As of 2022, Bela Lugosi's net worth is under review. He lost even more. Four other silent roles followed, villains and continental types, all in productions made in the New York area. The song was a part of the Light Leaks record. The iconic portrayal of Count Dracula marked Lugosi's career and gave him widespread recognition. Bela Lugosi Net Worth | Age, Height, Weight, Dating And More What terrible revenge has Lugosi's character concocted for his revenge? 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). Through the 1930s, he occupied an important niche in horror films, but his notoriety as "Dracula" and ominous thick Hungarian accent greatly limited the roles offered to him, and he unsuccessfully tried for years to avoid the typecasting. "[69], An episode of Sledge Hammer! She would sign her letters "A dash of Hope". 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). Universal cast Lugosi in Son of Frankenstein (1939), appearing in the character role of Ygor, a mad blacksmith with a broken neck, in heavy makeup and beard. 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. Bela Lugosi. 5 Million. Pg. pg. It was, perhaps, simply the result of admiration and compassion. Bela Lugosi became known as an actor the studios could get on the cheap. Lugosi later told reporters that he had no choice but to leave his home to find a job, walking 300 miles to an industrial center where he worked as a miner. This footage ended up in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959), which was mostly filmed after Lugosi died. During World War I, he served as an infantryman in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1914 to 1916, rising to the rank of Lieutenant. Embarrassed, Lugosi left abruptly, without attending the screening. He was kept employed by the studios principally so that they could put his name on the posters. Much like that of the vampire he brought to life, Lugosi's story is a fascinating one, full of ups and downs and twists of fate. Year. [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. In 1933, he married 22-year-old Lillian Arch (1911-1981), the daughter of Hungarian immigrants. At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school. BearManor Media, ISBN 1593932855, Arthur Lennig, The Immortal Count, University Press of Kentucky, 2003, the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "From the Archives: Actor Bela Lugosi, Dracula of Screen, Succumbs After Heart Attack at 73", https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJB-Z61, "15 Intriguing Halloween-Related Factoids! [43][71], Pter Mller's 1998 theatrical play Lugosi the Shadow of the Vampire (Hungarian: Lugosi a vmpr rnyka) is based on Lugosi's life, telling the story of his life as he became typecast as Dracula and as his drug addiction worsened. [2] When appearing in Hungarian silent films, he mostly used the stage name Arisztid Olt. So, how much was Bela Lugosi networth at the age of years old? April 30, 2023. Bela's income mostly comes from and basic source was being a successful Hungarian actor (1882-1956). Among them, English architect Christopher Wren (in 1632), French poet Arthur Rimbaud (in 1854), Kenyan strongman Jomo Kenyatta(in 1891), Sen. Wayne Morse (in in 1900), pundit Will Rogers Jr. (in 1911), columnist Art Buchwald (in 1925), baseball Hall-of-Famer trends.embed.renderExploreWidget("TIMESERIES", {"comparisonItem":[{"keyword":"Bela Lugosi","geo":"","time":"today 12-m"}],"category":0,"property":""}, {"exploreQuery":"q=Bela Lugosi&date=today 12-m","guestPath":"https://trends.google.com:443/trends/embed/"}); His Hungarian accent led to him being typecasted as a horror villain in many films. He was simply, as he put it in this biography, the boogeyman. Youtube. In September 1921, he married Hungarian actress Ilona von Montagh in New York City, and she filed for divorce on November 11, 1924, charging him with adultery and complaining that he wanted her to abandon her acting career to keep house for him. Episode 80: The Thirsty Death - Ghoulish Delights Lugosi claimed he performed the Dracula play around 1,000 times during his lifetime. 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. Bela Lugosi Net Worth On July 19, 2003, German artist Hartmut Zech erected a bust of Lugosi on one of the corners of Vajdahunyad Castle in Budapest. Lughorrort age 18. In 1951, while in England to play a six-month tour of Dracula, Lugosi co-starred in a lowbrow film comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (also known as Vampire over London and My Son, the Vampire), released the following year. 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. Some of the sources for his net worth are his salary, movies, and other earnings. In 1917, Lugosi married Ilona Szmik (1898-1991). In 1921, he married Ilona von Montagh, and divorced in 1924. She would sign her letters "A dash of Hope". Itsvan died when Bela was just 12-years-old, throwing the family fortunes into turmoil. Wood hired Tom Mason, his wife's chiropractor, to double for Lugosi in additional shots. He co-starred in a number of films with Boris Karloff, who was able to demand top billing. Bela Lugosi, original name Blasko Bla Ferenc Dezs, (born October 20, 1882, Lugos, Hungary [now Lugoj, Romania]died August 16, 1956, Los Angeles, California, U.S.), Hungarian-born motion-picture actor who was most famous for his sinister portrayal of the elegantly mannered vampire Count Dracula. Lugosi was intoxicated and very ill during the film's promotional campaign and had to return to L.A. earlier than planned. As far as we know, he has never risen from it. Lugosi: His Life in Films, on Stage, and in the Hearts of Horror Lovers. . Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask (Hungarian:[bel frnts d blko]; October 20, 1882 August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi (/losi/; Hungarian:[luoi]), was a HungarianAmerican actor, best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic Dracula, Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956.[1]. 