#Dracula90: Bela Lugosi. The Eternal Vampire.

By: Casandra Vicario

There are 3 standout actors for their portrayal of Dracula on screen: Christopher Lee, Gary Oldman, and Bela Lugosi — of the latter it's said that he slept in a coffin and traveled in a hearse. Macabro continues celebrating the 90th anniversary of the release of the 1931 film version of Dracula, and we're sharing 10 facts about Bela Lugosi with you.

1.- He was born on October 20, 1882; his real name was Bela Ferenc Dezco Blasco, born in Lugos, Hungary, very close to the famous castle of Count Dracula. He was the youngest of 4 siblings. 2.- He volunteered to serve in World War I, rose to the rank of lieutenant, but was wounded on 3 occasions. His parents wanted him to have a desk job, but he wanted to be an actor. He landed his first stage role thanks to a recommendation from his brother-in-law. 3.- He fled his country amid the crackdown unleashed against communism, fearing for his safety as a representative of the actors' union; he escaped to Austria, then moved to Berlin, where he worked in silent film, and finally arrived in the United States. 4.- In 1920 he acted in the film "The Janus Head," directed by F.W. Murnau, one of the German director's lost works. 5.- Bela Lugosi worked under several stage names: Bela Blasko, Bela Lugossy, Géza Lugosi, Dezco Lugosi, and Arisztid Olt — under the last of these he starred in a film based on "The Picture of Dorian Gray." 6.- In 1931, the year Dracula premiered, he obtained U.S. citizenship; he landed the role after the death of Lon Chaney, and it also worked in his favor that he knew Florence, Bram Stoker's widow, through whom he secured a discount on the novel's royalty payment for Universal Films.

7.- He married 5 times; one of these marriages was to millionaire Beatrice Week, though the union lasted only a short time, since Lugosi was unfaithful to his wife with actress Clara Bow. 8.- He turned down the role of Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film, believing his fans wouldn't be able to appreciate his performance under the creature's heavy makeup. 9.- He worked with director Ed Wood on two occasions: "Glen or Glenda" (1953) and "Plan 9 from Outer Space" (1959), though he wouldn't live to finish shooting the latter, as death caught up with him first. 10.- He died on August 16, 1956, at the age of 73, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, wearing the count's cape that had given him eternal life. Additional detail: The English band Bauhaus has a song in his honor: "Bela Lugosi is Dead."

Thank you for everything, dear Bela!

Sources: Diccionario Ilustrado del Cine de Terror. Miguel Juan Payán and Javier Juan Payán. Obra Pub. España. 2006. Hollywood Gótico. La enmarañada historia de Drácula. David J Skal. Pop Ediciones. Madrid. 2015. https://historia.nationalgeographic.com.es/a/bela-lugosi-actor-que-dio-vida-a-dracula_14786