Bela Lugosi.

I am Dracula Bela Lugosi I remember him scaring the daylights out I was a kid he got that stigma on him a vampire you know what lived with him for the rest of his life and he will bring the coffin it might native soil frak you're equals bell Rosabelle ago c equals four Acula doesn't dracula ever end for you oh no black will never end [Music] he was the epitome of the suave cultured European actor his continental manners dark good looks and imposing presence made him an ideal candidate for the kind of romantic heroes he longed to play but for millions of audiences around the word Bela Lugosi would forever be associated with one role that of the bloodthirsty Transylvanian aristocrats Count Dracula ironically it was in Transylvania on October 20th 1882 in the choir town of Lugo Hungary but bailiff Aaron's day show blush Co was born the youngest of four children born to Paula Ernest von Blasko bailar showed little enthusiasm for school much preferred music and singing interests that were not shared by his banker father strict disciplinarian who expected his son to follow in the footsteps of his older brothers and learn a conventional trade but from an early age Bela demonstrated a headstrong nature that rivaled that of his father and the tension that grew between them was fierce and palpable he left home when he was 12 years old to go out and make his way in the world my father at that time wanted to quit school and had an ambition to be an actor and so he worked starting when he was very young and was independent his parents thought that he should stay in school and so apparently there was quite a rift between my father and his parents Baylor had no further contact with his family until one year later when he was stunned by news of his father's death frustrated in his efforts to find stage work the teenager toiled in mines and worked as a machinist but adversity only fueled the boys theatrical ambitions he always wanted to be an actor and he finally achieved it just by perseverance I remember him saying that he hung around the stage door of the stages there in in Hungary and finally somebody gave him something to do on the stage Bela blush go made his first recorded stage appearance at the age of 20 and was soon appearing regularly with regional theatre companies in a variety of roles he told me on the stage in Hungary you played Hamlet Macbeth a lot of the wonderful classical roles and I was very very impressed to the point of where I said wow you did those things really so that when you deal with the Bailey Lugosi you're dealing with what was a very good actor the early decades of the 20th century were a golden age for the Hungarian Theatre due in no small part to the international reputation of the country's leading dramatist Firenze molnar his exquisitely crafted plays such as Lillian the devil and the Guardsman offered tremendous opportunities to an actor of Baylor's talent looks and burning ambition it was this ambition that prompted him to adopt a series of stage names in an effort to secure as many roles and as many chances for fame as possible he performed under the name era steed alt and maybe other names it was somewhere early in his career though that he adopted the name Lugosi after the town Lugo's where he was born at the age of 28 Bela Lugosi was given one of his most important breaks he was chosen to take over the male lead at a 1910 production of Romeo and Juliet Lagasse's lusty interpretation of shakespeare's star-crossed lover proved controversial and popular he was obviously a very gifted person he had a very powerful presence on the stage and off the stage and he was type of person who went to the utmost lengths to perfect his craft in his trade he needs to tell me about how long and how hard he would work at each role that he would play this was so ingrained in his life that he was really first and foremost an actor by 1915 Lugosi had achieved every Hungarian actors dream an invitation to join the National Theatre of Budapest one of the country's leading state subsidized companies though his work was limited to supporting roles the National Theatre offered him the chance to work with the most distinguished actors and directors of his generation a generation soon lost to what became known as the Great War and World War one in Hungary actors were exempt from military service my father nevertheless believed in the cause that his country is fighting in and he did join the army so he was on the frontlines in the ski patrol and was injured there and finished the the war I believe in the hospital never was back in in active duty again at that time he was a captain and received the equivalent of the Purple Heart for his injuries at war's end the 35 year old veteran returned to the national theater where he continued to dazzle audiences with an almost messianic stage presence in Hungary they had a system where you would be ranked actually each actor would perform the same part as the years would go by and they judge one actor against another performing that all the classic roles my father for example played Jesus and he actually looked like Jesus in that part is or at least how Jesus you know is normally depicted and he rose in the ranks and eventually was ranked number one it was at this same time that Lugosi married Ilona smick the daughter of a prominent Budapest attorney but the union was troubled from the start by Baylor's here