Born Be'la Ferenc Dezso Blasko on October 20, 1882, Lugos, Hungary. The youngest of four children. During WWI, volunteered and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant. Wounded three times. Married Ilona Szmik (1917 - 1920) Arrived in New York City in December, 1920. Married Ilona von Montagh (? - ?) Became an American citizen 1931. Married Lillian Arch (1933 - 1951) Father of Bela Legosi Jr. (1938 - ?). Helped organize the Screen Actors Guild in the mid-30's, joining as member number 28. Died of a heart attack August 16, 1956. Buried in his full Dracula costume, including a cape.
Glen or Glenda (1953): $1,000 (flat rate, 1 day)
My Son, the Vampire (1952): $5,000 (flat rate)
Genius at Work (1946): $5,000
The Body Snatcher (1945): $3,000
The Return of the Vampire (1944): $3,500
You'll Find Out (1940): $3,750
Son of Frankenstein (1939): $4,000
S.O.S. Coast Guard (1937): $1,500
Postal Inspector (1936): $5,000 (flat rate)
The Invisible Ray (1936): $4,000
The Raven (1935): $5,000
The Mystery of the Marie Celeste (1935): $10,000
Mark of the Vampire (1935): $3,000
Gift of Gab (1934): $250 (1 day)
The Black Cat (1934): $3,000
White Zombie (1932): $800/week

According to Vincent Price, when he and Peter Lorre went to view Bela's body during Bela's funeral, Lorre, upon seeing Lugosi dressed in his famous Dracula cape, quipped, "Do you think we should drive a stake through his heart just in case?" (Neither was actually at Lugosi's funeral.) Born in Lugos, Hungary, from which he derived his eventual professional surname. Father was a banker. His son, Bela Lugosi Jr., practices law in Los Angeles, California (1995). Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA. Specific Interment Location: Grotto, L120, 1. Were it not for his death, Lon Chaney, rather than Lugosi, would have been the director Tod Browning's choice for the starring role in _Dracula (1931/I)_ . On the set, he camouflaged his drug addiction by sipping burgundy. Contrary to popular belief, he and Boris Karloff did not hate each other, as the famous scene from Ed Wood would lead one to believe. Both men's children have said that the only rivalry that existed between them is when they were both up for the same parts, and in reality, Lugosi and Karloff had almost no relationship off-set. However, near the sad end of his life, Lugosi allegedly had some morphine-addled fantasies that Karloff was a boogie man out to get him. He was one of the charter members of the Screen Actors Guild. He was SAG member #23. In 1929, he married a wealthy San Francisco widow named Beatrice Weeks, a union which lasted all of three days; their divorce named Clara Bow as the "other woman" - it was a media sensation and launched him into national notoriety. Pictured on one of a set of five 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps, issued 30 September 1997, celebrating "Famous Movie Monsters". He is shown as the title character in _Dracula (1931/I)_ . Other actors honored in this set of stamps, and the classic monsters they portray, are Lon Chaney as The Phantom of the Opera; Lon Chaney Jr. as The Wolf Man; and Boris Karloff on two stamps as The Mummy and the monster in Frankenstein. Long, extensive classical career in Hungary including roles in Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Taming of the Shrew and Richard III. His first stage role in the US was "The Red Poppy". Unable to speak English, he was forced to learn the role by rote. He was rewarded with excellent reviews and earned his first US film role, a villainous part in The Silent Command as a result. At the time of his death, Lugosi was in such poor financial straits that Frank Sinatra quietly paid for his funeral. He performed in live-action reference footage for the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence of Walt Disney's Fantasia. He was, of course, the demon. His Los Angeles home was purchased by Johnny Depp, the actor who portrayed his friend Edward D. Wood Jr. in the film Ed Wood. Further immortalized in the song "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by Bauhaus, which was featured in The Hunger, and went on to become a dancefloor mainstay at goth dance clubs in the 1980s. The lyrics of the song described him in his Dracula costume, along with "Undead! Undead! Undead!" being chanted during the song's chorus. His performance in Tod Browning's _Dracula (1931/I)_ created such a sensation that he reportedly received more fan mail from females than even Clark Gable. His name had become such as asset that various studios would give him prominent billing even when he was playing such supporting roles as butlers as he did in Columbia's Night of Terror, Fox's The Gorilla, Universal's Night Monster and Paramount's One Body Too Many. Is portrayed by Martin Landau in Ed Wood In his collaborations with Boris Karloff at Universal, it was Karloff who always got top billing. When these same films were released as part of a DVD box set in 2005, Universal chose to market them as "The Bela Lugosi Collection." He still spoke very little English by the time he shot Dracula (1931) and most of his lines were ones he had learned phonetically for the play the film was based on, which also starred Lugosi. It was another 2 years before he was fluent in English, even though he continued to shoot other films in the meantime. "Every producer in Hollywood had set me down as a type. I was both amused and disappointed." "I'd like to quit the supernatural roles and play just an interesting, down-to-earth person." "I'll be truthful. The weekly paycheck is the most important thing to me."