[3], Lugosi, the youngest of four children,[4] was born Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask in 1882 in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania) to Hungarian father Istvn Blask, a baker who later became a banker,[5] and Serbian-born mother Paula de Vojnich. Blask. 5 Million. The problem first manifested itself in 1937, when Lugosi was forced to withdraw from a leading role in a serial production, The Secret of Treasure Island, due to constant back pain. pg. 's girlfriend? Nearly 20 years later, Lugosi found himself the beneficiary of an unlikely guardian angel. In 1966, Bela Jr. and Lillian sued Universal Studios for using Lugosi's personality rights without his heirs' permission. His accent, while a part of his image, limited the type of role he could play. Lugosi helped organize the Screen Actors Guild in the mid-'30s, joining as member number 28.Bela Lugosi died of a heart attack August 16, 1956. Universal Studios paid him only $3,500 for his work on Dracula, and, as this piece in the Standard Examiner illustrates, he was always paid less than his rival, Boris Karloff, for comparable roles. Exiled in Weimar-era Germany, he co-starred in at least 14 German silent films in 1920, among them Hypnose: Sklaven fremden Willens (1920), Der Januskopf (1920) and an adaptation of the Karl May novel Caravan of Death (1920). Bela Lugosis source of wealth comes from being a movie actor. Afterward, Lugosi was interviewed by a female reporter who botched the interview by asking the prearranged questions out of order, thoroughly confusing the aging star. Wounded twice in the fighting, Lugosi received a medal for his faithful service. In 1920 he emigrated to the US and made a living as a character actor, shooting to fame when he played Count Dracula in the legendary 1927 Broadway stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel. ISBN 0977379817 (hardcover). He was born in Lugos on 1882-10-20. At that time, in 1938, the new father was so strapped for cash he had to borrow from a Hollywood relief fund to pay the hospital bills. Lugosi's first film appearance was in the movie Az ezredes (The Colonel, 1917). The role went to Karloff instead, and soon the hollow-cheeked leading man began beating Lugosi out for roles. According to Classic Monsters, his third bride was the wealthy widow, Beatrice Weeks, who grew so enraged over his flirtation with "It Girl" Clara Bow that she dissolved the union after only three months. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Lillian and Bla divorced in 1953, at least partially because of Bla'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 Lillian eventually did marry Donlevy in 1966. The rivalry all started, according to this piece on Bloody Disgusting, when Lugosi turned down the chance to play Frankenstein's monster in the 1931 film version of Mary Shelley's groundbreaking novel. Appeared with Lon Chaney Jr. in five films: The Wolf Man (1941), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man . It was his first English-speaking role. [36] He also appeared on the anthology series Suspense on October 11, 1949, in a live adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado".[37]. [44][45], Lugosi repeatedly married. Monday, It was not immediately successful, though. On July 19, 2003, German artist Hartmut Zech erected a bust of Lugosi on one of the corners of Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. Bela Lugosi became known as an actor the studios could get on the cheap. His legal actions in Lugosi v. Universal Pictures led to the creation of the California Celebrities Rights Act. Lugosi was born Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask on 20 October 1882, in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary (modern Lugoj . The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films, fortunately just as Lugosi's fourth wife had given birth to a son. . Lugosi plays a character named The Scientist who narrates the hackneyed and often embarrassing but also hilarious exploration of sex and gender identity. Independent producer Jack Broder took Lugosi at his word, casting him in a jungle-themed comedy, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952), starring nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Jerry Lewis look-alike Sammy Petrillo, whose act closely resembled that of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Martin and Lewis). Fast Facts: Bela Lugosi. Bela Lugosi Net Worth - Celebrity Net Worth Wiki People are becoming more and more interested in Bela Lugosi because of how much money he makes. Bela Lugosi Wiki, Biography, Age, Career, Relationship, Net Worth Bela Lugosi is a member of Movie Actor. trends.embed.renderExploreWidget("TIMESERIES", {"comparisonItem":[{"keyword":" Bela Lugosi ","geo":"","time":"today 12-m"}],"category":0,"property":""}, {"exploreQuery":"q=bela%20lugosi&date=today 12-m","guestPath":"https://trends.google.com:443/trends/embed/"}); He performed in many of William Shakespeare s plays when he was younger. Bela Lugosi Net Worth. Following a successful run as Count Dracula in the stage version of Bram Stoker's bloody tale, Lugosi was cast as the lead in the film adaptation. Bela Lugosi was born Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask on October 20, 1882, Lugos, Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), to Paula de Vojnich and Istvn Blask, a banker. [67], Lugosi's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is mentioned in "Celluloid Heroes", a song performed by The Kinks and written by their lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Ray Davies. The story features Lugosi and John Carradine in a mad tale of love, suspicion, and rabies in the jungle. It was, perhaps, simply the result of admiration and compassion. The court ruled that under California law any rights of publicity, including the right to his image, terminated with Lugosi's death. Released in August 1979, it is often considered to be the first gothic rock record. [12][4] They escaped to Vienna before settling in Berlin (in the Langestrasse), where he began acting in German silent films. It was around this time, on January 31, 1933, that Lugosi married 21 year old Lillian Arch, and despite the almost 30 year age gap and Lugosi's previous marriage record, the pair would remain . April 30, 2023. Occupation: Actor. [81], A 2021 hardcover graphic novel depicting the life of Bela Lugosi was written and drawn by Koren Shadmi, entitled Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula.