Carroll Borland(1914-1994)

Allegedly she was fascinated by Bela Lugosi when saw him as Dracula at the Fulton Theater in Oakland, she wrote a novel called "Countess Dracula" and sent it to Lugosi. He called her to play Lucy, Dracula's favorite victim, on stage. Later, he gave her the role of Luna Mora in Das Zeichen des Vampirs (1935).

I saw Bela Lugosi last on a late afternoon in 1948 or 1949. I was waiting for the light to change at the corner of Santa Monica and Sunset, when a car stopped with Bela in the passenger seat. He looked up and saw me, reached out his hand, as I did, but the light changed. His driver pulled away before we made contact, and although he turned and said something, I never saw him again alive. Years later, at his funeral, the King of the Vampires lay wrapped in his cape. With the passing of Lugosi, I felt as if I was present in a darkened theatre. The lights were out; the play was over. I have never visited his grave. I like to think he might not really be there. The best of Bela Lugosi is in my memory. I keep that alive.