Gilbert Price
Gilbert Price (September 10, 1942 – January 2, 1991) was an American operatic baritone and actor.
Gilbert Price | |
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Born | New York City, New York, U.S. | September 10, 1942
Died | January 2, 1991 (aged 48) |
Occupation | Stage, film, television actor |
Awards |
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Price was a protégé of Langston Hughes.[1] He was a life member of New York's famed Actors Studio.[2] Price first gained notice in 1964, for his performances in Hughes' Off-Broadway production of Jerico-Jim Crow. For his work, Price received a Theatre World Award.[3]
Early life
Price was born on September 10, 1942, in New York City of African-American heritage. In 1960, he graduated from Erasmus Hall High School, where he stood out for both his talent and gentle, easygoing manner.[3] It has been written that while he was a protégé of Langston Hughes, Hughes had become smitten with the young Price.[4] Unpublished love poems by Hughes were addressed to a man Hughes called Beauty; it has been posited these poems referred to Price.[1][5]
Career
Price made guest appearances on several television talk and variety shows including The Ed Sullivan Show, Red Skelton, Garry Moore and The Merv Griffin Show.[6] Price also sang oratorios, including Leonard Bernstein's Mass, in 1971.
Awards
Price was nominated for three Tony Awards and was the recipient of a Theatre World Award:[7][8]
- Jerico-Jim Crow (1964) – Theatre World Award
- Lost in the Stars (1972) – Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
- The Night That Made America Famous (1975) – Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical
- Timbuktu! (1978) – Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical
Other works
- Fly Blackbird (1962) - C. Bernard Jackson & James Hatch
- The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1965) - Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley
- Promenade (1969) - Maria Irene Fornes & Al Carmines
- 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976) - Leonard Bernstein & Alan Jay Lerner
Death
Price died in Vienna, Austria, in 1991 of accidental asphyxiation. He was 48 years old.[1]
References
- "Gilbert Price collection, 1965-1991". New York Public Library archive. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- Garfield, David (1980). "Appendix: Life Members of The Actors Studio as of January 1980". A Player's Place: The Story of The Actors Studio. New York: MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. p. 279. ISBN 0-02-542650-8.
- "Gilbert Price, 48, Broadway Baritone". The New York Times. January 8, 1991. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- Rampersad, Arnold. The Life of Langston Hughes: 1941-1967, I Dream a World. Vol. 2, p. 373. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- "Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Poet". University of Illinois at Springfield. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- "Ed Sullivan Show performance: I've Gotta be Me!". YouTube. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- "Gilbert Price Tony Awards Info - Browse by Nominee". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- Theatre World Award Recipients Theatre World Awards; retrieved November 22, 2014.
External links
- Gilbert Price at IMDb
- Gilbert Price at the Internet Broadway Database
- Gilbert Price Obituary The New York Times