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| Bela Lugosi |
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó, who is mainly known as Bela Lugosi, was born October 20, 1882 and died August 14, 1956. Bela was a Hungarian-American actor from Lugos, Hungary. He had his dream of becoming an actor from a young age. According to Britannica Encyclopedia, when he was just twelve years old, he ran away and worked multiple jobs, including stage jobs (1). Bela played many roles in other horror films, but he was mainly known for his role as Count Dracula.
Bela Lugosi first appeared as Count Dracula in 1927 in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. After that, he then later appeared in the film Dracula in 1931, which was produced by Universal Pictures. According to the British Film Institute, after playing his role in Dracula, it opened him up to play in other horror films such as; The Black Cat, Son of Frankenstein, Dark eyes, White Zombie, Return of the vampire, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, etc. (2). When watching Bela Lugosi, there was no way to not be drawn in to the way he uses his unique hand gestures, his piercing eyes that are able to give you chills, and the ability to channel every character he is in the role of.
Here is a trailer for the 1931 Fantasy, Horror film Dracula with Bela Lugosi: https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1705181465?playlistId=tt0021814&ref_=tt_ov_vi
According to IMDb (the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV, and celebrity content) when Bela Lugosi died in 1956, he was buried in the Dracula costume along with a replica cape. They said that he left the original cape with his son, Bela George Lugosi Jr. (3). Then, according to the Hollywood Reporter, his son tried to sell his original cape at the Icons of Hollywood auction at Profiles in History on December 16th, 2011 for the starting price of $1,200,000. When it failed to sell, they decided to donate it to the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures (4).
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| Bela Lugosi in Dracula with Original Cape |
Vampires have evolved so much over the years, but Bela Lugosi as Dracula will always be legendary. Judge for yourself, here is an amazing clip from the film Dracula done by Bela Lugosi: https://youtu.be/IVPxAgy7lBA
References
1.) The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Bela Lugosi.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 18 Oct. 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Bela-Lugosi.
2.) “Bela Lugosi: 10 Essential Films.” British Film Institute, www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/lists/10-best-bela-lugosi-movies.
3.) Brooke, Michael. “Bela Lugosi.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000509/bio.
4.) Kilday, Gregg. “Why Bela Lugosi's Family Donated Iconic Dracula Cape to Academy Museum.” The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Feb. 2020, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/why-bela-lugosis-family-donated-iconic-dracula-cape-academy-museum-1278618.
Really interesting article on one of the OG Draculas! This definitely makes me want to check out this early adaptation of the novel. Sounds like he must have left a pretty big mark on the role if he was buried in the costume! I can't believe his son tried to sell his original cape from the film! If I were his son I would have kept the cape. The video clip you included at the end was amazing. This blog was very well organized and interesting, great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you included a video clip and pictures of him as Dracula ! It's so interesting he was buried as Dracula, which is a little bit ironic (and a little funny) because Dracula "slept" in a coffin. Also interesting how his son tried to sell his original cape, but then decided to donate it.
ReplyDeleteI also did my blog on Bela Lugosi and I really enjoyed how you took this information and highlighted his good qualities. He led a very full and interesting life and it was nice to see how he is still celebrated and loved by many horror and film buffs. Additionally, a fun fact I found was when he did pass away, his family did not have the money for a funeral and Frank Sinatra actually paid for the whole thing.
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