[25], Despite his critically acclaimed performance on stage, Lugosi was not Universal Pictures' first choice for the role of Dracula when the company optioned the rights to the Deane play and began production in 1930. Lugosi's first film appearance was in the movie Az ezredes (The Colonel, 1917). [57], Lugosi was buried wearing one of the "Dracula" capes and his full costume as well as his Dracula ring in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. [54](Lillian eventually did marry Brian Donlevy in 1966, by which time she had also become an alcoholic and she died in 1981. The divorce became final on July 17, 1920 and was uncontested as Lugosi could not show up for the proceedings. ISBN 0977379817 (hardcover), Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. [4] His father died during his absence. He was buried in a Dracula costume, including a cape, but not the ones used in the 1931 film, contrary to popular--but unfounded--rumors. Born: October 20, 1882 in Lugos, Hungary. In the same interview he expressed a desire to play more comedy, as he had in the Mother Riley farce. Ames was in turn replaced with David Manners, who would instead come to play John Harker. The rumor that Lugosi was clutching the script for The Final Curtain, a planned Ed Wood project, at the time of his death is not true. [12][4] They escaped to Vienna before settling in Berlin (in the Langestrasse), where he began acting in German silent films. It was an inescapable legacy. [23] The Horace Liveright production was successful, running in New York City for 261 performances before touring the United States to much fanfare and critical acclaim throughout 1928 and 1929. After almost breaking up their marriage in 1944, Lillian and Bela finally divorced on July 17, 1953,[52] at least partially because of Bela's excessive drinking[2] and his jealousy over Lillian taking a full-time job as an assistant to actor Brian Donlevy on Donlevy's radio and television series Dangerous Assignment. Lugosi went to 20th Century-Fox for The Gorilla (1939), which had him playing straight man (a butler) to Patsy Kelly and the Ritz Brothers. Lugosi played Dracula for a second and final time on film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), which was his last "A" movie. Bela Lugosi is a member of Movie Actor. He was simply, as he put it in this biography, the boogeyman. Though at first he was treated with benign pain remedies such as asparagus juice, doctors increased the medication to opiates. In their place was a count's pedigree and a castle in the mountains of Transylvania. "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (, Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape by Robert Cremer (1976), Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Bela Lugosi, born on October 20, 1882, began his acting career when he was a teenager in Hungary and went on to become one of the best-known actors in the world. In 1928, Lugosi decided to stay in California when the play ended its West Coast run. Universal changed management in 1936 and, because of a British ban on horror films, dropped them from their production schedule; Lugosi found himself consigned to Universal's non-horror B-film unit, at times in small roles where he was obviously used for "name value" only. It was expected to sell for up to $2 million,[63] but has since been listed again by Bonhams in 2018. Lugosi eventually grew very bitter over the fact that the general public took him for Dracula. [36] He also appeared on the anthology series Suspense on October 11, 1949, in a live adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado".[37]. Strange, but also fitting and bittersweet. According to One Room With A View, the two men never met and Lugosi never discovered the reason behind Sinatra's generosity. What's clear, though, is that Lugosi was often on the losing end of Tinsel Town's notoriously flaky attention span. Actor: Dracula. Following his return to the United States, he was interviewed for television, and reflected wistfully on his typecasting in horror parts: "Now I am the boogie man". Several more silent roles followed, villains and continental types, all in productions made in the New York area. Then Cheney died, and Lugosi replaced him on the bill. He was the youngest of four children. In September 1949, Milton Berle invited Lugosi to appear in a sketch on Texaco Star Theatre. $4.5 Million. Famous for his thick Hungarian accent, he dominated the screen for two decades until his death. Bela Lugosi Death: and Cause of Death. Despite the relative size of their roles, Lugosi inevitably received second billing, below Karloff. Think Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort, Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago, and Jack Nicholson as the Joker. [2] He later starred in the 1931 film version of Dracula directed by Tod Browning and produced by Universal Pictures. 