triggered jealousy and the fact that Ilona's parents disapproved of her husband's unstable theatrical career to make matters worse post-war Hungary was rife with political struggle and the theatrical community forged alliances with the revolutionary regime in the hope of improving working conditions Lugosi among the most visible of the organisers was branded as a traitor when the revolution failed fleeing with his wife to Vienna Ilona's parents forced her to return to Budapest and filed for divorce Bela was devastated this woman who was his first love was really somebody who he always felt very strongly about a woman who I think he always loved all his life shortly after starring in his very first film the leopard in 1917 Bela moved to brew found employment of the thriving German film industry claim featured roles in such films as FW Murnau's Dayani Scott an early adaptation of dr. Jekyll and mr. Hyde and the deer Slayer [Music] [Applause] but despite the success Baylor grew increasingly dissatisfied with life in Germany unable to return to Hungary he worked his way across the Atlantic as a ship's engineer landing in New Orleans in the summer of 1921 he found his way to New York City where he managed to obtain political asylum my father was a very well-read far thinking person he had some vision or idea of the greatness that America would become he was really a very profound American inside that's what he would tell me he really believed in this country now living the life of a European exiled Baylor married Viennese born actress Ilona Vaughn Montag but the marriage soon collapsed over issues of jealousy and professional rivalry unfamiliar with the English language Baylor attempted to start a Hungarian repertory company when he did find work in english-speaking theaters he memorized his lines phonetically one syllable at a time the result was a deliberate and highly inflected vocal style that would become his trademark Hungarians very unusual in that there it is in the middle of Europe unaffected by the Romance languages unaffected by any other languages frankly sounding unto itself it's a very hard accent to lose Lugosi could never get rid of it he tried he could sometimes almost get the rid but never quite you know still smoldering Lee attractive at the age of 40 Lugosi scored a hit as the romantic Apache opposite Estelle Winwood in the red puppy in 1922 when his onstage lovemaking proved so passionate as to actually bruise his leading ladies ribs press agents wasted no time in promoting Lugosi as a major new sex symbol there was a sexuality about my father's persona and I think he realized it and so he prided himself as being able to make the woman's swoon but despite this newly found motor Lugosi's heavily accented speech typed him to play foreigners and usually villainous ones it was a devastating blow to an actor who had always prided himself on range and versatility in 1923 Lugosi made his American screen debut in Fox films the silent command playing a master spy who plans to blow up the Panama Canal in the midnight girl a goateed Lugosi appeared in the role of a lecherous theatrical impresario [Music] in 1927 bela lugosi was offered the leading role in a hit British stage play that was headed to Broadway tired of playing villainous stereotypes disappointed by the parts lack of dialogue he rejected the invitation but when Raymond Huntley the actor who had originated the part in London also turned it down Lugosi was asked to reconsider the decision he made would change his life forever on October 5th 1927 Bela Lugosi's performance in Dracula took Broadway by storm at the age of 44 and with hundreds of stage and screen roles behind him Bela Lugosi had become a star when he did Dracula 1927 on Broadway it was startling it was very sensual and very sexual it wasn't something that was common it's the attractiveness of evil that magazi brought to that role taking the continental romantic sex appeal of the Valentino type of actor that was very popular in the mid 20s the slicked-back here the Aquin features almost hypnotic power over women that combines with his thick Hungarian accent making the character romantic nothing like it had been done before flush with success Bailey was soon seen squiring dozens of wealthy and beautiful women in 1929 he married Beatrice Woodruff weeks The Millionaire heiress of San Francisco's Mark Hopkins hotel but Baylor's third marriage was a complete disaster lasting only four days [Music] the enormous success of Dracula made a film version inevitable securing the rights to both the book and the stage play Universal Pictures hope to use Dracula to lure lon chaney there once resident man of a thousand faces away from MGM Janey had been responsible for two of universals most successful Frank films The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera unfortunately within months of his triumph from the unholy three the versatile actor was stricken with throat cancer and died in August 1930 but despite Cheney's death Bella was still not among the actors under consideration for Dracula others mentioned included Chester Morris Paul Muni and the Austrian actor conrad veidt he told me about the other actors who were being considered and he was really disappointed and surprised that he was not the first choice after he had been successful on Broadway in the play Dracula you may go while lobbying for the role ago she had moved