Trivia

In 1929 he married a wealthy San Francisco widow named Beatrice Weeks, a union that 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.

His performance in Tod Browning's Drácula (1931) created such a sensation that he reportedly received more fan mail from females than even Clark Gable.

At the time of his death, Lugosi was in such poor financial straits that Frank Sinatra was rumored to have paid for his funeral. Actually, his widow Hope and ex-wife Lillian paid it; Sinatra's only connection to the aging actor was sending him a $1000 check during his drug rehabilitation. The rumor that Boris Karloff attended the funeral was also an urban myth, as he wasn't in California at the time.

He did not wear fangs when playing the title character in Drácula (1931). The same was true of Frank Langella in Drácula (1979).

Was a philatelist (stamp collector). As such, he would have been thrilled to know that he himself ended up gracing two US stamps.

Served in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I as an infantry captain. He later recounted in stories on film sets about his experiences, which included 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.

According to biographer Robert Cremer, Lugosi was not only the finest party host among Hungarian members of the Hollywood community but also an inveterate practical joker. When other expatriates such as Joe Pasternak, Ilona Massey, Michael Curtiz and Willy Pogany were guests, he would hire comic actor Vince Barnett to play the role of a clumsy waiter spilling drinks and dropping plates of hors d'oeuvres, resulting in near misses for the guests to Lugosi's delight.

His ex-wife Lilian and son had him buried in one of his many capes, but not the one from his role as the title character of Drácula (1931). It is a myth that he was buried in the original Dracula cape. His son still owns it, as he tried to auction it off in 2011 but the starting bid was too high, upwards of $1 million, leaving no room for fans to enjoy the bidding war.

His Los Angeles home was purchased by Johnny Depp, who played his friend Edward D. Wood Jr. in Ed Wood (1994).

Became a US citizen in 1931, the same year he starred in Drácula (1931), whereas fellow horror actor, Boris Karloff lived in the US for 45 years yet never sought American citizenship.

Contrary to popular belief, he only played Count Dracula in two films: Drácula (1931) and Abbott y Costello contra los fantasmas (1948). He played vampires in many other films, but none of them--besides the aforementioned two--were Count Dracula.

There is a persistent myth that Lugosi spoke very little English by the time he shot Drácula (1931), and learned his lines phonetically. This has been debunked by Lugosi historians and is simply not true.

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 wisely chose to market them as "The Bela Lugosi Collection", the most popular---and therefore more bankable---star of the two.

Is the model for the Disney demon Chernabog in Fantasía (1940)'s "Night on Bald Mountain" spooky sequence. He was photographed in evil, demon-like poses for the animators to draw the demon character. The end result on-screen unmistakably shows typical Lugosi traits, expressions and mannerisms.

One of the charter members of the Screen Actors Guild.

As heard in White Zombie (1932), Bela Lugosi pronounced French flawlessly, like a French native and, curiously enough, without a trace of his trademark Hungarian accent. It is unclear whether he was fluent in the language. The reason why is unclear, considering that he dropped out of school when he was 12 years old and is not known to have lived in France. It is equally unclear whether he also spoke any German (he lived and acted in movies in Germany for a few years).

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 roles, and in reality, although Lugosi and Karloff had almost no relationship off-set, they were reportedly amicable whenever working together.

Had an extensive classical career in Hungary including roles in "Hamlet", "Macbeth", "King Lear", "Taming of the Shrew" and "Richard III".

He was contracted to appear in La hija de Drácula (1936) at a salary of $4,000, but the original script in which the character appeared was rejected by Universal. The final script did not involve Dracula, except for an insert shot of him in his coffin, but Lugosi was paid off, earning $500 more for not appearing in that film than he earned for starring in Drácula (1931).

Long before Drácula (1931), shots of his hypnotic eyes in extreme close-up were often used in his films, including Hypnose (1920), The Silent Command (1923) and, later, more famously in White Zombie (1932).

In November 2015 his personal cane featured in his infamous scene in Plan 9 del espacio exterior (1957) sold at Bonhams and Butterfields for $10,000. This cane is considered one of the only remaining props from the film.

Born in Lugos, Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), from which he derived his eventual professional surname.

As of 1995 his son, Bela Lugosi Jr., practices law in Los Angeles, CA.

He performed in live-action reference footage for the "Night on Bald Mountain" sequence of Walt Disney's Fantasía (1940). He was, of course, the terrifying demon Chernabog.

Even when not acting, he was able to project an aura of curiosity and intrigue. According to colleagues, he could command the attention of a whole group of strangers as soon as he entered the same room.

His favorite screen role was Drácula (1931).

In a form requesting biographical information for Cameo Pictures Corp., next to the question "earliest childhood ambition", facetious Bela wrote "highway bandit". In answer to "present ambition", he wrote "dude ranch". In response to "favorite screen players", he wrote "none", then crossed that out and wrote "Mickey Mouse". His patience must have been tested when seeing the invasive question requesting "highlights of your life", with three blank lines to fill out for 1 to 30 years, in 10-year increments. To cut through the aggravating nosiness, he used a curly bracket through all three lines and cheekily wrote: "it is no one's business".

