Bela Lugosi

Béla Lugosi was the stage name of actor Béla Ferenc Dezs? Blaskó (October 20, 1882–August 16, 1956). He was born in Lugos, Transylvania, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), the youngest of four children of a banker. He is best known for his portrayal of Dracula in the American stage production, and subsequent film, of Bram Stoker's classic vampire story.

Death and posthumous performance

Lugosi died of a drug-related heart attack on August 16, 1956 while sitting in a chair in his Los Angeles home. He was 73. The script for Final Curtain, written by Ed Wood, was in his lap. (His role in this film was later given to Kenne Duncan, and shots from that production made their way into Wood's Night of the Ghouls, a sequel of sorts to "Bride of the Monster".)

Related Topics:
Heart attack - August 16 - 1956 - Los Angeles - Kenne Duncan

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Truth being sometimes stranger than fiction , Bela Lugosi was buried in his full Dracula costume, as per the request in his will, in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.

Related Topics:
Will - Holy Cross Cemetery - Culver City, California

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One of Lugosi's most infamous roles was in a movie released after he was dead. Ed Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space features footage of Lugosi interspersed with a double who looks nothing like him. Wood had taken a few minutes of silent footage of Lugosi, in his Dracula cape, for a planned vampire picture but was unable to find financing for the project. When he later conceived of Plan 9, Wood wrote the script to incorporate the Lugosi footage and hired his wife's chiropractor to double for Lugosi in additional shots. The "double" can easily be spotted by the fact that he looks nothing like Lugosi and covers his face with his cape in every shot.

Related Topics:
Plan 9 from Outer Space - Chiropractor

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