Mary Grant Price
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Mary Grant Price (20 February 1917 – 2 March 2002) was a Welsh-American costume designer who worked in theatre and film. She worked professionally under the name Mary Grant. She began her career on Broadway in the mid-1930s, first as an assistant to Raoul Pene Du Bois, and later as a lead designer during the 1940s. In 1943 she began working in film and spent much of the 1940s and 1950s designing costumes for Hollywood motion pictures. She was a member of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion ...
.


Biography

Price was born Eleanor Mary Grant in
Broad Haven Broad Haven ( cy, Aberllydan) is a village and seaside resort in the south east corner of St Bride's Bay at the western terminus of the B4341 road in south Pembrokeshire, Wales. Broad Haven and Little Haven together form the Havens community an ...
,
Pembrokeshire Pembrokeshire ( ; cy, Sir Benfro ) is a county in the south-west of Wales. It is bordered by Carmarthenshire to the east, Ceredigion to the northeast, and the rest by sea. The county is home to Pembrokeshire Coast National Park. The Park oc ...
,
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
."Vincent Price’s Welsh links will thrill at horror festival" at walesonline.co.uk
/ref> She studied dance for one semester at the
University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
before moving to New York City to study design. She began her career as an assistant designer to Raoul Pene Du Bois in 1935 at the age of 18. She also worked during the late 1930s and early 1940s as an assistant to
Miles White Miles E. White (July 27, 1914 – February 17, 2000) was a top costume designer of Broadway musicals for 25 years. He is known in the entertainment industry for his well rendered, prolific, imaginative and witty designs. He won recognition, in ...
. She worked with these two men on several notable
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
shows, including the original productions of ''
DuBarry Was a Lady ''Du Barry Was a Lady'' is a Broadway musical, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter, and the book by Herbert Fields and Buddy DeSylva.
'' (1939), ''
Sons o' Fun ''Sons o' Fun'' is a musical revue written by the comedy team of Olsen and Johnson, consisting of John "Ole" Olsen and Harold "Chic" Johnson, also starring Ella Logan and Carmen Miranda, with music and lyrics by Sammy Fain and Jack Yellen. Th ...
'' (1941), and ''
Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tell ...
'' (1943) among others. As head designer, she designed costumes for eight Broadway shows, including ''
Mexican Hayride ''Mexican Hayride'' is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is based on Cole Porter's Broadway musical '' Mexican Hayride'' starring Bobby Clark. No songs from the stage musical were used in the film. Plot Joe ...
'' (1944) and '' Marinka'' (1945). Between 1943–1972, Grant designed costumes for 14 motion pictures, beginning with ''
Follies Girl ''Follies Girl'' is a 1943 American musical comedy film directed by William Rowland and starring Wendy Barrie, Doris Nolan and Gordon Oliver. It was made by the poverty row studio Producers Releasing Corporation. Much of the film takes place in or ...
'' which was released in 1943. While working on the film ''
Up in Central Park ''Up in Central Park'' is a Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Sigmund Romberg. The musical, originally called "Central Park" before Broadway (see image of sheet music), was ...
'' (1948) she met actor
Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...
. She became Price's second wife in 1949, becoming the stepmother of Vincent Barrett Price (b. 1940) and giving birth to the couple's daughter,
Victoria Price Mary Victoria Price (born April 27, 1962) is an American public speaker and the author of the inspirational memoir, ''The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self'' and ''Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography''. She currently spends much ...
, in 1962. In 1950, the family were living at 1815 Benedict Canyon Drive in Beverly Hills. Between the years 1965 and 1969, Grant co-authored a series of cookbooks with her husband. Mary and Vincent divorced in 1973. Mary died, aged 85, in Boston, Massachusetts


Filmography

*''Follies Girl'' (1943) *''
The Princess and the Pirate ''The Princess and the Pirate'' is a 1944 American comedy film directed by David Butler and starring Bob Hope and Virginia Mayo. Based on a story by Sy Bartlett, the film is about a princess who travels incognito to elope with her true love inst ...
'' (1944) *''
Wonder Man Wonder Man (Simon Williams) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, he first appeared in '' The Avengers'' #9 (October 1964). The c ...
'' (1945) *''
Up in Central Park ''Up in Central Park'' is a Broadway musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and music by Sigmund Romberg. The musical, originally called "Central Park" before Broadway (see image of sheet music), was ...
'' (1948) *'' Texas, Brooklyn & Heaven'' (1948) *''
Bride of Vengeance ''Bride of Vengeance'' is a 1949 adventure film set in the Italian Renaissance era, directed by Mitchell Leisen. Plot Lucrezia Borgia's brother Cesare Borgia has her second husband Prince Bisceglie killed in order to marry her to Alfonso I ...
'' (1949) *'' Red Stallion in the Rockies'' (1949) *'' We're No Angels'' (1955) *'' The Vagabond King'' (1956) *'' The Bachelor Party'' (1957) *''
Sweet Smell of Success ''Sweet Smell of Success'' is a 1957 American film noir drama film directed by Alexander Mackendrick, starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, and Martin Milner, and written by Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman, and Mackendrick fr ...
'' (1957) *''
Separate Tables ''Separate Tables'' is the collective name of two one-act plays by Terence Rattigan, both taking place in the Beauregard Private Hotel, Bournemouth, on the south coast of England. The first play, titled ''Table by the Window'', focuses on the ...
'' (1958) *'' The Devil's Disciple'' (1959) *''
An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe ''An Evening of Edgar Allan Poe'' is a 1970 film which features Vincent Price reciting four of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, directed by Kenneth Johnson, with music by Les Baxter. The stories included are: "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Sphinx", "The ...
'' (1972)


Books

* Price, Vincent and Price, Mary Grant, ''A Treasury of Great Recipes: Famous Specialties of the World's Foremost Restaurants Adapted for the American Kitchen''. Bernard Geis Associates, 1965; . * Price, Vincent and Price, Mary Grant, ''Mary and Vincent Price Present A National Treasury of Cookery''. Heirloom Publishing Company, 1967; * Price, Vincent and Price, Mary Grant, ''Come Into the Kitchen Cook Book: A Collector's Treasury of America's Great Recipes''. Stravon Educational Press, 1969;


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Price, Mary Grant 1917 births 2002 deaths American costume designers University of Washington alumni British emigrants to the United States