Gilbert Price

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Gilbert Price
Born(1942-09-10)September 10, 1942
DiedJanuary 2, 1991 (aged 48)
Occupation(s)Stage, film, television actor
Awards

Gilbert Price (September 10, 1942 – January 2, 1991) was an American operatic baritone and actor.

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[edit]

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It has been written that while he was a protégé of Langston Hughes, Hughes had become smitten with the young Price.[4] Unpublished love poems by Hughes were addressed to a man Hughes called Beauty; it has been posited these poems referred to Price.[1][5]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[edit]

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[edit]

Price was nominated for three Tony Awards and was the recipient of a Theatre World Award:[7][8]

Other works[edit]

Death[edit]

Price died in Vienna, Austria, in 1991 at age 48, of accidental asphyxiation due to a faulty space heater.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Gilbert Price collection, 1965-1991". New York Public Library archive. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  2. ^ 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. p. 279. ISBN 978-0-0254-2650-4.
  3. ^ a b "Gilbert Price, 48, Broadway Baritone". The New York Times. January 8, 1991. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  4. ^ Rampersad, Arnold (1988). The Life of Langston Hughes: 1941-1967, I Dream a World. Vol. 2. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 373. ISBN 978-0-1998-8227-4. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  5. ^ "Langston Hughes (1902-1967) Poet". University of Illinois Springfield. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  6. ^ "Ed Sullivan Show performance: I've Gotta be Me!". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  7. ^ "Gilbert Price Tony Awards Info - Browse by Nominee". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  8. ^ "Theatre World Award Recipients". Theatre World Awards. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

External links[edit]