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. Bela's fifth wife was a fan who continuously wrote to him while he was recovering from drugs in a hospital. Generation generation). Bela Lugosi Net Worth Net Worth List As per our current Database, Bela Lugosi died on Aug 16, 1956 (age 73). Arthur Lennig, The Immortal Count, University Press of Kentucky, 2003, p. 21; Rhodes, Gary (1997). Bela Lugosi - Turner Classic Movies Lugosi was never a contender for such an award. He was the youngest of four children. Bela Lugosi | Biography, Movies, Dracula, & Facts | Britannica His real name is Bla Ferenc Dezs? Short biography, height, weight, dates: Birth date: October 20, 1882, Lugoj, Romania Death date: August 16, 1956, Los Angeles, California, United States Birth place: Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary . He declared his intention to become a US citizen in 1928; on June 26, 1931, he was naturalized. Ames was in turn replaced with David Manners, who would instead come to play John Harker. October 20, 2016, 132nd birthday - Lugosi did attempt to break type by auditioning for other roles. On choosing the topic of the song, the band's bassist David J remarked "It's so weird you should say that, because I've got this lyric about Bela Lugosi, the actor who played a vampire. At the time of his death, Lugosi was in such poor financial straits that Frank Sinatra was rumored to have paid for his funeral. 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. He wasn't Universal Pictures' first choice, though. (Bela eventually had four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, although he did not live long enough to meet any of them.)[51]. In 1921, he met and married his second wife, Ilona von Montagh, a young Hungarian emigree and stage actress whom he had worked with years before in Europe. . Bela had four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He'd developed the addictions over time, and, as this article in Open Culture shows, he'd grown so sick he could no longer live on his own. Life of Bela Lugosi: Hollywood's Most Famous Dracula - LiveAbout Following the collapse of Bla Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, leftists and trade unionists became vulnerable, some being imprisoned or executed in public. It also guaranteed that he would never work as a serious actor again. His relationship with the movie was fraught: it made him famous and, for a time, quite rich. Following his return to the United States, he was interviewed for television, and reflected wistfully on his typecasting in horror parts: "Now I am the boogie man". Net Worth. (At the end of the previous film in the series, The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Lugosi's voice had been dubbed over that of Lon Chaney Jr. since Ygor's brain was now in the Monster's skull[34].) ", "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. He went on to perform in Shakespeare's plays. The growth of his dependence on opiates, particularly morphine and (after 1947, when it became available in America) methadone, was directly proportional to the dwindling of Lugosi's screen offers. Although Lugosi would later claim that he "became the leading actor of Hungary's Royal National Theatre", almost all his roles there were small or supporting parts. On 16 August 1956, Bela Lugosi died of non-communicable . List of Bela Lugosi In fact, he often told reporters that sex was the most important thing in the universe. 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. Universal took notice of the tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. In 1955, he checked himself into the psych ward of Los Angeles General Hospital. 2021. He next played Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's Ed Wood (1994). Wood plays Glen/Glenda. In June 1917, Lugosi married 19-year-old Ilona Szmik (18981991) in Hungary. He was tortured by the idea that, after his star-turn in the Dracula movie in 1931, no one saw would see him as a complicated human being or a talented, sensitive artist. He was 48-years-old when he got the part in the iconic film, and he was already many years into his acting career. Lillian and Bela, as well as his mother, vacationed on their lake property in Lake Elsinore, California (then called Elsinore), on two lots between 1944 and 1953. Following his return to the United States, he was interviewed for television, and reflected wistfully on his typecasting in horror parts: "Now I am the boogie man". He currently resides in Lugoj, Romania. During WWI, he volunteered and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant, and was wounded three times.A distinguished stage actor in his native Hungary, Austria-Hungary, he began his stage career in 1901 and started appearing in films during World War I, fleeing to Germany in 1919 as a result of his left-wing political activity (he organized an actors' union). 's salary? Education: Dropped out of school at age 12. Weeks subsequently filed for divorce on November 4, 1929, accusing Lugosi of infidelity, citing actress Clara Bow as the "other woman", and claimed Lugosi tried to take her checkbook and the key to her safe deposit box away from her. The picture was filmed in Cinecolor.The film is historically important as the only color film in which Bela Lugosi has a starring role. [65] In 2019 it was announced that the cape would be on display the following year. His Hungarian accent led to him being typecasted as a horror villain in many films. He also accepted the lead in an experimental, economical feature, shot in the semi-professional 16mm film format and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, Scared to Death (produced in 1944 but not released until 1947). A number of factors began to work against Lugosi's career in the mid-1930s. The article quotes Lugosi as saying, "Never has a role so influenced and dominated an actor's life as has the role of Dracula. 