Béla Lugosi | Universal Monsters Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Lugosi, the youngest of four children, [3] was born as Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Lugos (at the time part of Austria–Hungary , now Lugoj in Romania ), to Paula de Vojnich and István Blaskó, a banker. [4] He later based his last name on his hometown. [3] He and his sister Vilma were raised in a Roman Catholic family. [5] At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school. [3] He began his acting career probably in 1901 or 1902. His earliest known performances are from provincial theaters in the 1903–1904 season, playing small roles in several plays and operettas . [6] He went on to Shakespeare plays and other major roles. Moving to Budapest in 1911, he played dozens of roles with the National Theater of Hungary in the period 1913–1919.

Although Lugosi would later claim that he "became the leading actor of Hungary's Royal National Theater", almost all his roles there were small or supporting parts. [7] During World War I , he served as an infantry lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1914 to 1916. There he rose to the rank of captain in the ski patrol and was awarded a medal for being wounded at the Russian front. [3] Due to his activism in the actors union in Hungary during the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1919 , he was forced to flee his homeland. [3] He first went to Vienna, Austria , and then settled in Germany , where he continued acting. [3] Eventually, he traveled to New Orleans as a crewman aboard a merchant ship. [3] Career Edit Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 movie Az ezredes (known in English as The Colonel). When appearing in Hungarian silent films he used the stage name Arisztid Olt. Lugosi made 12 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany.

Following the collapse of Béla Kun 's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, leftists and trade unionists became vulnerable. Lugosi was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actors’ union . In exile in Germany, he began appearing in a small number of well received films, including adaptations of the Karl May novels, Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses (On the Brink of Paradise), and Die Todeskarawane (The Caravan of Death), opposite the ill-fated Jewish actress Dora Gerson . Lugosi left Germany in October 1920, intending to emigrate to the United States , and entered the country at New Orleans in December 1920. He made his way to New York and was legally inspected for immigration at Ellis Island in March 1921. [8] He declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen in 1928, and on June 26, 1931, he was naturalized . [9] On his arrival in America, the 6 foot 1 inch (1.85 m), 180 lb.

(82 kg) Béla worked for some time as a laborer, then entered the theater in New York City's Hungarian immigrant colony. With fellow Hungarian actors he formed a small stock company that toured Eastern cities, playing for immigrant audiences. He acted in his first Broadway play, The Red Poppy, in 1922. Three more parts came in 1925–1926, including a five-month run in the comedy-fantasy The Devil in the Cheese. [10] His first American film role came in the 1923 melodrama The Silent Command . Several more silent roles followed, as villains or continental types, all in productions made in the New York area. Dracula Edit Lugosi was approached in the summer of 1927 [11] to star in a Broadway production of Dracula adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker 's novel . The Horace Liveright production was successful, running 261 performances before touring. He was soon called to Hollywood for character parts in early talkies .

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. A persistent rumor asserts that director Tod Browning 's long-time collaborator, Lon Chaney , was Universal's first choice for the role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death shortly before production. This is questionable, because Chaney had been under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer since 1925, and had negotiated a lucrative new contract just before his death. Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects (including four of Chaney's final five releases), but Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of Dracula after the death of director Paul Leni , who was originally slated to direct. Typecasting Edit 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 .

His accent, while a part of his image, limited the roles he could play. Lugosi did attempt to break type by auditioning for other roles. He lost out to Lionel Barrymore for the role of Rasputin in Rasputin and the Empress ; C. Henry Gordon for the role of Surat Khan in Charge of the Light Brigade ; Basil Rathbone for the role of Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko in Tovarich (a role Lugosi had played on stage). He did play the elegant, somewhat hot-tempered Gen. Nicholas Strenovsky-Petronovich in International House . Regardless of controversy, five films at Universal — The Black Cat , The Raven , The Invisible Ray , Son of Frankenstein , Black Friday (plus minor cameo performances in 1934's Gift of Gab ) and two at RKO Pictures , You'll Find Out and The Body Snatcher — paired Lugosi with Boris Karloff . Despite 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 — for a time, at least — good friends. Karloff himself in interviews suggested that Lugosi was initially mistrustful of him when they acted together, believing that the Englishman would attempt to upstage him. When this proved not to be the case, according to Karloff, Lugosi settled down and they worked together amicably (though some have further commented that Karloff's on-set demand to break from filming for mid-afternoon tea annoyed Lugosi). Universal tried to give Lugosi more heroic roles, as in The Black Cat , The Invisible Ray , and a romantic role in the adventure serial The Return of Chandu, but his typecasting problem was too entrenched for those roles to help.

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 Motion Picture Academy, in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error." [12] Career path Edit A number of factors worked against Lugosi's career in the mid-1930s. 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. Throughout the 1930s, Lugosi, experiencing a severe career decline despite popularity with audiences (Universal executives always preferred his rival Karloff), accepted many leading roles from independent producers like Nat Levine, Sol Lesser , and Sam Katzman . These low-budget thrillers indicate that Lugosi was less discriminating than Karloff in selecting screen vehicles, but the exposure helped Lugosi financially if not artistically.