's salary? The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films, fortunately just as Lugosi's fourth wife had given birth to a son. There are contradictory reports of Lugosi's attitude toward Karloff, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to gain good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were for a time, at least amicable. His legal actions in Lugosi v. Universal Pictures led to the creation of the California Celebrities Rights Act. The one that had been on the night before was Dracula [1931]. Bela Lugosi was born in Lugoj, Romania on Friday, October 20, 1882 (G.I. It was thought to be evidence that Lugosi appeared in the film, but historians all agree that is very unlikely, since Lugosi was in both Chicago (appearing in a play called The Werewolf) and New York at the time that film was being made in Hollywood. [75], On July 19, 2003, German artist Hartmut Zech erected a bust of Lugosi on one of the corners of Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. Through the 1930s, he occupied an important niche in horror films, but his notoriety as "Dracula" and ominous thick Hungarian accent greatly limited the roles offered to him, and he unsuccessfully tried for years to avoid the typecasting. It was a wrenching move for the rising star, who, 16 years earlier, had changed his surname from Blask to Lugosi in homage to Lugos, the city of his birth. Attendees included Forrest J. Ackerman, Ed Wood (who was a pall bearer), Tor Johnson, Conrad Brooks, Richard Sheffield, both of the widows (Hope and Lillian), Bela Lugosi Jr., Norma McCarty, Loretta King, Paul Marco and actor George Becwar. For the remainder of his life he appeared less and less frequently in obscure, low-budget features.Bela Lugosi died on August 16, 1956 of a coronary occlusion at the age of 73. It was not immediately successful, though. At that time, in 1938, the new father was so strapped for cash he had to borrow from a Hollywood relief fund to pay the hospital bills. Tor Johnson said in interviews that Lugosi kept screaming that he wanted to die the night they shared a hotel room together. Lillian and Bela, as well as his mother, vacationed on their lake property in Lake Elsinore, California (then called Elsinore), on two lots between 1944 and 1953. California Supreme Court decision on personality rights. In 2001, BBC Radio 4 broadcast There Are Such Things by Steven McNicoll and Mark McDonnell. In 1921, he met and married his second wife, Ilona von Montagh, a young Hungarian emigree and stage actress whom he had worked with years before in Europe. Later, the emotional and physical wounds of the war not to mention the pressures of Hollywood caught up with him and he had a very public struggle with drug addiction. "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. Regarding Son of Frankenstein, the film's director Rowland V. Lee said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected when we finished shooting, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole the show. Below we countdown to Bela Lugosi upcoming birthday. Lugosi was quite effective in this small but prestigious character part and he even received top billing among the film's supporting cast, all of whom had significantly larger roles. Lots of famous people were born over the years on Oct. 20. Lugosi enjoyed a lively career on stage, with plenty of personal appearances. Without his knowledge, a beloved singer, actor, and fan was helping pay his way through rehab. Before her death, she gave several (rather downbeat) interviews to the fan press. Net Worth 2020, Salary. Want to more about Him? [56], Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956, in the bedroom of his Los Angeles apartment while taking a nap. Wood hired Tom Mason, his wife's chiropractor, to double for Lugosi in additional shots. She claimed he slapped her in the face one night because she ate a pork chop he had hidden in their refrigerator. Insult to injury, Karloff was able to move on from his appearances in silly vampire and wolfman and monster flicks to more illustrious roles, whereas Lugosi was stuck in a hall of mirrors of sorts, every new part more ridiculous and broad than the last. [29][38], The Vincent Price film, House of Wax premiered in Los Angeles at the Paramount Theatre on April 16, 1953. On July 19, 2003, German artist Hartmut Zech erected a bust of Lugosi on one of the corners of Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. The