100 Years of Movie Posters: Bela Lugosi

Thursday, 10 July 2014

Bela Lugosi

Béla Blaskó (1882 – 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian-American actor, famous for portraying Count Dracula in the original 1931 film and for his roles in various other horror films.

He had been playing small parts on the stage in his native Hungary before making his first film in 1917, but had to leave the country after the failed Hungarian Revolution.

In 1927, he starred as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. In 1931 he would star in the classic movie version of Dracula by Universal Pictures, directed by Tod Browning.

The success of Dracula resulted in Lugosi being typecast in horror movies and was often paired with his rival Boris Karloff, who was able to demand top billing.

By the late 40's Lugosi had been receiving regular medication for sciatic neuritis, and he became addicted to morphine and methadone. This drug dependence was noted by producers, and the offers eventually dwindled down to a few parts in Ed Wood's low-budget movies.

Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956, while lying on a couch in his Los Angeles home. He was 73. He was buried wearing one of the Dracula capes, per the request of his son and fifth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Lugosi was married five times, and had one son, Bela George Lugosi. His widow Hope Lininger died in 1997. A statue of Bela Lugosi can be seen today on one of the corners of the Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. [Wikipedia]