Lugosi tried to keep busy with stage work, but had to borrow money from the Actors' Fund to pay hospital bills when his only child, Bela George Lugosi, was born in 1938. From The Devil Bat , 1940 His career was given a second chance by Universal's Son of Frankenstein in 1939, when he played the character role of Ygor , who uses the Monster for his own revenge, in heavy makeup and beard. The same year saw Lugosi playing a straight character role in a major motion picture: he was a stern commissar in MGM 's comedy Ninotchka , starring Greta Garbo . This small but prestigious role could have been a turning point for the actor, but within the year he was back on Hollywood's Poverty Row , playing leads for Sam Katzman. These horror, comedy and mystery B-films were released by Monogram Pictures . At Universal, he often received star billing for what amounted to a supporting part. The Gorilla (1939) had him playing straight man to Patsy Kelly , in a role she told author Boze Hadleigh was her finest role.

Ostensibly due to injuries received during military service, Lugosi developed severe, chronic sciatica . Though at first he was treated with pain remedies such as asparagus juice, doctors increased the medication to opiates . The growth of his dependence on pain-killers, particularly morphine and methadone , was directly proportional to the dwindling of screen offers. In 1943, he finally played the role of Frankenstein's monster in Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman , which this time contained dialogue (Lugosi's voice had been dubbed over that of Lon Chaney, Jr. , from line readings at the end of 1942's The Ghost of Frankenstein because Ygor's brain had been transplanted into the Monster). Lugosi continued to play the Monster with Ygor's consciousness but with groping gestures because the Monster was now blind. Ultimately, all of the Monster's dialogue and all references to his sightlessness were edited out of the released film, leaving a strange, maimed performance characterized by unexplained gestures and lip movements with no words coming out.

He also came to recreate the role of Dracula a second and last time on film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. By this time, Lugosi's drug use was so notorious that the producers were not even aware that Lugosi was still alive, and had penciled in actor Ian Keith for the role. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was Bela Lugosi's last "A" movie. For the remainder of his life he appeared — less and less frequently — in obscure, low-budget features. From 1947 to 1950, he performed in summer stock , often in productions of Dracula or Arsenic and Old Lace , and during the rest of the year made personal appearances in a touring "spook show" and on television. While in England to play a six-month tour of Dracula in 1951, he co-starred in a lowbrow movie comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (also known as Vampire over London and My Son, the Vampire).

Upon his return to America, Lugosi was interviewed for television, and revealed his ambition to play more comedy, though wistfully noting, "Now I am the boogie man." Independent producer Jack Broder took Lugosi at his word, casting him in a jungle-themed comedy, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla . Another opportunity for comedy came in September 1949 when Milton Berle invited Lugosi to appear in a sketch on Texaco Star Theater . [13] Lugosi memorized the script for the skit, but became confused on the air when Berle began to ad lib. [14] This was depicted in the Tim Burton film Ed Wood , with Martin Landau as Lugosi. Though Burton did not actually identify the comedian in the biopic, the events depicted were correct. Working with Ed Wood Edit Late in his life, Bela Lugosi again received star billing in movies when filmmaker Ed Wood , a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as Glen or Glenda and as a Dr. Frankenstein -like mad scientist in Bride of the Monster .

During post-production of the latter, Lugosi decided to seek treatment for his drug addiction , and the premiere of the film was said to be intended to help pay for his hospital expenses. According to Kitty Kelley 's biography of Frank Sinatra , when the entertainer heard of Lugosi's problems, he helped with expenses and visited at the hospital. Lugosi would recall his amazement, since he didn't even know Sinatra. [15] 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 in 1955, 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 was one of several projects proposed by Wood, including The Phantom Ghoul and Dr. Acula. With Lugosi in his famed Dracula cape, Wood shot impromptu test footage, with no storyline in mind, in front of Tor Johnson 's home, a suburban graveyard and in front of Lugosi's apartment building on Carlton Way. This footage 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. Personal life Edit In 1917, Lugosi married Ilona Szmick. The couple divorced in 1920, reputedly over political differences with her parents. In 1929, Lugosi took his place in Hollywood society and scandal when he married wealthy San Francisco widow Beatrice Weeks, but she filed for divorce four months later. Weeks cited actress Clara Bow as the "other woman". [16] In 1933 he married 19-year-old Lillian Arch, the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. They had a child, Bela G. Lugosi , in 1938.

[17] Lillian and Béla divorced in 1953, [1] at least partially because of Béla'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 [18] — Lillian eventually did marry Brian Donlevy, in 1966. Lugosi married Hope Lininger, his fifth wife, in 1955. She had been a fan of his, writing letters to him when he was in hospital recovering from addiction to Demerol . She would sign her letters 'A dash of Hope'. Ed Wood actor Johnny Depp, actually purchased Bela's Los Angeles home. Death Edit Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956, while lying on a couch in his Los Angeles home. He was 73. [19] 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.

