Happy birthday Count Dracula.
Today, October 20 would have been Bela Lugosi's 144th birthday.
There is no need to write a lengthy article here on Mr. Lugosi's career. His filmography is easily accessible.
What I will do, to honor this fine actor is to note some things many may not be aware of.
Bela Lugosi loved being an American. After jumping on a freighter seeking a better life in America, he became a US citizen at the first opportunity.
He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild and was a stout supporter of worker's rights.
During the war years he participated in numerous blood drives by the Red Cross and was active in selling War Bonds.
Bela Lugosi loved acting. There's no doubt that he appears in an array of horror films, ranging from excellent to absolute garbage....but one thing was certain:
Bela Lugosi always gave 100% to each role, regardless of the quality of the script.
There's been many thoughts and opinions
about Bela being a drug addict. While serving in WW1, he was wounded.
Biographical accounts and statements from his fourth wife, Lillian, clarify that Lugosi only turned to sporadic morphine use for pain management during his early career climb. His regular, debilitating use of prescription drugs for severe sciatic neuritis (sciatica) did not peak until the mid-to-late 1930s and 1940s.....and yes, he became addicted.
In April 1955, the 72-year-old actor voluntarily petitioned Superior Judge Wallace L. Ware and admitted himself to Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California, for a 90-day treatment and withdrawal program.
After successfully completing his treatment, Lugosi became one of the first major Hollywood stars to openly and publicly discuss his addiction, even voluntarily testifying before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on narcotics traffic to warn others.
Bela Lugosi may have been the first actor to step forward and publicly have himself admitted for treatment of drug addiction.
I must also address the false representation of Bela Lugosi in the film Ed Wood. I'm curious why Tim Burton chose to have Martin Landau play him as a vulgar and foul-mouthed old man in the twilight of his life. I'd like to ask him.
This portrayl has been fully debunked by Lugosi's son, Karloff's daughter, and many actors who knew and worked with him.
Sadly, whenever the film of Ed Wood is discussed on social media, comments are filled with vulgar quotes attributed to him.
Was Bela Lugosi perfect? Absolutely not.
Like all of us, he had his faults, but if he can be remembered for something, let it be his love of being an American, and giving his all when working his craft.
There is no need to write a lengthy article here on Mr. Lugosi's career. His filmography is easily accessible.
What I will do, to honor this fine actor is to note some things many may not be aware of.
Bela Lugosi loved being an American. After jumping on a freighter seeking a better life in America, he became a US citizen at the first opportunity.
He was a charter member of the Screen Actors Guild and was a stout supporter of worker's rights.
During the war years he participated in numerous blood drives by the Red Cross and was active in selling War Bonds.
Bela Lugosi loved acting. There's no doubt that he appears in an array of horror films, ranging from excellent to absolute garbage....but one thing was certain:
Bela Lugosi always gave 100% to each role, regardless of the quality of the script.
There's been many thoughts and opinions
about Bela being a drug addict. While serving in WW1, he was wounded.
Biographical accounts and statements from his fourth wife, Lillian, clarify that Lugosi only turned to sporadic morphine use for pain management during his early career climb. His regular, debilitating use of prescription drugs for severe sciatic neuritis (sciatica) did not peak until the mid-to-late 1930s and 1940s.....and yes, he became addicted.
In April 1955, the 72-year-old actor voluntarily petitioned Superior Judge Wallace L. Ware and admitted himself to Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, California, for a 90-day treatment and withdrawal program.
After successfully completing his treatment, Lugosi became one of the first major Hollywood stars to openly and publicly discuss his addiction, even voluntarily testifying before a U.S. Senate subcommittee on narcotics traffic to warn others.
Bela Lugosi may have been the first actor to step forward and publicly have himself admitted for treatment of drug addiction.
I must also address the false representation of Bela Lugosi in the film Ed Wood. I'm curious why Tim Burton chose to have Martin Landau play him as a vulgar and foul-mouthed old man in the twilight of his life. I'd like to ask him.
This portrayl has been fully debunked by Lugosi's son, Karloff's daughter, and many actors who knew and worked with him.
Sadly, whenever the film of Ed Wood is discussed on social media, comments are filled with vulgar quotes attributed to him.
Was Bela Lugosi perfect? Absolutely not.
Like all of us, he had his faults, but if he can be remembered for something, let it be his love of being an American, and giving his all when working his craft.