to Hollywood where he honed his on-screen skills as a contract player at the William Fox Company how do you like that my little radish you'd better go with him you want those guns you think he got mad at me because I take you he'll never forgive you the Guyanese by price we don't fight over women if I get part of you I give you back to him what do I care appearing in numerous bit parts and occasional featured roles he often played exotic sheiks European heavies or corrupt businessmen wait on the job I don't get back with a gun play I won't tell I know you shouldn't want me on there honestly alive in my mouth you know me I won't walk it was also at this time that Baylor began a torrid and highly publicized love affair with film star Clara Bow America's it girl the National embodiment of relaxed jazz age morality both sexual exploits had become legendary and her liaison with Broadway's most famous vampire only fueled public and private curiosity but for Lugosi the actresses charms were not enough to distract him from his ultimate goal to star in Universal Pictures upcoming production of Dracula barage ings studio president Carl Laemmle with letters and telegrams Baylor finally got the part for a total salary of $3,500 directed by Todd browning and released in 1931 just prior to Valentine's Day Dracula became an international sensation and Bela Lugosi was hailed as the new lon chaney I am Dracula it's really good to see you I bid you welcome Lugosi so well honed his role doing at about a thousand times on the stage that he was prepared to exude everything that was required of the role one was finally captured on the screen listen to them children of the night what music day me beneath the character of Count Dracula there was a magnificent actor operating and I believed that it was the the thing that all good actors bring to a role the sincerity concentration the believability of being that character this is very old why I hope you will like it aren't you drinking I never drink why Bela Lugosi is perhaps the most outstanding purveyor of a very stylized I we theatrical melodramatic type of screen villainy that we hadn't seen prior to his type of portrayals and we haven't seen sense van Helsing you are too late my blood now flows through her veins he will live through the centuries to come as I have lived and I will have Carfax Abbey torn down stone by stone excavated a mite around I will find your Fox and drive that stake through your heart well go Z and his interpretation of Dracula we have a marriage of sex and death and I think that our ongoing fascination with both sex and death is very significant in this career and why he has become a cultural icon now successful and confident of his future Bela Lugosi became an American citizen he was also sought after by the Hollywood press who delighted in portraying him as a dark and mysterious European what would you like to play it any more on mr. potts future yes why not they are very interesting but I would rather have it combined with some romance it has a much greater appeal to the audience then even the box-office of the producers would gain more romance is very important what's taking a bromance you ever go to any Hollywood party oh I guess I'm pretty much of a lone wolf I don't say I don't like people at all but tell your truth I only like them if I have a chance to look deep into the heart and they're mine besides I I don't even know how to play that but I call it a ukulele ha ha ha realizing that horror movies were a potential bonanza Universal Pictures rushed to feature their new star in a screen adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic Frankenstein submitting to a makeup test Baylor disapproved of playing a mute role especially one in which his handsome features would be buried under pounds of makeup he asked for the script and there weren't any lines and I think it was just a matter of pride he considered himself an actor and that having a role such as that where you just make grunts and other sounds wasn't anything that he wanted to do the part went instead to a relatively unknown 43 year old named Boris Karloff release just eight months after Dracula Frankenstein proved to be an even bigger hit Universal now had two successors to long Chaney and lost no time in creating a slate of evermore McCobb fright films dr. Morocco in the Rue Morgue is guilty of four murders so far this week and by now perhaps a fit directed by Robert fluorine murders in the Rue Morgue offered Baylor an opportunity to prove his range and versatility but the film fared poorly with critics and audiences and Universal declined to extend his contract Boris Karloff it seemed was the studio's new horror superstar Lugosi made a mistake by not taking the monster had he played the monster I think that he would have softened that image of the vampire I think he would have gone on to be recognised by the audiences as a rather versatile actor who could do different things king of all afraid of repeating what he considered the mistake of his life by turning down Frankenstein Lugosi accepted virtually every job he was offered the future was here in 1932 he appeared in what is widely considered one of his best roles as the voodoo master in the independently produced horror classic white zombie you must put the light back into her eyes and bring laughter to Hermes you paint a charming picture this year one that I should like to