[20] Lugosi was buried wearing one of the Dracula Cape costumes, per the request of his son and fourth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his cloak; Bela G. Lugosi confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, actually made the decision but believed that it is what his father would have wanted. [21] Plan 9 from Outer Space Edit One of Lugosi's roles was released posthumously. Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (Originally titled Grave Robbers 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 Plan 9, Wood wrote the script to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired Tom Mason , his wife's chiropractor , to double for Lugosi in additional shots.

[22] The double is thinner than Lugosi, and in every shot covers the lower half of his face with his cape, as Lugosi sometimes did in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. As Leonard Maltin put it in early editions of his movies guide book, "Lugosi died during production, and it shows." Legacy Edit In 1979, the Lugosi v. Universal Pictures decision by the California Supreme Court held that Bela Lugosi's personality rights could not pass to his heirs, as a copyright would have. The court ruled that under California law any rights of publicity, including the right to his image, terminated with Lugosi's death. [23] [24] Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Blvd. In Tim Burton 's 1994 Ed Wood , Lugosi is played by Martin Landau in an interpretation for which Landau received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . According to Bela G. Lugosi (his son), Forrest Ackerman, Dolores Fuller and Richard Sheffield, Lugosi never used profanity, owned small dogs, or slept in coffins. The film fabricated much about the Hungarian actor.

Three Lugosi projects were featured on the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 . The Corpse Vanishes appeared in episode 105, the serial The Phantom Creeps throughout season two and the Ed Wood production Bride of the Monster in episode 423. An episode of Sledge Hammer titled "Last of the Red Hot Vampires" was a homage to Bela Lugosi; at the end of the episode, it was dedicated to "Mr. Blaskó". In 2001, BBC Radio 4 broadcast There Are Such Things by Steven McNicoll and Mark McDonnell. Focusing on Lugosi and his well documented struggle to escape from the role that had typecast him, the play went on to receive The Hamilton Dean award for best dramatic presentation from the Dracula Society in 2002. A statue of Lugosi can be seen today on one of the corners of the Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest . The Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York City features a live, 30-minute play that focuses on Lugosi's illegal entry into the country and then his arrival at Ellis Island to enter the country legally.

[25] The cape Lugosi wore in the 1931 film Dracula still survives today in the ownership of Universal Studios. The theatrical play Lugosi - a vámpír árnyéka (Lugosi - the Shadow of the Vampire, in Hungarian ) is based on Lugosi's life, telling the story of his life as he becomes typecast as Dracula and as his drug addiction worsens. He was played by one of Hungary's most renowned actors, Ivan Darvas . Andy Warhol's 1963 silkscreen The Kiss depicts Lugosi from Dracula about to bite into the neck of co-star Helen Chandler , who played Mina Harker . A copy sold for $798,000 at Christie's in May 2000. [26] Lugosi was also the subject of " Bela Lugosi's Dead ", the first single by English rock band Bauhaus . It was released in August 1979 and it is often considered to be the first gothic rock record. Bela Lugosi was a charter member for the Screen Actors Guild, which is a famous award show.

Filmography Bela Lugosi - 必应 Fantasy/Horror · Bela Lugosi/Helen Chandler/David Manners Directed by Tod Browning. With Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye. The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon ... Bela George Lugosi also known as Bela Lugosi, Jr. (born January 5, 1938 in Los Angeles, California) is the son of actor Béla Lugosi. A California attorney, his legal ... Attention:You are browsing our famous burial locations. If you are looking for a non-famous grave, please start from our home page . b. June 26, 1904 d. March 23, 1964 Actor. Born Laszlo Loewenstein in Rosenberg, Austria-Hungary (now Ruzomberok, Slovakia), he was educated in Vienna, but at age 17, he ran away from home, working as a bank clerk in Vienna, and then making his acting debut in Zurich, Switzerland.

He was a virtual unknown for seven years, playing bit parts in numerous films in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, until 1931, when German director Fritz Lang cast him as a psychopathic child killer in "M" (1931). After several more German films, the... [Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson ) Cause of death: Stroke Plot: Cathedral Mausoleum, corridor C, Alcove of Reverence, niche 5, tier 1 b. October 20, 1882 d. August 16, 1956 Legendary stage and screen actor of the 1910s through 1950s. He is most widely identified with his title role in the movie �Dracula� (1931). Born Bela Ferenc Dezso Blasko in Lugos, Banat, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), he was the youngest of four children of a banker. Bela began his acting career on the stage in Hungary, playing in several Shakespearean plays (Hamlet, MacBeth, King Lear, and Richard III), and appeared in several silent movies of the Hungarian cinema under the stage name...

[Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson ) Cause of death: Heart attack b. October 5, 1957 d. August 9, 2008 Comedian, Actor. Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough, he began his career as a stand up comic in Chicago's Cotton Pickin' Club and in 1990, he won the Miller Lite Comedy Search at age 32. As a popular comedian, he toured the country appearing on late night TV and hosted the HBO talk show "Midnight Mac". In 2001, Fox Television Network gave him his own sitcom, "The Bernie Mac Show" which he received two Emmy nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, in 2002 and 2003. His many feature film... [Read More] (Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith ) Cause of death: Pneumonia b. August 30, 1908 d. November 5, 1991 Actor. One of the most underrated actors of the 20th century, Fred MacMurray played bemused husband, unrepentant heel and perfect father with panache and style.

His career took off after he and Claudette Colbert starred in the forgotten "Grand Old Girl;" they would make seven movies together. He was searing in "Double Indemnity," brilliant in "The Caine Mutiny," and unforgettable in "The Apartment." He was so good as a heel, in fact, that his many fans who enjoyed him in so many Disney... [Read More] (Bio by: Portia ) Cause of death: Pneumonia Plot: Mausoleum, Room 7, Crypt D1 GPS coordinates: 33.9937592, -118.3835983 (hddd.dddd) b. March 22, 1912 d. July 1, 2009 Actor. A versatile performer mainly in supporting roles, he appeared in nearly one hundred motion pictures, television programs and theatre productions since the late 1930's. He was born Mladen George Sekulovich to Yugoslavian parents and raised in Gary, Indiana.

After spending a few years working in local steel mills, Malden attended Arkansas State Teachers College and studied acting at Chicago's Goodman Dramatic School before making his Broadway debut in the 1937 drama "Golden Boy". He made... [Read More] (Bio by: C.S. ) b. June 7, 1917 d. December 25, 1995 Legendary Singer, Actor, and Comedian. Born Dino Paul Crocetti in Stuebenville, Ohio. Before achieving stardom, he performed various job duties, some of which were as a steelmill worker, a service station attendant, a gambler, and he also tried to be a professional boxer. As a boxer, he fought under the name of "Kid Crochet." When asked about his boxing career, he said that he had won "all" but 11 of his 12 bouts. In 1946 his life would change forever when he met a very hard working young up-...

[Read More] (Bio by: Paul Duncan ) Plot: Sanctuary of Love, left side GPS coordinates: 34.0586891, -118.4406662 (hddd.dddd) b. February 19, 1924 d. August 29, 1987 Actor. He is best remembered for his tough-guy roles in such movies as "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962), "Cat Ballou" (1965), "Sergeant Riker" (1968) and dozens of western and military movies, sometimes as the hero and often as a villain. Born in New York City, he was named in honor of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, who was his first cousin, four times removed. Incorrigible as a youth, he was thrown out of numerous schools, until he enlisted in the Marine...

[Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson ) Cause of death: Heart Attack Plot: Section 7A, Lot 176, Map Grid U-24 GPS coordinates: 38.8770447, -77.0712357 (hddd.dddd) b. March 22, 1887 d. October 11, 1961 Vaudeville, stage, and motion picture actor/comedian/entertainer. One of the legendary Marx Brothers along with Groucho, Harpo, Zeppo, and Gummo. Leonard "Chico" Marx was the pianist with a phony Italian accent. He starred in 13 movies with brothers Groucho, Harpo and sometimes Zeppo. Born in New York City as the second-oldest son of Minnie and Sam Marx (the oldest, Manfred, died an infant), Leonard grew up on the streets. He learned various accents and gambling, which became a serious... [Read More] (Bio by: LincolnFan ) Plot: Freedom Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Worship b. October 2, 1890 d.

August 19, 1977 Legendary Actor, Comedian. Groucho was probably the best known of the Marx Brothers comedy team. He achieved fame in film with his brothers Harpo and Chico and sometimes Zeppo, and went on to radio and TV success with the "You Bet Your Life" program. Groucho was born Julius Henry Marx in New York City, the fourth son of Sam and Minnie Marx. He started out as a boy singer before teaming up with his brother Harpo and Gummo. Brother Chico joined later, and the boys switched from a musical team to... [Read More] (Bio by: LincolnFan ) Cause of death: pneumonia Plot: In a small room in the large outdoor mausoleum in the middle of the cemetery. His marker is in the middle of the larger indoor wall GPS coordinates: 34.2810287, -118.4671936 (hddd.dddd) Marx, Harpo (Adolph Arthur) b. November 23, 1888 d. September 28, 1964 Actor, Comedian.

He was part of the immensely popular �Marx Brothers� family comedy team, which consisted of his older brother Leonard �Chico� Marx , and his younger brothers Julius Henry �Groucho� Marx , Milton �Gummo� Marx and [Read More] (Bio by: Iola ) Cause of death: Complications from Heart Surgery Cremated , Ashes scattered , Ashes allegedly sprinkled into the sand trap at the seventh hole of the Rancho Mirage golf course b. May 15, 1909 d. July 27, 1984 English Actor. James Mason made more than 100 films in his 40 year career in both England and the US. He played assorted villains, military men and some dubious romantic leads. His films ranged from the superb to the trashy. His three Oscar Nominations: 'The Verdict (Best Supporting Actor), Georgy Girl ( Best Supporting Actor) and A Star Is Born (Best Actor).' However: No Oscars but The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, 'A Star Is Born.' A Hollywood Fixture and a prolific movie maker in... [Read More] (Bio by: Donald Greyfield ) Cause of death: Heart attack b.

