On top of being Memorial Day (thanks, US troops), yesterday was also the birthdays of horror legends Vincent Price and Christopher Lee.
For those that aren’t horror aficionados, Vincent Price is kind of the Grandfather of Horror here in the states. For Generation Y, he was the spooky voice in Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and the father/inventor in the classic Tim Burton movie “Edward Scissorhands.” For Gen X and the Baby Boomers, Vincent Price was the star of theatrical hoots such a “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” and “The Masque of the Red Death,” among many, many others. He made Edgar Allen Poe’s works come alive with devoted passion. He was prolific and unmistakable. And the world lost a fantastic talent when he died six days before Halloween in 1993.
From the other side of the water, Christopher Lee is also known for his phenomenal horror career. The English actor served in World War II, has been acting since the late 40s, and has starred in hundred of films and TV projects. Lee is 91 years old this year, and while he’ll always be fondly remembered for his Hammer Horror films such as the Dracula franchise, he’s more recognizable in some ways as Saruman from “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Darth Tyarnus in the not-so-great “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” these days.
Happy Birthday, fellas. Life has been more awesome with you in it.