The English actor Dennis Price was born 23rd June 1915 (born Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose-Price). The actor is best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) and for his portrayal of the omniscient valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptations of P. G. Wodehouse's stories.
He was initially a stage actor who served in the Royal Artillery during World War II but quickly returned to acting after discharge. His first film appearance was in 1944 when he appeared in A Canterbury Tale and when on to appear in over 100 films.
For fans of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, he appeared in Helter Skelter (1949) as Lord Byron (pictured).
Some of the other notable films that he appeared in include Holiday camp (1947), Kind hearts and Coronets (19490, Murder Without Crime (1950), The Magic Box (1951), Private’s progress (1956), I’m Alright Jack (1959), School for Scoundrels (1960), Double Bunk (1961), Doctor in Distress (1963) and Ten Little Indians (1965).
In 1967, Price was declared bankrupt; he attributed his financial distress to "extravagant living and most inadequate gambling". He then moved to the tax haven island of Sark, which coincided with an escalation in his alcoholism.
Towards the end of his life, Price appeared in a series of horror movies including Twins of Evil (1971), Horror Hospital (1973) and Theatre of Blood (1973), as well as five films directed by Jesus Franco.
On television he had recurring roles in the series Jason King (1971) and The Adventurer (1972).
In the book British Film Character Actors (1982), Terence Pettigrew wrote that Price's most successful screen characterisations were "refined, self-centred, caddish and contemptuous of a world inhabited by inferiors. Everything about him was deceptive. He could be penniless and still manage to look as if he owned the bank. But behind all that grand talk and lordly ways, there skulked, in his characters, the most ordinary of shabby, grasping souls."
He died 6 October 1973 at the age of 58.
He was initially a stage actor who served in the Royal Artillery during World War II but quickly returned to acting after discharge. His first film appearance was in 1944 when he appeared in A Canterbury Tale and when on to appear in over 100 films.
For fans of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, he appeared in Helter Skelter (1949) as Lord Byron (pictured).
Some of the other notable films that he appeared in include Holiday camp (1947), Kind hearts and Coronets (19490, Murder Without Crime (1950), The Magic Box (1951), Private’s progress (1956), I’m Alright Jack (1959), School for Scoundrels (1960), Double Bunk (1961), Doctor in Distress (1963) and Ten Little Indians (1965).
In 1967, Price was declared bankrupt; he attributed his financial distress to "extravagant living and most inadequate gambling". He then moved to the tax haven island of Sark, which coincided with an escalation in his alcoholism.
Towards the end of his life, Price appeared in a series of horror movies including Twins of Evil (1971), Horror Hospital (1973) and Theatre of Blood (1973), as well as five films directed by Jesus Franco.
On television he had recurring roles in the series Jason King (1971) and The Adventurer (1972).
In the book British Film Character Actors (1982), Terence Pettigrew wrote that Price's most successful screen characterisations were "refined, self-centred, caddish and contemptuous of a world inhabited by inferiors. Everything about him was deceptive. He could be penniless and still manage to look as if he owned the bank. But behind all that grand talk and lordly ways, there skulked, in his characters, the most ordinary of shabby, grasping souls."
He died 6 October 1973 at the age of 58.
RSS Feed