October 1, 1920 d. July 1, 2000 Actor. Initially a character performer, he rose to leading man during the 1970s. With facial characteristics similar to a basset hound, he played a wide variety of roles from villains to lovable, gruff characters. He was often paired with Jack Lemmon and became associated with Neil Simon�s works. Born Walter Matuschanskayasky to Russian Jewish immigrants, he was raised in New York�s Lower East Side. His first experience at acting was a small part in a Yiddish Theater play for which... [Read More] (Bio by: C.S. ) Plot: Chapel Garden Estate, near Jack Lemmon b. January 29, 1913 d. August 4, 1999 Actor. He appeared in musicals, westerns, comedies, historical epics and melodramas. The brawny star of the 1940s and '50s appeared in 50 credit movies mostly with 20th Century Fox.

His most noted are now classics..."Samson and Delilah" playing Samson and "My Darling Clementine" playing Doc Holliday. He was born to Italian immigrant parents as Victor Joseph Maturi in Louisville, Kentucky the only survivor of three children. His parents were from the small town of Pinzolo located in the region... [Read More] (Bio by: Donald Greyfield (inactive) ) Cause of death: Leukemia McDowall, Roddy b. September 17, 1928 d. October 3, 1998 Actor. Born Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall at Herne Hall, London, the son of a merchant marine and an amateur actress. His mother enrolled him in elocution lessons at five and by age ten he had made his uncredited film debut in 1938's �Scruffy,' then appeared in six more films that same year including �Murder in the Family.' He and his family evacuated to the United States during the Battle of Britain and he appeared in another dozen movies before landing a breakout role in 1941's �How... [Read More] (Bio by: Iola ) Cause of death: Lung cancer b.

October 2, 1928 d. June 30, 1993 Actor. Fondly remembered for playing 'Spanky' in the Our Gang/Little Rascals serial comedies. He was featured in many of the one-reelers from the 1930s and 40s. He appeared on the television show "Cheers" shortly before his death. (Bio by: A.J. Marik ) Cause of death: Heart attack Plot: Statesmans' Meadow, Section 2 (G) Row:G Number:26 b. May 7, 1922 d. February 25, 2006 Actor. Character actor seen in movies and television. Probably best known for his role as Ralphie's father in the Holiday classic "A Christmas Story." He began his acting career in 1944 working in an off-Broadway play. He was first seen on film in an un-credited role in the 1945 film "A Song to Remember." He had several bit parts in many films throughout the 1940's.

He appeared in live theater and film productions, including a starring role in the National touring company of "Death of a... [Read More] (Bio by: The Perplexed Historian ) Plot: Section 7, Lot 203, Grave 14 GPS coordinates: 34.0896492, -118.3173981 (hddd.dddd) McQueen, Steve (Terence Steven) b. March 24, 1930 d. November 7, 1980 Actor. Most remembered for his roles in "The Great Escape" (1963), Papillon (1973), and a host of other action movies. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, he dropped out of school in the 9th grade, was sent to reform school, and enlisted in the US Marine Corps. Later, he studied acting, breaking into films in 1956 with bit parts.

In 1958, he got the lead in the teen movie "The Blob" (1958), which lead to his role of bounty hunter Josh Randall in the TV series "Wanted: Dead or Alive" (1958-1960)... [Read More] (Bio by: Kit and Morgan Benson ) Cause of death: Heart attack after cancer surgery Cremated , Ashes scattered at sea , Ashes scattered in the Pacific Ocean b. 1904 d. 1963 Actor, He made appearances on television�s �Hallmark Hall of Fame�. On Broadway, he appeared in the orinal casts of "Design for a Stained Glass Window" (1950), "His and Hers"(1954), and "Four WInds"(1957). (Bio by: Ginny M ) Meredith, Burgess (Oliver) b. November 16, 1907 d. September 10, 1997 Actor.

Born in Cleveland Ohio, the youngest of three children, in the late 1920s, he drifted to New York City, where he had numerous jobs including selling vacuum cleaners, clerking at Macy's, and working as a runner on Wall Street. He then made two trips to South America as an ordinary seaman on an ocean liner, after which he was fired for disobeying orders. In 1933 he joined Eva Le Gallienne's theatre company in New York. His debut role of Red Barry in �Little Ol' Boy', a play of reform... [Read More] (Bio by: Iola ) Cause of death: Melanoma and Alzheimer's Disease Bela Lugosi : definition of Bela Lugosi and synonyms of Bela Lugosi (English) 9 External links Early life Lugosi, the youngest of four children, [3] was born as Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Lugos (at the time part of Austria–Hungary , now Lugoj in Romania ), to Paula de Vojnich and István Blaskó, a banker. [4] He later based his last name on his hometown.