see I serve although he excelled at playing powerful and commanding screen figures the proud and at times temperamental Lugosi found himself typecast and powerless to secure a long-term studio contract nevertheless he enjoyed a lavish Hollywood lifestyle often living beyond his means he savored the best wines smoked the finest cigars and dined at expensive restaurants but a scant year after his triumph in Dracula Baylor was forced to file for bankruptcy the role he had so badly wanted had become a trap in the public's mind Lugosi was Dracula [Music] you have bull you laugh in February 1933 Bela Lugosi married his fourth wife Lillian arch a 20 year old daughter of a prominent Hungarian American family when my father married my mother there was about a 30 year age difference between them in fact my father and my mother's father were about the same age she was a beautiful young woman when they were married and took care of him in every way his personal life stabilized Lugosi's career also began to improve in 1934 Universal Pictures explored the box-office potential of teaming the stars of Frankenstein and Dracula in a series of fright films the result was three of the most stylish and disturbing motion pictures ever made [Music] I secret with you more power than man has ever possessed space in hands the PLA like Buster's if he touches anyone they die of course many fans assumed the mutual animosity the actors displayed on screen reflected their off-screen sentiments as well an assumption that was not discouraged by studio publicity my father spoke of Boris Karloff from time to time but I never heard him say anything bad about Boris Karloff in 1935 Tod browning the director of universals Dracula cast Lugosi in an almost identical role in MGM's mark of the vampire what out they may be hovering over you or you are you in an effort to avoid typecasting he took smaller parts in occasional non horror films films that showcased his versatility as a character actor as challenging as this period was for Bella proficiently it was also rewarding for him personally on January 5th 1938 the 56 year old actor and his wife Lillian enjoyed the arrival of their only child Bela Lugosi jr. Henson turn on the generator that same year Universal Pictures began production on a third installment in their immensely profitable Frankenstein series son of Frankenstein second bill to the popular Basil Rathbone Boris Karloff reprised his most famous role as the immortal monster but the film's most outstanding moments were provided by Bailey Lugosi's brilliant interpretation of the demented broken necks Igor you'll see that they hanged me once Lange Stein they broke my neck they said I was dead I can't mend a broken neck nobody can mend Egor xanax it's all right son who Frankenstein was one of Universal Pictures biggest hits of the year and Bela Lugosi's performance helped to reestablish him as an actor of great ability when America entered the second world war Lugosi spent considerable time assisting the war effort often making personal appearances at military bases and factories and in tongue-in-cheek newsreels he urged the public to donate blood here for instance is Bela Lugosi the screams number one vampire who's decided to pay back some of that the city's borrow this ladies and gentlemen is a scene in which any actor really gives it this well of all things copy and doner no no beta you mustn't remember your career how can pens believe you're a werewolf that they've seen you Duncan another delusion gum is getting so a man can't even believe in Vampires anymore at home Bella was a firm but loving father and like his own father he believed his son should possess good manners discipline and a fine education he was always teaching me about being honest he hard-working and I started military school when I was 6 years old and I think that he felt that this was his his duty to do that to bring his son up to achieve he loved his family he paid a lot attention to me when I was at home his friends were artists and musicians and so he would have parties where there would be you know music and dancing and lively discussion dad collected stamps so there'd be times when which would be quiet time when he would be sitting there putting his stamps in the books I also remember that he loved dogs and we always had big dogs around the house I very nice memories about my father now in his 60s bela lugosi began suffering from debilitating leg and back pain pain that was not eased by the heavy costume and elaborate makeup he was required to wear for his next role as the monster in Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman of course the grim irony of appearing in the role he had turned down a decade before did little for the aging actors morale what made matters worse was a last-minute decision on the part of studio executives to cut all of Lugosi's on-screen dialogue intended as a sightless creature possessing Igor's brain the now mute actor appeared to stumble about the sets in a laughable and seemingly unmotivated performance it didn't help that much of that performance was most obviously accomplished with the aid of a very visible stuntman eddie parker whether intentional or not the result was tantamount to career sabotage so you wander through the net and you never find better body stress in 1943 Bela reclaimed his Dracula cape in Columbia Pictures return of the vampire for copyright reasons