Dennistoun John Franklyn Rose-Price, a urbane and sourly handsome British actor, was born to privilege in Berkshire in 1915. As the son of a brigadier-general, he was expected to follow in his family's footsteps and pursue a career in the army or the church. However, he defied expectations and chose a life in the arts instead.
Price's acting career began on the stage, where he debuted with John Gielgud in "Richard II" in 1937. He was later promoted in the theatre by Noël Coward, and went on to appear in several overbaked Gainsborough mysteries/melodramas, including "A Place of One's Own" (1945),"The Magic Bow" (1946),and "Caravan" (1946).
Despite early success, Price's career was marked by periods of turmoil and struggle. He took a particularly hard hit when his showcase role as the title poet in "The Bad Lord Byron" (1949) proved to be a critical and commercial failure. He fell into severe depression and his personal and professional life began to unravel.
In the 1950s, Price's struggles with severe alcoholism and his internalized anguish over his homosexuality took a toll on his career and personal relationships. He became less reliable and his ranking in the industry began to decline. He appeared in a string of less quality "B" pictures and his marriage to actress Joan Schofield ended in 1950 after eleven years.
However, Price's career received a boost in the 1960s when he appeared in a series of eccentric comedies, including "Private's Progress" (1956),"I'm All Right Jack" (1959),and "School for Scoundrels" (1960). He also found success on television with the popular series "The World of Wooster" (1965),in which he played the disdainful butler, Jeeves.
Despite this resurgence, Price's life was marked by continued struggles with addiction and financial difficulties. He filed for bankruptcy in 1967 and moved to the remote Channel Island of Sark for refuge. Many of his later roles were reduced to glorified cameos and he appeared in a string of low-budget, campy films, including "Vampyros Lesbos" (1971),"Dracula, Prisoner of Frankenstein" (1972),and "The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein" (1973).
Price died in 1973 at the age of 58 from liver cirrhosis, a sad ending to a life marked by great promise and struggle.