[3] He and his sister Vilma were raised in a Roman Catholic family. [5] At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school. [3] He began his acting career probably in 1901 or 1902. His earliest known performances are from provincial theaters in the 1903–1904 season, playing small roles in several plays and operettas . [6] He went on to Shakespeare plays and other major roles. Moving to Budapest in 1911, he played dozens of roles with the National Theater of Hungary in the period 1913–1919. Although Lugosi would later claim that he "became the leading actor of Hungary's Royal National Theater", almost all his roles there were small or supporting parts. [7] During World War I , he served as an infantry lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1914 to 1916. There he rose to the rank of captain in the ski patrol and was awarded a medal for being wounded at the Russian front.

[3] Due to his activism in the actors union in Hungary during the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1919 , he was forced to flee his homeland. [3] He first went to Vienna , Austria , and then settled in Berlin , Germany , in the Langestrasse where he continued acting. [3] Eventually, he traveled to New Orleans , United States as a crewman aboard a merchant ship. [3] Career Early films Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 movie Az ezredes (known in English as The Colonel). When appearing in Hungarian silent films he used the stage name Arisztid Olt. Lugosi made 12 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. Following the collapse of Béla Kun 's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, leftists and trade unionists became vulnerable. Lugosi was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actors’ union .

In exile in Germany, he began appearing in a small number of well received films, including adaptations of the Karl May novels, Auf den Trümmern des Paradieses (On the Brink of Paradise), and Die Todeskarawane (The Caravan of Death), opposite the ill-fated Jewish actress Dora Gerson . Lugosi left Germany in October 1920, intending to emigrate to the United States , and entered the country at New Orleans in December 1920. He made his way to New York and was legally inspected for immigration at Ellis Island in March 1921. [8] He declared his intention to become a U.S. citizen in 1928, and on June 26, 1931, he was naturalized . [9] On his arrival in America, the 6 foot 1 inch (1.85 m), 180 lb. (82 kg) Béla worked for some time as a laborer, then entered the theater in New York City's Hungarian immigrant colony. With fellow Hungarian actors he formed a small stock company that toured Eastern cities, playing for immigrant audiences.

He acted in his first Broadway play, The Red Poppy, in 1922. Three more parts came in 1925–1926, including a five-month run in the comedy-fantasy The Devil in the Cheese. [10] His first American film role came in the 1923 melodrama The Silent Command . Several more silent roles followed, as villains or continental types, all in productions made in the New York area. Dracula Lugosi was approached in the summer of 1927 [11] to star in a Broadway production of Dracula adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker 's novel . The Horace Liveright production was successful, running 261 performances before touring. He was soon called to Hollywood for character parts in early talkies . 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.

A persistent rumor asserts that director Tod Browning 's long-time collaborator, Lon Chaney , was Universal's first choice for the role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death shortly before production. This is questionable, because Chaney had been under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer since 1925, and had negotiated a lucrative new contract just before his death. Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects (including four of Chaney's final five releases), but Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of Dracula after the death of director Paul Leni , who was originally slated to direct. 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 . His accent, while a part of his image, limited the roles he could play. Lugosi did attempt to break type by auditioning for other roles.

He lost out to Lionel Barrymore for the role of Rasputin in Rasputin and the Empress ; C. Henry Gordon for the role of Surat Khan in Charge of the Light Brigade ; Basil Rathbone for the role of Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko in Tovarich (a role Lugosi had played on stage). He did play the elegant, somewhat hot-tempered Gen. Nicholas Strenovsky-Petronovich in International House . Regardless of controversy, five films at Universal — The Black Cat , The Raven , The Invisible Ray , Son of Frankenstein , Black Friday (plus minor cameo performances in 1934's Gift of Gab ) and two at RKO Pictures , You'll Find Out and The Body Snatcher — paired Lugosi with Boris Karloff . Despite 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 — for a time, at least — good friends.

Karloff himself in interviews suggested that Lugosi was initially mistrustful of him when they acted together, believing that the Englishman would attempt to upstage him. When this proved not to be the case, according to Karloff, Lugosi settled down and they worked together amicably (though some have further commented that Karloff's on-set demand to break from filming for mid-afternoon tea annoyed Lugosi). Universal tried to give Lugosi more heroic roles, as in The Black Cat , The Invisible Ray , and a romantic role in the adventure serial The Return of Chandu, but his typecasting problem was too entrenched for those roles to help. 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 Motion Picture Academy, in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error." [12] Career path A number of factors worked against Lugosi's career in the mid-1930s.