his character was called Armand Tesla but fans had no difficulty recognizing the real Dracula when they saw him they'll Allah go see could still command Top Billing if not top wages unfortunately most of the pictures in which he was asked to appear were poverty row quickies a lot of people say that he didn't have good career management but on the other hand that was just the way he was he loved to work and no matter what quality the picture was that he was in he always gave the first-class performance did I feel myself locked myself in there with him didn't I something one bright spot in this otherwise bleak period was offered by executives at RKO studios they thought that their production of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Body Snatcher would be aided in measurably by the teaming of Baelor with his old co-star Boris Karloff that part was not in the original script and then somebody in the front office Sanji wouldn't it be great if we can say Karloff and Lugosi so that role of the reporter was created to be able to cast Lugosi you and I should work together you mean we would share the bodies to the doctors together dig him up he'll be no digging the kirkyard too well-guarded Lugosi was not well at all in the picture it was just a question of patience and working working with Lugosi because of his health problem whatever it was he had a leg pain problem that started many years back and had been prescribed some drugs for that pain and he became medically addicted to those drugs this medical addiction was for now a well-kept Hollywood secret Bela Lugosi was still capable of giving a fine performance but in Hollywood giving a fine performance is never enough bela lugosi would have to give more now in his mid-60s and suffering from chronic back pain Lugosi maintained an exhausting work schedule one which included extensive touring in stock theater I appeared in Dracula production of Dracula in 1947 and a summer theatre production with him I was worth with him one night and his wife was along and he was talking about some of the things he'd done on the stage in Budapest and his wife came in with he was the John Barrymore of the Budapest stage and with that Lugosi broken and very seriously said no I was the Clark Gable of the Budapest stage and he was quite serious Count Dracula sleeps in this coffin but rises every night at sunset Chika's right this is awful silly stuff in 1948 Bela accepted his last assignment for a major studio in Universal send-up of Dracula Frankenstein and The Wolfman the comedy classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein reprising the role that made him famous Bella still managed to look vigorous and youthful his performance was considered a triumph but by now the Gothic screen monsters of the 1930s were considered quaint and old-fashioned especially when contrasted to the real horrors of World War two and the nuclear age far too old to play leading men and far too ill to play much else Bella was often out of work the story is big on desperate he accepted a small role in an ultra-low budget exploitation picture directed by a young man with more ambition than Talent Edward D Wood jr. if the creator had meant us to be born girls we certainly would have been born girls are we sure the film was a bizarre and disjointed mix of transvestitism and pseudo sociology give this man satin undies dress a sweater and a skirt he's the happiest individual in the world Bayliss role was curious at best but as usual he gave it his all the pair of the big green that sits on your doorstep he eats little boys Abba ducktail big fat nail band in several states due to its highly controversial subject matter the film was a critical and box office disaster it would put him in his movies because of dads name the movies that he put my father in were terrible and I'm you know I'm sorry to see him in those kind of movies but looking at it from my dad's point of view he was working Ed Wood gave him something to do which was really very important to him in 1953 Baylor made a rare television appearance on the popular program you asked for it you know will just five years after his performance in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein Bela Lugosi could no longer hide the ravages of old age and the years of addiction to painkillers lonely infirm and impoverished Bela Lugosi found that his only friends were the children that he had delighted for two decades as Dracula I discovered Bayla in heaven Costello Meet Frankenstein I became his superfan and there was a little group of kids we got our nerve up and called on the phone told him that we were fans and we would like to meet him said sure come over boys and we did and that's what started a three-year glory trail of all kinds of adventures with him unable to find suitable employment Bela now worked exclusively for Edward their next screen picture bride of the monster allowed the actor of final screen soliloquy that poignant Leigh echoed his own compromised circumstances now I am here sent to bring you home I haven't no home [Music] Bunton this mice living glycan and that I will show the world that I can beat master by 1954 Lugosi's lifestyle and chemical dependency had severely damaged both his health and his marriage it was very hard for both my mother and my father to separate and become divorced they loved each other very much but my mother just could not get along