2022. [24], In 1929, with no other film roles in sight, he returned to the stage as Dracula for a short West Coast tour of the play. Lugosi's jealousy put an end to his union with Arch, who was more than three decades his junior. His wife Hope discovered him dead, on his bed dressed only in his underwear, when she came home from work that evening, he having apparently died peacefully in his sleep around 6:45 PM according to the medical examiner. [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. Bela Lugosi Discusses His Drug Habit as He Leaves the Hospital in 1955 Also in 1931, he became a U.S. citizen. Appeared with Lon Chaney Jr. in five films: The Wolf Man (1941), The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man . [79], According to Paru Itagaki, the creator of the Japanese manga/anime Beastars, the main character Legoshi was inspired by Bela Lugosi (regarding the similar-sounding names). Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Lugosi left Germany in October 1920, emigrating by ship to the United States, and entered the country at New Orleans in December 1920. Lugosi took over the role of Jonathan Brewster from Boris Karloff for Arsenic and Old Lace. His real name is Bla Ferenc Dezs Blask. In 1998, he played Mike McDermott in John Dahl's Rounders. "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. Lugosi married Hope Lininger, his fifth wife, in 1955; they remained married until his death. [46] The couple divorced after Lugosi was forced to flee his homeland for political reasons (risking execution if he stayed) and Ilona did not wish to leave her parents. His professional status made him exempt from the draft, but he signed up anyway and was made a lieutenant in the 43rd Royal Hungarian Infantry. Scared to Death is a 1947 thriller Gothic film directed by Christy Cabanne and starring Bela Lugosi. He was eventually invited to join the National Theater of Budapest. In 1996, he had a supporting role in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day. Last chapter. 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 . California's descendibility statute for rights of publicity, Civil Code Section 990, was enacted in 1988, and Lugosi's estate now licenses the commercial use of his name and image. From 1947 to 1950, he performed in summer stock, often in productions of Dracula or Arsenic and Old Lace, and during the rest of the year, made personal appearances in a touring "spook show", and on early commercial television. California Supreme Court decision on personality rights. The king of horror was buried in his iconic Count Dracula cape If you dare Bela Lugosi grew up in a solidly middle class family in Hungary, the son of a baker-turned-banker. She had been a fan, writing letters to him when he was in the hospital recovering from his drug addiction. Bela Lugosi Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family [4] His father died during his absence. During an impromptu interview upon his exit from the treatment center in 1955, Lugosi stated that he was about to go to work on a new Ed Wood film, The Ghoul Goes West. He was buried in a Dracula costume, including a cape, but not the ones used in the 1931 film . [4] Returning to civilian life, Lugosi became an actor in Hungarian silent films, appearing in many of them under the stage name "Arisztid Olt". During post-production of the latter, Lugosi decided to seek treatment for his drug addiction, and the film's premiere was arranged to raise money for Lugosi's hospital expenses (resulting in a paltry amount of money). [a] Different prominent actors, such as Paul Muni, Chester Morris, Ian Keith, John Wray, Joseph Schildkraut, Arthur Edmund Carewe, William Courtenay, John Carradine, and Conrad Veidt were considered. [48] The divorce became final in October, 1925. Itsvan, a strict and conventional man, had high hopes for his son, but Bela struggled in school and, when asked what profession he hoped to pursue in the future, he answered, "highway bandit." He was discovered in bed by his fifth wife, Hope, upon her return from work. ? You get the point. Released in August 1979, it is often considered to be the first gothic rock record. [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. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison."[32]. Bela Lugosi was a working actor when World War I broke out in Europe. "I was dead, and he brought me back to life." When and how did Bela Lugosi 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"). [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. Frank Sinatra, fresh off the success of his album, In the Wee Small Hours, was quietly contributing to Lugosi's mental health fund. After almost breaking up their marriage in 1944, Lillian and Bela finally divorced on July 17, 1953,[52] at least partially because of Bela's excessive drinking[2] and his jealousy over Lillian taking a full-time job as an assistant to actor Brian Donlevy on Donlevy's radio and television series Dangerous Assignment. As this biography notes, he was fired from gigs roughly 20 times over the next two decades for incompetence. Bela Lugosi Remembered 65 Years After His Death Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares by Gary D. Rhodes, with Richard Sheffield, (2007) Collectables/Alpha Video Publishers. Lugosi enjoyed a lively career on stage, with plenty of personal appearances. But at the last minute, Lugosi's heavily-accented dialogue was edited out after the film was completed, along with the idea of the Monster being blind, leaving his performance featuring groping, outstretched arms and moving lips seeming enigmatic (and funny) to audiences. Lugosi's first film appearance was in the movie Az ezredes (The Colonel, 1917). 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. [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. 103. It was thought to be evidence that Lugosi appeared in the film, but historians all agree that is very unlikely, since Lugosi was in both Chicago (appearing in a play called The Werewolf) and New York at the time that film was being made in Hollywood.
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