Béla Ferenc Dezsö Blaskó, better known as Bela Lugosi, was born on October 20, 1882, in Lugos, Hungary, Austria-Hungary, which is now Lugoj, Romania, to Paula deVojnich and István Blaskó, a banker. He was the youngest of four children. During World War I, Lugosi volunteered and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant, and was wounded three times.
Before World War I, Lugosi was a distinguished stage actor in his native Hungary, Austria-Hungary, and began his stage career in 1901. He started appearing in films during World War I, fleeing to Germany in 1919 due to his left-wing political activity, as he organized an actors' union. In 1920, he emigrated to the United States and made a living as a character actor.
Lugosi's breakthrough role came when he played Count Dracula in the legendary 1927 Broadway stage adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, which ran for three years. The stage play was subsequently filmed by Tod Browning in 1931, establishing Lugosi as one of the screen's greatest personifications of pure evil. Also in 1931, he became a U.S. citizen.
However, Lugosi's reputation rapidly declined, mainly because he was blacklisted by the main studios and had no choice but to accept any part (and script) handed to him. He ended up playing parodies of his greatest role in low-grade poverty row films. Due to shady blacklisting among the top Hollywood studio executives, Lugosi refused to sell out or compromise his integrity, and therefore ended his career working for the legendary Worst Director of All Time, Edward D. Wood Jr.
Throughout his life, Lugosi was married three times: to Ilona Szmik (1917-1920),Ilona von Montagh (unknown dates),and Lillian Arch (1933-1951). He also fathered a son, Bela Lugosi Jr., in 1938. Additionally, Lugosi helped organize the Screen Actors Guild in the mid-'30s, joining as member number 28.
Sadly, Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956. He was buried in a Dracula costume, including a cape, but not the ones used in the 1931 film, contrary to popular but unfounded rumors.
