OooooOoooOoh Beeeeeela, Bela Lugosi is dead

A Brief History of Bela Lugosi's life.











Bela Lugosi has a strange allure. It's not really the fact that Bauhaus wrote a song about him, or that he portraited the famous Brom Stoker creation, Dracula. It was just his odd life style and transformation that is interesting. Bela Lugosi was born Bela Blasko in Lugos, Romania. He is the youngest of four children of a baker and a farmer. His acting career started at the Academy of Theatre Arts in Budapest; his first stage role was in Romeo and Juliet in 1904. He toured around Romania, Hungary and Germany with a large theatre troupe for a short period of time. Lugosi became displeased with his options and After appearing in several anonymous movies in Germany and Hungary, came to America in 1921. Lugosi made several films and then returned to the stage as Dracula in the adaptation of the Brom Stoker classic by Hamilton Deane and John Balderston.

He then returned to Hollywood to make more films.

In 1930, when the original pick for the famed Dracula role, Lon Chaney, died, Lugosi was picked to replace him. His portrayal was a smash and opened many doors to other character for Lugosi, though his reputation as Dracula has typecast his acting career into roles of monsters and mad scientists. Lugosi was taking Morphine to cure sciatica, and become addicted. He openly admitted his addiction and sought treatment. A while later, Bela Lugosi died of an over dose while filming Plan Nine from Outerspace, in 1956. At his request, he was buried in his Dracula cape. The requests was ironic, because throughout his career, he was forced by the studios to portrait his character of Dracula off stage, in interviews and appearances. At one time, a movie studio had made Lugosi appear at a movie premier with a gorrilla. At another time, he gave an interview in full Dracula regalia, from a caskette. Perhaps this irony is the last shred of pride Lugosi had to himself, the fact that forever through time, he will be Dracula.