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. Throughout the 1930s, Lugosi, experiencing a severe career decline despite popularity with audiences (Universal executives always preferred his rival Karloff), accepted many leading roles from independent producers like Nat Levine, Sol Lesser , and Sam Katzman . These low-budget thrillers indicate that Lugosi was less discriminating than Karloff in selecting screen vehicles, but the exposure helped Lugosi financially if not artistically. Lugosi tried to keep busy with stage work, but had to borrow money from the Actors' Fund to pay hospital bills when his only child, Bela George Lugosi, was born in 1938. From The Devil Bat , 1940 His career was given a second chance by Universal's Son of Frankenstein in 1939, when he played the character role of Ygor , who uses the Monster for his own revenge, in heavy makeup and beard.

The same year saw Lugosi playing a straight character role in a major motion picture: he was a stern commissar in MGM 's comedy Ninotchka , starring Greta Garbo . This small but prestigious role could have been a turning point for the actor, but within the year he was back on Hollywood's Poverty Row , playing leads for Sam Katzman. These horror, comedy and mystery B-films were released by Monogram Pictures . At Universal, he often received star billing for what amounted to a supporting part. The Gorilla (1939) had him playing straight man to Patsy Kelly , in a role she told author Boze Hadleigh was her finest role. Ostensibly due to injuries received during military service, Lugosi developed severe, chronic sciatica . Though at first he was treated with pain remedies such as asparagus juice, doctors increased the medication to opiates . The growth of his dependence on pain-killers, particularly morphine and methadone , was directly proportional to the dwindling of screen offers.

In 1943, he finally played the role of Frankenstein's monster in Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman , which this time contained dialogue (Lugosi's voice had been dubbed over that of Lon Chaney, Jr. , from line readings at the end of 1942's The Ghost of Frankenstein because Ygor's brain had been transplanted into the Monster). Lugosi continued to play the Monster with Ygor's consciousness but with groping gestures because the Monster was now blind. Ultimately, all of the Monster's dialogue and all references to his sightlessness were edited out of the released film, leaving a strange, maimed performance characterized by unexplained gestures and lip movements with no words coming out. He also came to recreate the role of Dracula a second and last time on film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948. By this time, Lugosi's drug use was so notorious that the producers were not even aware that Lugosi was still alive, and had penciled in actor Ian Keith for the role. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was Bela Lugosi's last "A" movie.

For the remainder of his life he appeared — less and less frequently — in obscure, low-budget features. From 1947 to 1950, he performed in summer stock , often in productions of Dracula or Arsenic and Old Lace , and during the rest of the year made personal appearances in a touring "spook show" and on television. While in England to play a six-month tour of Dracula in 1951, he co-starred in a lowbrow movie comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (also known as Vampire over London and My Son, the Vampire). Upon his return to America, Lugosi was interviewed for television, and revealed his ambition to play more comedy, though wistfully noting, "Now I am the boogie man." Independent producer Jack Broder took Lugosi at his word, casting him in a jungle-themed comedy, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla . Another opportunity for comedy came in September 1949 when Milton Berle invited Lugosi to appear in a sketch on Texaco Star Theater . [13] Lugosi memorized the script for the skit, but became confused on the air when Berle began to ad lib.

[14] Working with Ed Wood Lugosi in Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space , 1959 Late in his life, Bela Lugosi again received star billing in movies when filmmaker Ed Wood , a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as an anonymous narrator in Glen or Glenda and a Dr. Frankenstein -like mad scientist in Bride of the Monster . During post-production of the latter, Lugosi decided to seek treatment for his drug addiction , and the premiere of the film was said to be intended to help pay for his hospital expenses. According to Kitty Kelley 's biography of Frank Sinatra , when the entertainer heard of Lugosi's problems, he helped with expenses and visited at the hospital. Lugosi would recall his amazement, since he did not even know Sinatra. [15] During an impromptu interview upon his exit from the treatment center in 1955, Lugosi stated that he was about to go to work on a new Ed Wood film, The Ghoul Goes West. This was one of several projects proposed by Wood, including The Phantom Ghoul and Dr. Acula.

With Lugosi in his famed Dracula cape, Wood shot impromptu test footage, with no storyline in mind, in front of Tor Johnson 's home, a suburban graveyard and in front of Lugosi's apartment building on Carlton Way. This footage ended up in Plan 9 from Outer Space , which was mostly filmed after Lugosi's death. Wood hired Tom Mason , his wife's chiropractor , to double for Lugosi in additional shots. [16] Mason is thinner than Lugosi, and in every shot covers the lower half of his face with his cape, as Lugosi sometimes did in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein. 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. Personal life In 1917, Lugosi married Ilona Szmick. The couple divorced in 1920, reputedly over political differences with her parents.

In 1929, Lugosi took his place in Hollywood society and scandal when he married wealthy San Francisco widow Beatrice Weeks, but she filed for divorce four months later. Weeks cited actress Clara Bow as the "other woman". [17] In 1933 he married 19-year-old Lillian Arch, the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. They had a child, Bela G. Lugosi , in 1938. [18] Lillian and Béla divorced in 1953, [1] at least partially because of Béla'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 [19] — Lillian eventually did marry Brian Donlevy, in 1966. Lugosi married Hope Lininger, his fifth wife, in 1955. She had been a fan of his, writing letters to him when he was in hospital recovering from addiction to Demerol . She would sign her letters 'A dash of Hope'.