divorce became official on December 9, 1929. Despite playing one of the world's most blood-thirsty villains, Lugosi was a lover, not a fighter. In 1929, Lugosi took his place in Hollywood society and scandal when he married wealthy San Francisco resident Beatrice Weeks (1897-1931), widow of architect Charles Peter Weeks. Bela married 19-year-old Lillian Arch in 1933. He was kept employed by the studios principally so that they could put his name on the posters. Universal took notice of the tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. Following a successful run as Count Dracula in the stage version of Bram Stoker's bloody tale, Lugosi was cast as the lead in the film adaptation. . At the time of his death, Lugosi was in such poor financial straits that Frank Sinatra was rumored to have paid for his funeral. The heat clearly worked. [20], His first American film role was in the silent melodrama The Silent Command (1923) which was filmed in New York. Bela Lugosi died of a heart attack August 16, 1956. Lugosi plays a character named The Scientist who narrates the hackneyed and often embarrassing but also hilarious exploration of sex and gender identity. [19] In 1925, he played an Arab Sheik in Arabesque which premiered in Buffalo, New York at the Teck Theatre before moving to Broadway. On 26 June 1931, Lugosi became a naturalized United States citizen. Bela Lugosi was born on October 20, 1882 in Lugoj, Romania. Who is Bela Lugosi Different prominent actors were considered before Browning cast Lugosi for the role, but the film was a hit. Bela Lugosi made money by Actors niche. [46] The couple divorced after Lugosi was forced to flee his homeland for political reasons (risking execution if he stayed) and Ilona did not wish to leave her parents. ), On June 26, 1931, Lugosi became a naturalized United States citizen. It was a long way to fall for the star of one of Hollywood's most successful talkies. 's birthday? You've got your Bette Davises vs. your Joan Crawfords, your Sarah Jessica Parkers vs. your Kim Cattralls, your Marlon Brandos vs. your Frank Sinatras. The young Bela was born just the year before. Following the collapse of Bla Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, leftists and trade unionists became vulnerable. Lugosi kept busy during the 1940s as a screen menace. He began his acting career in 1901 or 1902. While its relatively simple to predict his income, its harder to know how much Bela has spent over the years. A copy sold for $798,000 at Christie's in May 2000. The judge sent Lugosi to a nearby hospital, where he plotted a comeback that would never materialize. Age (2022) Update Soon. As this piece in American Ghost Stories, points out, Lugosi wasn't always truthful about his past he was prone to exaggeration, claiming in one 1941 interview to have stolen 700 hats as a young boy but his childhood was undeniably cut short by his father's death, propelling him into menial labor jobs that tested his mettle. These horror, comedy and mystery B-films were mostly released by Monogram Pictures. Back in 1950 however, Lugosi had appeared on a one-hour TV program called Murder and Bela Lugosi (which WPIX-TV broadcast on Sept. 18, 1950) in which Lugosi was interviewed and provided commentary about a number of his old horror films while clips from the films were being shown; historian Gary Rhodes thinks some of this Lugosi TV production found its way into the 1959 British film, which would finally explain the mystery. He made his way to New York and was inspected by immigration officers at Ellis Island in March 1921. Lillian and Bla divorced in 1953, at least partially because of Bla's jealousy over Lillian taking a full-time job as an assistant to Brian Donlevy on the sets and studios for Donlevy's radio and television series Dangerous Assignment Lillian eventually did marry Donlevy in 1966. After Dracula, the bulk of Lugosi's roles were in monster movies of varying degrees of ridiculousness. During an impromptu interview upon his release from the treatment center in 1955, Lugosi stated that he was about to begin work on a new Ed Wood film called The Ghoul Goes West. Also Ed Wood did not meet Lugosi in a funeral parlor, but rather through his roommate Alex Gordon. For Lugosi, the third time would not prove to be the charm. Nearly 20 years later, Lugosi found himself the beneficiary of an unlikely guardian angel. Net Worth. Along the way he picked up a drug habit. He was 73. Speaking of, Lugosi married Lillian Arch, his fourth wife, in 1933. He was eventually invited to join the National Theater of Budapest. Lugosi addressed his plea to be cast in non-horror roles directly