversary.

Victoria Price first came to Abertoir in 2011 to celebrate the “Vincentennial,” the marking of what would have been her dad’s 100th birthday. She had such a good time that she offered to return to the festival this year as part of her United Kingdom Legacy Tour taking about her famous father.

There’s a bit of irony, though, to her returning to a horror festival, because she doesn’t like watching horror films — not even her dad’s.

Advertisement

“Now I’ve grown to like them better… ish,” Price said. “I don’t like watching my dad do mean things. He was the least scary person on the planet. So it always seemed a little hard to watch and a little bit ridiculous that he was so mean, because he wasn’t mean at all. I didn’t really know he made horror movies. The first time I saw him do something scary was playing Captain Hook in a production of Peter Pan, and that was scary enough. So after that, I knew he did horror movies in theory because I watched him spoof himself on television but I never saw any of them.”

Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando with Victoria Price at Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales.
Beth Accomando
Cinema Junkie Beth Accomando with Victoria Price at Abertoir: The International Horror Festival of Wales.

She may not embrace the genre, but she has come to embrace horror fans.

“Horror fans really get who my dad was,” Price said.

“They’ve kept his legacy alive," Price said. "He was certainly not the most famous actor of his generation by any stretch of the imagination but his legacy has lasted. He is iconic and beloved and remembered because of the horror fans. But I also feel like the horror fans have embraced me even though I am not a fan of the genre with so much love. And honestly, horror fans are just the most awesome group of people. They are kind and they are sweet, they’re funny and they’re smart and they’re very dedicated to their genre. So I feel it is an absolute privilege to be as embraced as I am by horror fans.”

I interviewed Victoria Price after the festival held A Dinner With Vincent, a meal prepared from the actor’s famous cookbook. You could even order a beer with a collectible Dr. Phibes label inspired by the film “The Abominable Dr. Phibes.” But his daughter confessed to being a picky eater who doesn’t often cook for herself.

Advertisement

She was inspired by her father’s passion for life and shares some of her memories in my final podcast from Abertoir.

I have also included her presentation about her dad’s life as well as a presentation by Vincent Price fan and historian Peter Fuller.