The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-05-26
HOLLYWOOD
NOTES
BY BOB THOMAS

guess the only actor who has ever
thanked me profusely for inter-
viewing him. It's Bella Lugosi, the
boogeyman.
! Many stars figure they're giving
you a break to allow themselves
to be interviewed. Others merely
put up with it as an evil necessary
to their profession. Many others
are nice enough about it, but none
has seemed as pleased about be-
ing interviewed as Lugosi, who
scared to fame as the vampire,
Dracula.
Like his fellow horror expert,
Boris Karloff. Lugosi is a courte-
Gus, soft-spoken fellow who takes
his craft seriously. He fell into
the horror line quite by accident.
He was a romantic star of the
Royal Thcater In Hungary, play
ing the original roles in such
Ferenc Molnar plays as "Liliom"
and 1.-THE Guardsman.
| But he came to New York in
| the chiller-diller, "Dracula. When
| he re-created the role in films,
he was destined to a career of
soaring people. Since he had
played everything from Shake
speare to Byron. l asked if he
objected to being typed.
"No, not at ALL" he replied.
"The main thing for an actor is
to keep working And | have man.
aged to do so for a good many
years. 1t is a kind of security,
this being a horror man. have
just returned from playing Drac-
ula' in England for eight months.
also made picture over there.
81 have appeared on television
! with Milton Berle and a dozen
other shows. Now / am filming
Bella Lugosi Meets the Gorilla
Man. which is not bad publicity.
am to return to England for an
/ other picture. and ! am talking
about television series. So you
can see / have been busy"
Far from regretting his horror
tag, he is even sorry he didn't
sew up the field. He had the
chance after he made his hit in
''Dracula."
"They wanted me to play the
part of Frankenstein's monster, :"
he recalled. II even did test for
it. The makeup was terrible, with
the rubber mask and putty and
the padding choking my body.
Then | saw the script. didn't
have line in the whole picture!
Didn't want to do it. / figured
they could get any truck driver to
put on all that stuff and grunt
through the part. So / told them
l wouldn't do it. At first they were
angry, an dthen l told them my
doctor advised against such a
strenuous part.
They said they would let me
out of the part if / would dig up
someone to do it. So / looked
AROUND and found Boris Karloff.
He did the role, and of course it
was hit. / created my own
FrankenStein monster by turning
down the part"
Lug0si stayed al Universal for
several years, playing in other
horror films and co-starring with
kaeoff in many Of them. He said
that several years ago the studios
weren't making horror films SO he
went to the East to live. He per-
formed in plays and In vaudeville.
Now horror seems TO be blossom
ing forth in Hollywood again, and
he is again a California resident
He may build a home for him
self, his wife and their 14-year-old
son.
| asked him if people expect
him to scare them in private life.
Sometimes" he answered. But
they are generally good.natured
about II. For instance, children
viii come up and say to me,
Hello, boogeyman.' But they are
not really frightened. Children
know when someone is gentle, no
matter what he is made out to
be"