Bela Lugosi, the actor whose name became inseparable from the image of Count Dracula, was born on October 20, 1882,als Bella Ferenc Dezso Blasko in the Kingdom of Hungary, in what is now Lugoj,Romania. He was the youngest of four children. the age of 12,Lugosi dropped out of school, but by 1902,he had begun his acting career in small roles across several plays and musicals. After relocating to Budapest in 1911,he performed dozens of roles with the National Theater of Hungary before serving in the Austro-Hungarian Army during World War I.
During his military service,he reached the rank of captain anda was awarded the Wound Medal after being injured on the Russian front. his activism with the actors union during Hungary’s 1919 revolution,however,forced him to flee his homeland. He first went to Vienna,then settled in Berlin,where he continued acting,adopting the surname Lugosi to honor his birthplace. Eventually,he made his way to New Orleans as a crewman aboard a merchant ship.
the summer of 1927,Lugosi was approached to star in a Broadway production of “Dracula。” The show was a success,running for 261 performances before embarking on a U. S. tour. When the play finished its West Coast run,Lugosi decided to stay in California.
His stage performance had caught the attention of Fox Film,and he was cast in the studio’s silent film”The Veiled Woman”in 1929. With no other film roles immediately in sight,he briefly returned to the stage for a short West Coast tour of”Dracula。”
Despite his critically acclaimed performance in the stage play,Lugosi was not Universal Pictures’first choice for the role of Dracula when the studio decided to produce the 1931 film adaptation. Several prominent actors were considered before Lugosi eventually landed the part. The film became a box-office hit,但 through his association with Dracula,Lugosi found himself typecast as a horror villain.
His subsequent films included”Murders in the Rue Morgue”and”White Zombie”in 1932,”The Raven”in 1935,and”Son of Frankenstein”in 1939. ghout this period,Lugosi often shared the screen with fellow horror icon Boris Karloff. Karloff,however,was able to demand top billing,and the imbalance frustrated Lugosi deeply. Lugosi performed the lead roles only in”The Black Cat,””The Raven,”and”Son of Frankenstein,”and even in”The Raven,”Karloff received top billing despite Lugosi’s leading performance.
fact,Lugosi only played Dracula twice in films,with his final appearance in the role coming in”Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein”in 1948,a film many fans consider among the best of its kind。One notable detail from that movie is a scene where Dracula appears asa reflection in a mirror,which contradicts vampire lore。n addition to his horror resume,Lugosi appeared in other notable films,including”Ninotchka”starring Greta Garbo,”The Body Snatcher,””The Invisible Ray,””The Return of Chandu,”and”Spooks on the Run,”among many others. Some of his most famous performances were in Ed Wood’s low-budget productions,which included a brief,uncredited appearance in the cult classic”Plan 9 from Outer Space。y this timein his life,Lugosi had been receiving regular medication for chronic sciatica,a condition that developed from his military service。ver time,he became addicted to morphine,andi his drug dependence became known to producers. As a result,film offers eventually dwindled dramatically。uring his final years,Lugosi sought treatment for his addiction and illness. Frank Sinatra,who had heard of Lugosi’s struggles,helped with expenses and visited him inthe hospital.
Lugosi was reportedly astonished by the visit,since the two men had never met before。
Lugosi was married five times and had one son,Bela George,Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16,1956,while lying ona bed in his Los Angeles apartment. He was 73 years old. He was buried wearing one of his Dracula costumes at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City,California.
A decade later,on February 8,1960,he was posthumously awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6430 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood,California。