Death Lugosi's grave at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City , California Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956, while lying on a couch in his Los Angeles home. He was 73. [20] 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. [21] Lugosi was buried wearing one of the Dracula Cape costumes, per the request of his son and fourth wife, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his cloak; Bela G. Lugosi confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, actually made the decision but believed that it is what his father would have wanted. [22] Legacy In 1979, the Lugosi v. Universal Pictures decision by the California Supreme Court held that Bela Lugosi's personality rights could not pass to his heirs, as a copyright would have. The court ruled that under California law any rights of publicity, including the right to his image, terminated with Lugosi's death.

[23] [24] Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6340 Hollywood Blvd. In Tim Burton 's 1994 Ed Wood , Lugosi is played by Martin Landau who received an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor . According to Bela G. Lugosi (his son), Forrest Ackerman, Dolores Fuller and Richard Sheffield, Lugosi never used profanity, owned small dogs, or slept in coffins. The film fabricated much about the Hungarian actor. Three Lugosi projects were featured on the television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 . The Corpse Vanishes appeared in episode 105, the serial The Phantom Creeps throughout season two and the Ed Wood production Bride of the Monster in episode 423. An episode of Sledge Hammer titled "Last of the Red Hot Vampires" was a homage to Bela Lugosi; at the end of the episode, it was dedicated to "Mr. Blaskó". In 2001, BBC Radio 4 broadcast There Are Such Things by Steven McNicoll and Mark McDonnell.

Focusing on Lugosi and his well-documented struggle to escape from the role that had typecast him, the play went on to receive the Hamilton Dean Award for best dramatic presentation from the Dracula Society in 2002. A statue of Lugosi can be seen today on one of the corners of the Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest . The Ellis Island Immigration Museum in New York City features a live, 30-minute play that focuses on Lugosi's illegal entry into the country and then his arrival at Ellis Island to enter the country legally. [25] The cape Lugosi wore in the 1931 film Dracula still survives today in the ownership of Universal Studios. The theatrical play Lugosi - a vámpír árnyéka (Lugosi - the Shadow of the Vampire, in Hungarian ) is based on Lugosi's life, telling the story of his life as he becomes typecast as Dracula and as his drug addiction worsens. He was played by one of Hungary's most renowned actors, Ivan Darvas .

Andy Warhol's 1963 silkscreen The Kiss depicts Lugosi from Dracula about to bite into the neck of co-star Helen Chandler , who played Mina Harker . A copy sold for $798,000 at Christie's in May 2000. [26] Lugosi was also the subject of " Bela Lugosi's Dead ", the first single by English rock band Bauhaus . It was released in August 1979 and it is often considered to be the first gothic rock record. Bela Lugosi was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild. Filmography Main article: Bela Lugosi filmography References ^ a b "Divorced." . Time . July 27, 1953. . Retrieved 2008-03-21.

"Bela Lugosi, 68, veteran Hollywood cinemonster (Dracula); by his third wife, Lillian Arch Lugosi, 41, on the ground that his 'unfounded jealousy' constituted mental cruelty; after 20 years of marriage, one son; in Los Angeles ." ^ Obituary Variety , August 22, 1956, page 63. ^ a b c d e f g Osborn, Jennifer (editor); Milano, Roy (photo captions) (2006). Monsters: A Celebration of the Classics from Universal Studios. New York AKA N.Y: Del Ray Books, imprint of Random House, Inc.. p. 38. ISBN 0-345-48685-4 . Referenced information is from an essay in the book written by his son Bela G. Lugosi. ^ IMdb and Biography Channel ^ Christies: Andy Warhol (1928-1987): The Kiss (Bela Lugosi) Further reading Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D.

Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers, ISBN 0-9773798-1-7 (hardcover) The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi by Arthur Lennig (2003), ISBN 0-8131-2273-2 (hardcover) Bela Lugosi (Midnight Marquee Actors Series) by Gary Svehla and Susan Svehla (1995) ISBN 1-887664-01-7 (paperback) Bela Lugosi: Master of the Macabre by Larry Edwards (1997), ISBN 1-881117-09-X (paperback) Films of Bela Lugosi by Richard Bojarski (1980) ISBN 0-8065-0716-0 (hardcover) Sinister Serials of Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. by Leonard J.

Kohl (2000) ISBN 1-887664-31-9 (paperback) Vampire over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain by Frank J. Dello Stritto (2000) ISBN 0-9704269-0-9 (hardcover) Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape by Robert Cremer (1976) ISBN 0-8092-8137-6 (hardcover) Bela Lugosi: Biografia di una metamorfosi by Edgardo Franzosini (1998) ISBN 88-459-1370-8 External links

Question: Which Hungarian-born actor acted in films from 1917 to his death in 1956, and is best known for playing the title role in the 1931 film "Dracula"?
Answer: Bela Lugosi