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)
Mother Riley Meets 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
Chandu the Magician (1932): $2,500
White Zombie (1932): $800/week
Dracula (1931): $3,500

Born in Lugos, Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), from which he derived his eventual professional surname. His son, Bela Lugosi Jr., practices law in Los Angeles, California (1995). 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). Contrary to popular belief, he and Boris Karloff did not hate each other, as the famous scene from Ed Wood (1994) 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 at least one methadone-addled fantasy that Karloff was a boogie man out to get him. 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. Long, extensive classical career in Hungary including roles in "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "King Lear", "Taming of the Shrew" and "Richard III". At the time of his death, Lugosi was in such poor financial straits that Frank Sinatra quietly paid for his funeral. His Los Angeles home was purchased by Johnny Depp, the actor who portrayed his friend Edward D. Wood Jr. in the film Ed Wood (1994). His performance in Tod Browning's Dracula (1931) created such a sensation that he reportedly received more fan mail from females than even Clark Gable. Is portrayed by Martin Landau in Ed Wood (1994) He still spoke very little English by the time he shot Dracula (1931), He had made the role famous on Broadway, but most of his lines he had learned phonetically, and used the same technique for the film version. It was another two years after he shot Dracula (1931) before he became fluent in English, although he had made several films after that one. Attained the rank of an Infantry Captain in the Hungarian army in World War I. Later recounted in stories on film sets, his duties include acting as a hangman. He also said that at one point he hid in a mass grave of corpses to escape death. After being wounded three times, he was discharged while apparently feigning concussion-caused insanity.