[82]. Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers. Mason was noticeably taller and thinner than Lugosi, and had the lower half of his face covered with his cape in every shot, as Lugosi sometimes did in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. [2] He later starred in the 1931 film version of Dracula directed by Tod Browning and produced by Universal Pictures. When and how did Bela Lugosi Bela Lugosi Net Worth 2022: Money, Salary, Bio - CelebsMoney It didn't help matters that money was often tight. He went on to perform in Shakespeare's plays. Actually, Bela's widow Hope and ex-wife Lillian paid it; Sinatra's only connection to the aging actor was sending him a $1000 check . Back in 1950 however, Lugosi had appeared on a one-hour TV program called Murder and Bela Lugosi (which WPIX-TV broadcast on Sept. 18, 1950) in which Lugosi was interviewed and provided commentary about a number of his old horror films while clips from the films were being shown; historian Gary Rhodes thinks some of this Lugosi TV production found its way into the 1959 British film, which would finally explain the mystery. In late April of 1955 the 72-year-old actor, destitute and recently divorced from his . As far as we know, he has never risen from it. Add to that illustrious list Bela Lugosi and the British-born Boris Karloff. Due to his activism in the actors' union in Hungary during the revolution of 1919 and his active participation in the Hungarian Soviet Republic,[11] he was forced to flee his homeland when the government changed hands, initially accompanied by his first wife Ilona Szmik. 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 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error.". Bela Lugosi's film career was all but dead when the B-movie (D-movie?) Lugosi took his place in Hollywood society and scandal when he married wealthy San Francisco resident Beatrice Woodruff Weeks (18971931), widow of architect Charles Peter Weeks, on July 27, 1929. Bela Lugosi was born Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask on October 20, 1882, Lugos, Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), to Paula de Vojnich and Istvn Blask, a banker. 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 by Lugosi and his co-stars, as well as Maila Nurmi (TV's horror host "Vampira"). [21] A rumor has circulated for decades among film historians that Lugosi played an uncredited bit part as a clown in the 1924 Lon Chaney Hollywood film He Who Gets Slapped, but this has been heavily disputed. He was raised in a Roman Catholic family.. At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school and left home to work at a succession of manual labor jobs. In 2019 the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures announced acquisition of the cape via partial donation from the Lugosi family and that the cape will be on display in 2020. [66], 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. Once in a full moon, an actor portrays a villain with such flare that fans have a hard time separating the man from the character. The film was a major hit, but Lugosi was paid a salary of only $3,500, since he had too eagerly accepted the role.[12][28]. At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school. In this article, we covered Bela Lugosi's net worth, wiki, bio, career, height, weight, pics, family, affairs, car, salary, age, facts, and other details in 2022. Landau won an Oscar for his turn as the Hungarian heartthrob who'd fallen on hard times. Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Due to shady blacklisting among the top Hollywood studio executives, he refused to sell out or to compromise his integrity, and therefore ended his career working for the legendary Worst Director of All Time, Edward D. Wood Jr..Lugosi was married to Ilona Szmik (1917 - 1920), Ilona von Montagh (? [23] The Horace Liveright production was successful, running in New York City for 261 performances before touring the United States to much fanfare and critical acclaim throughout 1928 and 1929. How rich is Bela Lugosi His only television dramatic role was on the anthology series Suspense on October 11, 1949, in an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado. In 1927, he got his big break. Life of Bela Lugosi: Hollywood's Most Famous Dracula - LiveAbout Exiled in Weimar-era Germany, he began appearing in a small number of well-received films, among them adaptations of the Karl May novels On the Brink of Paradise (Auf den Trmmern des Paradieses, 1920) and Caravan of Death (Die Todeskarawane, also 1920) with Dora Gerson (Gerson, who was Jewish, died in Auschwitz). [78], In 2013 the Hungarian electronic music band agar recorded a song entitled "Mr. Lugosi", which contains a recording of the voice of Bela Lugosi. It made the 6'1" Hungarian hunk irresistible to a series of beautiful women, including the notoriously