anymore with the way he was in his later years my mother was always trying to help him not be addicted she would administer the shots and I know that she would give him shots with nothing in it from time to time just to try and help him out and all this took its toll following the breakup of his marriage Baylor made several unsuccessful attempts to give up the morphine he had become addicted to finally in the spring of 1955 he committed himself for treatment now out in the open Lugosi's physical problems and pathetic circumstances earned him more press than he had received in years but the images of Baylor that were circulated all over the country were more frightening than any movie the actor ever made the newspapers unfortunately he gave a kind of a tabloid touch to it all you know Dracula discovered to be drug fiend that sort of thing and it was rather humiliating actually he was rather brave individual to the public Bella's distress seemed like the final curtain for a faded star but the actor had made a career of rebounding from difficult circumstances bela lugosi would be back three months after his voluntary commitment to a state hospital for narcotic addiction Bela Lugosi astounded the world with a full recovery the seemingly rejuvenated 72 year old actor was the first Hollywood star to ever go public with a drug related problem [Music] a young man newly arrived I'm cured during his weeks of rehabilitation Lugosi had received regular an encouraging mail from a woman by the name of Hope linenger a longtime fan who signed her letters a dash of hope upon his release he sought her out and soon hope Linenger became the fifth mrs. Bela Lugosi about 25 years earlier he determined that one day she would be mrs. Lugosi finally indeed her dream came true but it turned out to be more of a nightmare to her that the man that she married was not the handsome charismatic Dracula that she had once dreamed of a conflict developed because Bella with all his relationships with females he was what we in Spanish she would called macho hope was extremely dedicated to him she took care of him but she just didn't let him have that dominance in in the household that he was apparently used to when he was married to Lilian I feel that he was really still in love with Lilian all this time and that hope came in as a replacement Bella had hoped that his well-publicized recovery would result in goodwill and new offers from the entertainment industry but while goodwill was plentiful offers for work were not offers from anyone that is except ed wood for a proposed film called the vampires tool would photographed Lugosi walking around a nearby graveyard it would later be incorporated into his 1959 cult classic plan 9 from outer space but sadly Bella's dreams of a comeback were not to be on August 16th 1956 death came quietly to the 73 year old actor who had made a screen career playing characters who never died he never did lose his pride he knew what he had accomplished in his lifetime yet his circumstances were not good near the end of his life I'm glad that he could be working all the way down to the end he died with a script in his hand Beyla had always said that he wanted to be buried in his cape and hope said let's do it and I said well if you're going to do that then let's go all away and send his full-dress to the mortuary and it's what he was buried in I remember standing by his coffin I thought well Bayless it's almost as though you might expect a director to call cut and that you would rise from your coffin one more time he looked very very impressive in death for the very end they Lugosi the proud Hungarian who had run away from home at the age of twelve to become an actor still believed fervently in the resurrection of his own career and he lived just a few more years Bela Lugosi would have seen the beginnings of new interest in his films through television magazines and fan clubs appearing on everything from t-shirts to video cassettes bailar and his films had become more popular than ever I don't think that he ever imagined that he would be remembered today and he would really be very heartened to know that the 1995 actor Martin Landau received an Oscar for his inspired portrayal of Bela Lugosi in the film Ed Wood but for many it was a long overdue tribute not only to Landau but to Lugosi I wanted this to be not just a performance but almost like the performance he never got at the end of his life I understand the pain and the fact that he couldn't do at the end of his life what he wanted to do most which was perform an act in good role I think down deep he knew that he was a good actor so he just enjoyed this vampire thing that happened to her he was kind of haunted by it he said something like you know Dracula never dies they overdose he were alive today I think he would have a proud smile on his face knowing that he is regarded not only as as a great actor by a great many people but also as a great man with all his problems he was a very human individual and he was a good friend just like his acting he lived bigger than life I remember my dad every time I see him on the screen I still remember him [Music] you [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Movie Documentary

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Id: 40QGwWIMrtY

Length: 44min 51sec (2691 seconds)

Published: Mon Dec 09 2013

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