Stephen Schochet On Odd Hollywood Stories from Jack Nicholson, Vincent Price, Lon Chaney

I am an absolute Jack Nicholson film admirer and have just about seen everyone I am pretty sure. Could you share a Nicholson story with us?

SS: I still think it is amazing that Jack at the age of thirty-two considered himself retired from acting, he had made at that time fourteen movies, none of them a break out success for him, though a few like The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) achieved cult status later on, when he was asked to replace Rip Torn, who did not get along with lead actor and director Dennis Hopper to say the least as the Texas lawyer in Easy Rider in 1969. That film was not only a huge counter culture hit but also Jack got a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and stated that he was one of the very few people that was actually in the theater the night he became a movie star. Rider was a rocky endeavor; Jack’s instructions from his bosses Bob Raefelson and Bert Schneider, who had made a fortune after creating the band The Monkees, were not only to act, but also to make sure Dennis didn’t blow all their money and make sure that Hopper didn’t kill Peter Fonda. Jack handled Dennis with both care and lots of shared inebriation. One morning during production Jack and Dennis awoke in a tree and could not recall how they got there.

Could you tell us the Vincent Price story?

SS: Vincent Price was of Two Minds

Actor Vincent Price was of two minds regarding his career in horror films. The Saint Louis-born Price, who was both a gourmet cook and art collector, always felt a bit embarrassed when he made low-budget chillers. On the other hand, appearing in creature features helped older stars stay popular with young audiences. Besides, they were a kick to make; Vincent enjoyed the creepy jobs much more than those stodgy Biblical epics where everyone was always on their best behavior. While working on the 1958 low-budget thriller The Fly, the forty-seven- year-old Price kept breaking into laughter and ruining takes when he looked at the cheap-looking human/insect. Vincent continued to make mischief after the movie was completed. One day two female teens enjoyed a matinee screening of The Fly. They screamed loudest at the end when a familiar face they had just watched on screen stuck his head in between theirs and asked, “So how did you like the show?”

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