sexy Clara Bow. [4], Lugosi eventually travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana in December, 1920 working as a crewman aboard a merchant ship, then made his way north to New York City, where he again took up acting in (and sometimes directing) stage plays in 19211922, then worked in the New York silent film industry from 1923 to 1926. ISBN 0977379817 (hardcover). According to the biography, The Immortal Count: The Life and Films of Bela Lugosi, Lugosi's father, Itsvan, was a prosperous man who left the baking profession in 1883 to set up, with the help of a few partners, a small savings bank in the town of Lugos. Bela Lugosi Death: and Cause of Death. Lugosi's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is mentioned in "Celluloid Heroes", a song performed by The Kinks and written by their lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Ray Davies. Lugosi memorized the script for the skit, but became confused on the air when Berle began to ad lib. In some ways, this visit would echo the year his son, Bela Lugosi Jr., was born. [2] He was 73 and weighed 140 pounds. [39], Late in his life, Bela Lugosi again received star billing in films when the ambitious but financially limited 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 (1953) and a mad scientist in Bride of the Monster (1955). To Lugosi's disappointment, however, his role in this film was that of a mute butler with no dialogue. The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films. He lost out to Lionel Barrymore for the role of Grigori Rasputin in Rasputin and the Empress (also 1932); C. Henry Gordon for the role of Surat Khan in Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and Basil Rathbone for the role of Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko in Tovarich (1937), a role Lugosi had played on stage. He was the youngest of four children. 's family members. (Lugosi learned in 1935 that von Montagh and a female friend were both arrested for shoplifting in New York City, which was the last he heard of her.)[49]. Later, the emotional and physical wounds of the war not to mention the pressures of Hollywood caught up with him and he had a very public struggle with drug addiction. 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 films such as Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934) and The Raven (1935) for Universal, and the independent White Zombie (1932). These horror, comedy and mystery B-films were mostly released by Monogram Pictures. He dropped out of school when he was twelve years old, and began appearing in Shakespeare plays. After living briefly in Germany, Lugosi left Europe by ship and arrived in New Orleans on October 27, 1920, and, after making his way north, underwent his primary alien inspection at Ellis Island, N.Y. on March 23, 1921. Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff are referenced in the Curtis Stigers' song "Sleeping with the Lights On", from the 1991 album Curtis Stigers. His relationship with the movie was fraught: it made him famous and, for a time, quite rich. It was both the fulfillment of a dream for Lugosi and, as this look at his career in Naked History suggests, the beginning of a nightmare. ? Lugosi acted in several Hungarian language plays before starring in his first English Broadway play, The Red Poppy in 1922. Lugosi developed severe, chronic sciatica, ostensibly aggravated by injuries received during his military service. Bela Lugosi Net Worth, Height, Age, and More - Popular Celebrity Biography Attendees included Forrest J. Ackerman, Ed Wood (who was a pall bearer), Tor Johnson, Conrad Brooks, Richard Sheffield, both of the widows (Hope and Lillian), Bela Lugosi Jr., Norma McCarty, Loretta King, Paul Marco and actor George Becwar. Lugosi's partnership with Wood began in 1953 with the cross-dressing cult classic, Glen or Glenda, written and directed by Wood, a known transvestite. Bela Lugosi was born on October 20, 1882 in Lugoj, Romania (73 years old). Lugosi was third-billed with his name above the title alongside Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein's son and Boris Karloff reprising his role as Frankenstein's monster. He had to suddenly emigrate to Germany after the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919 because of his former socialist activities (organizing a stage actors' union), leaving his first wife in the process. Along the way he picked up a drug habit. 1941. As per our current Database, Bela Lugosi died on Aug 16, 1956 (age 73). His immortal role as the count led him to play roles in 1934's The Black Cat and 1935's The Raven. They only lived together for a few weeks, but their divorce took until October 1925 to be finalized. A copy sold for $798,000 at Christie's in May 2000. Lugosi was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actors' union. He wasn't Universal Pictures' first choice, though. He began his acting career in 1901 or 1902. ", "Bela Lugosi is Dracula Again in New Comic Arriving This October", https://www.retroagogo.com/categories/collections/bela-lugosi/, Saturn Award for Best DVD or Blu-ray Collection, Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bela_Lugosi&oldid=1152475029, Austro-Hungarian military personnel of World War I, Burials at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Naturalized citizens of the United States, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2015, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from October 2022, Articles needing additional references from August 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Hungarian-language text, Articles with Hungarian-language sources (hu), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 30 April 2023, at 13:16. [80], In 2020, Legendary Comics published an adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 Dracula novel, which used the likeness of Lugosi. Bela Lugosi Discusses His Drug Habit as He Leaves the Hospital in 1955 Net Worth 2020, Salary. Ames was in turn replaced with David Manners, who would instead come to play John Harker. Blasko".