to casting directors through his listing in the 1937 Players Directory, published by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error.". Bela Lugosi. Wood hired Tom Mason, his wife's chiropractor, to double for Lugosi in additional shots. Universal Studios paid him only $3,500 for his work on Dracula, and, as this piece in the Standard Examiner illustrates, he was always paid less than his rival, Boris Karloff, for comparable roles. Year. His real name is Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask. Unable or unwilling to finish his studies, he supported himself as a miner and railroad worker until the age of 18 when his sister, Vilma, persuaded her husband to secure Bela a place in a traveling theater troupe. Not true, but so is the power of suggestion. [59][60] Hope died in Hawaii in 1997, at age 78, having never remarried. Death, Net Worth, Wife, Family, Brother. Mason was noticeably taller and thinner than Lugosi, and had the lower half of his face covered with his cape in every shot, as Lugosi sometimes did in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. This footage ended up in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), which was mostly filmed after Lugosi died. Bela Lugosi's full name is Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask and his nickname is Bela Lugosi. He died a year into their marriage of a heart attack. His wife Hope discovered him dead, on his bed dressed only in his underwear, when she came home from work that evening, he having apparently died peacefully in his sleep around 6:45 PM according to the medical examiner. The cape Lugosi wore in Dracula (1931) was in the possession of his family until it was put up for auction in 2011. At age 12 Lugosi ran away from home and began working odd jobs, including stage acting. Lugosi began acting on the Hungarian stage in 1902. He also continued to lobby for his prized role in the film version of Dracula. She would sign her letters "A dash of Hope". The court ruled that under California law any rights of publicity, including the right to his image, terminated with Lugosi's death. [21] A rumor has circulated for decades among film historians that Lugosi played an uncredited bit part as a clown in the 1924 Lon Chaney Hollywood film He Who Gets Slapped, but this has been heavily disputed. His fifth and final wife, Hope Lininger, wrote him passionate letters while he tried to kick his addiction to methadone and morphine. His only television dramatic role was on the anthology series Suspense on October 11, 1949, in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. Bela Lugosi's film career was all but dead when the B-movie (D-movie?) Lugosi took over the role of Jonathan Brewster from Boris Karloff for Arsenic and Old Lace. This drug dependence (and his gradually worsening alcoholism) was becoming apparent to producers, and after 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the offers dwindled to parts in low-budget films; some of these were directed by Ed Wood, including a brief (posthumous) appearance in Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957). Karloff's monster was weak by comparison."[32]. Frank Sinatra, fresh off the success of his album, In the Wee Small Hours, was quietly contributing to Lugosi's mental health fund. In 1951, while in England to play a six-month tour of Dracula, Lugosi co-starred in a lowbrow film comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (also known as Vampire over London and My Son, the Vampire), released the following year. Bela Lugosi (born October 20, 1882) is famous for being movie actor. Then there was the fact that Universal Studios didn't pay him a living wage for the seven weeks he spent pouring his heart and soul into his portrayal of the bloodsucking count from Transylvania. Bela Lugosi Net Worth. Lugosi was third-billed with his name above the title alongside Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein's son and Boris Karloff reprising his role as Frankenstein's monster. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany, before arriving in New Orleans as a seaman on a merchant ship, then making his way north to New York City and Ellis Island. The iconic portrayal of Count Dracula marked Lugosi's career and gave him widespread recognition. At Universal, he often received star billing for what amounted to a supporting part. . Due to shady blacklisting among the top Hollywood studio executives, he refused to sell out or to compromise his integrity, and therefore ended his career working for the legendary Worst Director of All Time, Edward D. Wood Jr..Lugosi was married to Ilona Szmik (1917 - 1920), Ilona von Montagh (?