Bela Lugosi

BÃ©la Lugosi was the stage name of actor BÃ©la Ferenc DezsÅ‘ BlaskÃ³ (October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956). He was born in Lugos, Hungary, at the time part of Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), the youngest of four children of a baker. The blue-eyed actor is best known for his portrayal of Dracula in the American Broadway stage production, and subsequent film, of Bram Stoker's classic vampire story.

Early career in Hungary

Lugosi started his acting career on the stage in Hungary in several Shakespearean plays and other major roles, and also appeared in several silent films of the Cinema of Hungary under the stage name Arisztid Olt. During World War I, he served as an infantry lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian army.

Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 movie Ezredes, Az (known in English as The Colonel). Lugosi would make twelve films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany.

Lugosi left his native Hungary for Germany in 1919. Following the collapse of Bela Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic, left-wingers and trade unionists were persecuted, including Lugosi, who was persecuted following his participation in the forming of an actor's union. In exile, he began appearing in a small number of well received films in German cinema. One of his earliest appearances for the German film industry was in the 1920 adaptations of the Karl May penned novels Auf den TrÃ¼mmern des Paradieses ("In the Rubble of Paradise") and Die Todeskarawane ("The Death Caravan") opposite the ill-fated Jewish actress Dora Gerson. Lugosi immigrated to the United States in 1921 and on June 26, 1931 became a naturalized citizen of the United States.

Dracula

On arrival in America, the 1.85 m (6'1"), 82 kg (180 lb) Lugosi worked for some time as a laborer, then returned to the theater within the Hungarian-American community. He was spotted there and approached to star in a play adapted by John Balderston from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. The production was very successful. Despite his excellent notices in the title role, Lugosi had to campaign vigorously for the chance to repeat his stage success in Tod Browning's movie version of Dracula (1931), produced by Universal Pictures.

A persistent rumor asserts that silent-film actor Lon Chaney, Sr. was originally scheduled for this film role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death. Chaney, however, was under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his home studio refused to release him to Universal for this project. Further, although Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects, Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of Dracula: this film was not a long-time pet project of Tod Browning, despite some claims to the contrary.

Following the success of Dracula (1931), Lugosi received a studio contract with Universal.

Typecasting

Through his association with Dracula (in which he appeared with minimal makeup, using his natural, heavily accented voice), Lugosi found himself typecast as a horror villain in such movies as Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Raven, and Son of Frankenstein for Universal, and the independent White Zombie.

Despite the fact that Lugosi was not interested in the role of Frankenstein's monster due to lack of dialogue and make-up, it is a myth Lugosi declined the offer to appear in Frankenstein. James Whale, the film's director, replaced Lugosi and would do this again in The Bride of Frankenstein (Lugosi was supposed to play the role of Dr. Pretorius). A recent Lugosi scrapbook (see external link below) surfaced with a newsclipping listing both Lugosi and Boris Karloff in the film together. This gives credence to the possibility that Lugosi was going to play the role of Dr. Frankenstein. And in an interview with the cinematographer who shot test footage of Lugosi for the role of the monster, he testified that Lugosi was happy with the role and gave him a box of cigars.

Regardless of controversy, the role was taken by the man who became Lugosi's principal rival in horror films, Boris Karloff. Several films at Universal, such as The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) paired Lugosi with Karloff. Regardless of the relative size of their roles, Lugosi inevitably got second billing, below Karloff. Lugosi's attitude toward Karloff is the subject of contradictory reports, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to get good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were â€" for a time, at least â€" good friends.

Attempts were made to give Lugosi more heroic roles, as in The Black Cat, The Invisible Ray, and a small role in the comedy classic Ninotchka opposite Greta Garbo, but did not help him break out of the "type" into which he had been placed.

Decline

After Universal changed management in 1936, he found himself consigned, along with their entire approach to horror films, to Universal's B-film unit, at times in small roles where he was obviously used for "name value" only. In the early 1940s, Universal did not renew its contract with Lugosi, and he ended up having to contract with the Poverty Row company Monogram Pictures, where he received star billing in a succession of horror, psycho, and mystery B-films produced by Sam Katzman.

Later on, the acting jobs dried up, and Lugosi became addicted to morphine, originally prescribed to him for severe back pain in the early 1940s, though he did get to recreate the role of Dracula one last time in the film Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948.

1931 film poster, promoting Bela Lugosi's genre-defining turn as Dracula.

Late in his life, he again received star billing in movies when filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr., a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as Glen or Glenda (in which his role made no more sense than the rest of the movie) and as a mad scientist in Bride of the Monster. During post-production of the latter, Lugosi entered treatment for his morphine addiction, and the premier of the film was ostensibly intended to help pay for his treatment expenses. The extras on an early DVD release of Plan 9 from Outer Space include an impromptu interview with Lugosi upon his exit from the treatment center, which provide some rare personal insights into the man. During the interview, Lugosi states that he is about to go to work on a new Ed Wood film, "The Ghoul Goes West". This may be the film that was being shot right before he died, and which ended up in "Plan 9 from Outer Space".

Following his treatment, Lugosi made one final film, in late 1955, The Black Sleep, for Bel-Air Pictures, which was released in the summer of 1956 through United Artists with a promotional campaign that included several personal appearances. To his disappointment, however, his role in this film was of a mute, with no dialogue.

Death and posthumous performance

Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956 while lying in bed in his Los Angeles home. He was 73.

Bela Lugosi was buried wearing one of the many capes from the Dracula stageplay, as per the request of his son and fifth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. While it was stated that Lugosi made no requests regarding his burial, either verbally or through his will, this appears to be urban myth; verification can be obtained from the special-edition DVD of Dracula.

One of Lugosi's most infamous roles was in a movie released after he was dead. Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space features footage of Lugosi interspersed with a double. Wood had taken a few minutes of silent footage of Lugosi, in his Dracula cape, for a planned vampire picture but was unable to find financing for the project. When he later conceived of Plan 9, Wood wrote the script to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired his wife's chiropractor to double for Lugosi in additional shots. The "double" is thinner than Lugosi, and covers the lower half of his face with his cape in every shot.

Legacy

More recently, Lugosi became the subject of a song by gothic rock band Bauhaus entitled "Bela Lugosi's Dead", and a couple of his worst films turned up for mocking on the television program Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Lugosi's films were often featured in the USA television series Night Flight.

Lugosi is mentioned prominently in the song 'Celluloid Heroes' by the Kinks.

The pseudo-biographical film Ed Wood (Tim Burton, 1994) is a sentimental interpretation of the relationship between Lugosi and Wood. Lugosi is played by Martin Landau in a good-natured and sometimes moving interpretation for which Landau received an Academy Award for best supporting actor. Lugosi's son, Bela Lugosi, Jr. initially disapproved of his father's portrayal in the film, despite never having seen it, but after a long correspondence with Martin Landau, Lugosi, Jr. was persuaded to view the film in Landau's company. Lugosi, Jr. declared that Landau had 'honored' his father with his portrayal, and the actor and the late star's son became friends as a result.

Landau's performance of Lugosi earned him an Oscar; the first time the award was ever given to a performer playing another real-life performer.

Contrary to Burton's film, Lugosi did not receive top billing for Plan 9. Instead, he was listed as a guest-star, below Tor Johnson, Vampira and Kenne Duncan.

At present, there is a movement by Lugosi fans to get him an honorary Oscar, although the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a longtime policy of giving honorary awards only to living persons. See link below.

Bela Lugosi: Encyclopedia BETA

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