[70]. Age (2022) Update Soon. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. 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. Not true, but so is the power of suggestion. Nationality. Tor Johnson said in interviews that Lugosi kept screaming that he wanted to die the night they shared a hotel room together. [29][38], The Vincent Price film, House of Wax premiered in Los Angeles at the Paramount Theatre on April 16, 1953. It was a wrenching move for the rising star, who, 16 years earlier, had changed his surname from Blask to Lugosi in homage to Lugos, the city of his birth. He also appeared in the film Prisoners (also 1929), believed lost, which was released in both silent and talkie versions. So it should come as no surprise, perhaps, that he was married not once, not twice or even three or four times, but five. Three more parts came in 192526, including a five-month run in the comedy-fantasy The Devil in the Cheese. 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. No Traveler Returns: The Lost Years of Bela Lugosi by Bill Kaffenberger and Gary D. Rhodes (2012). 103. It was a long way to fall for the star of one of Hollywood's most successful talkies. The same can be said for Plan 9 FromOuter Space, whichSmithsonian Magazine describes as Wood's "magnum opus of sci-fi schlock." He currently resides in Lugoj, Romania. [15] Lugosi made at least 10 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. [22], Lugosi was approached in the summer of 1927 to star in a Broadway theatre production of Dracula, which had been adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker's 1897 novel. . [43], In 1959, a British film called Lock Up Your Daughters was theatrically released (in the U.K.), composed of clips from Bela Lugosi's Monogram pictures from the 1940s. Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Want to more about Him? When it was clear the film was going to be a monster at the box office, the over-heated publicity department of Universal Studios got busy concocting a backstory for Lugosi worthy of Bram Stoker. 59. Bela Lugosi is a Libra and was born in The Year of the Horse. Prior to his death, Lugosi shot test footage of him wearing one of his Dracula capes in a graveyard. [65] In 2019 it was announced that the cape would be on display the following year. There are contradictory reports of Lugosi's attitude toward Karloff, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to gain good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were for a time, at least amicable. What is Bela Lugosi This drug dependence (and his gradually worsening alcoholism) was becoming apparent to producers, and after 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the offers dwindled to parts in low-budget films; some of these were directed by Ed Wood, including a brief (posthumous) appearance in Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957). Lugosi played Dracula for a second and final time on film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), which was his last "A" movie. Bela Lugosi was an actor who was best known for his role as Count Dracula in a 1931 movie. 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 Deane Award for best dramatic presentation from the Dracula Society in 2002. The heat clearly worked. . ? Bela Lugosi Net Worth (Actor) "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Lugosi made 12 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. [33] He was finally cast in the role of Frankenstein's monster for Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). After playing in 172 different productions in his native Hungary, Lugosi moved on to appearing in Hungarian silent films in 1917. [25], 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. In their place was a count's pedigree and a castle in the mountains of Transylvania. During these moves, Ilona lost her unborn child,[13] after which she left Lugosi and returned home to her parents where she filed for divorce, and soon after remarried. It might 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. [26] Lugosi had played the role on Broadway,[27] and was considered before director Tod Browning cast him in the role. Play episode. When is Bela Lugosi California Supreme Court decision on personality rights. Bela Lugosi died of a heart attack August 16, 1956. 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. Not only did the role take over his life; it subsumed his very identity. He was sent to fight in the Carpathian Winter War. [68], In 1979, a song called "Bela Lugosi's Dead" was released by UK post-punk band Bauhaus and is widely considered to be a pioneering song in the gothic rock genre. Hungarian actor who was immortalized as Dracula in 1931. pg. Hope later moved to Hawaii, where she worked for many years as a caregiver in a leper colony. Thursday, Universal took notice of the tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. And, indeed, it was made into a beloved film, Ed Wood, starring Johnny Depp as Wood and Martin Landau as Lugosi. Historian John McElwee reports, in his 2013 book Showmen, Sell It Hot!, that Bela Lugosi's popularity received a much-needed boost in August 1938, when California theater owner Emil Umann revived Dracula and Frankenstein as a special double feature.
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