He received only $500 per week for the seven-week engagement on Drácula (1931) a total of $3500. However, in 2007 purchasing power, that would be equal to $47,319. In comparison, Universal paid $2000 per week for the use of leading man David Manners, but Manners was a contract player at First National Pictures. The payment went to that studio, not to Manners, who was paid only his usual weekly rate from First National.

Because of his political activities his remaining in Hungary became problematic, so he left. He went via Vienna to Berlin, where he continued his film career.

He grew disappointed and frustrated with Hollywood not offering him a chance at playing leading roles in non-horror productions, but his early days of stardom in such films as Drácula (1931) and El gato negro (1934) had typecast him.

Wasn't fond of "schmoozing" and for that reason did not attend Hollywood parties. He said "life was too short" for that, and he wouldn't waste his time. Instead, Lugosi preferred to get together in intimate small gatherings at his home, with Hungarian artisans and working crew from his films, whom he often invited to dinner.

Posthumously awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6430 Hollywood Blvd. on 2/8/1960.

Was President of the Hungarian Council for Democracy, in which many leading Americans of Hungarian descent were active.

Appeared with Lon Chaney Jr. in five films: El lobo humano (1941), El fantasma de Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein contra el hombre lobo (1943), Abbott y Costello contra los fantasmas (1948) and Sueño Negro (1956).

Were it not for his death, Lon Chaney, rather than Lugosi, would have been director Tod Browning's choice for the starring role in Drácula (1931).

Because his parents were against his plans to become an actor, he left his family at the age of 12. After working in a mine, he would later join the theater, where he gained his first experience as an actor. Thus classically trained, he subsequently joined the film business, in 1917, and, early on, used the pseudonym Arisztid Olt.

Wore a tuxedo in nearly every film he ever made, except for the ones where he played beasts or monsters, such as Island of Lost Souls (1932), El hijo de Frankenstein (1939) and Frankenstein contra el hombre lobo (1943).

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 American film role, a villainous part in The Silent Command (1923).

Although he expressed interest in playing a romantic lead as he had in Hungary, he rarely got to share a kiss with a female co-star, during his entire Hollywood career. In The Midnight Girl (1925) and in Daughters Who Pay (1925), his "bad guy" characters kiss the ladies forcibly. It isn't until The Return of Chandu (1934) that he shares a split-second peck in a romantic scene with the princess character at the end of the serial.

Before his success in Tod Browning, he had already portrayed "Dracula" on Broadway, starting in 1927. Lon Chaney was originally chosen for the title role, but with his unexpected death, the search for a new Dracula started. Lugosi campaigned hard for the part, and thus won the role that made him a silver-screen horror legend.

Appeared with Boris Karloff in eight films: El gato negro (1934), The Raven (1935), El rayo invisible (1935), El hijo de Frankenstein (1939), El rey del pánico (1940), Viernes 13 (1940) El profanador de tumbas (1945) and Gift of Gab (1934).

Though famous for his role as Dracula, even in his native country of Hungary the movie itself was surprisingly unknown, along with most American pictures he had appeared in. Drácula (1931) was released in Hungary shortly after its American debut in 1931, but many critics and viewers slammed it. The movie fell into obscurity shortly afterwards, and very few American genre movies (such as horror and monster films) reached the country during most of the 20th century, mainly due to the strict Communist censorship. It was only through the advent of home video and the internet that most Hungarians finally saw the performances that had made Lugosi a star in the West. To this day only a couple of his works have been dubbed into his own language, and the DVD releases have been out of print since the early 2000s.

Following World War I, he was an activist for an actors' union in Hungary. In 1919 there was a coup d'état in Hungary and a right-wing military dictatorship rose to power. Union members were persecuted as "leftists", and Lugosi fled into self-exile. He spent some time as an expatriate actor n Austria and Weimar Republic Germany.

Owned a large, framed, portrait he had commissioned of himself in the 1930s. He is depicted as standing in a gray suit, one hand upon his hip, the other holding his coat and hat. This painting hung in his home until the day he died. It is now owned by Metallica's lead guitarist, Kirk Hammett, a hardcore horror movie fan and horror memorabilia collector.

In spite of his cinematic association with the dark side and portraying various evil characters, he was a devout Catholic and was buried at the Holy Cross, a Catholic cemetery in Culver City, CA.

Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA.

Although his status in He Who Gets Slapped (1924) remains unconfirmed to date, in August 2017 videos surfaced with screen captures of a clown extra that bears a striking resemblance to him and, allegedly, would finally offer proof that he was indeed part of the crowd, in this silent film. Initially, a teenage boy named Richard Sheffield, who befriended Lugosi in the 1950s, found two photographs among Lugosi's personal scrapbook of his own work, from which the speculation that he had worked in this silent started.

Pictured on one of a set of five 32¢ US commemorative postage stamps, issued 9/30/1997, celebrating "Famous Movie Monsters". He is shown as the title character in Drácula (1931). Other actors honored in this set of stamps, and the classic monsters they portray, are Lon Chaney as El fantasma de la ópera (1925); Lon Chaney Jr. as El lobo humano (1941); and Boris Karloff on two stamps as La momia (1932) and the monster in Frankenstein (1931).

He joined the crew of a merchant ship as a sailor to gain transport to the US. He entered the country at New Orleans, LA, in December 1920.

Is referenced in The Kinks 1972 song "Celluloid Heroes", with the lines "Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi, because he's liable to turn and bite.".