IF YOU HAVE COMMENTS on this site or any of my other webpages, I
would love to hear from you! So, please
send me mail! I promise I will write back!
THE WEBWORLD OF BELA LUGOSI
by Johanne L. Tournier
I bid you welcome, as The Master said, to a cyber-experience that
he himself might have appreciated. BELA LUGOSI - the very name itself conjures
up a sense of mystery. What were his origins? What combination of traits led
to the development of one of the most fascinating and enigmatic of Hollywood
stars? If you seek to know more about the man who was Count
Dracula, the bloodsucking vampire, and who created at least a couple of dozen
unique characterizations in the genre of the horror film, then you should
search below through the links which have been chosen to illuminate his life
and his work in films and on the stage.
Enjoy!
Put this on your calendar!!
- The Cult Movies Magazine Convention 2000 Big Blow-out will be held October 20 - 22, 2000, at the Roosevelt Hotel in Horrorwood, Lugosi Angeles, Karloffornia. Featured guests will include Frank Dello Stritto and Andi Brooks, launching their new book Vampire Over London: Bela Lugosi in Britain, about Lugosi's three forays into Bram Stoker territory, Forry Ackerman, and yours truly. :-) Also featured will be a 118th. birthday party in honor of Our Hero, numerous classic Lugosi and Karloff flicks, plus tours of Lugosi sites around Hollywood for died-in-the-wool Lugosiphiles.
- Hotel reservations - (800) 950-7667. The hotel is the historic (and expensive!) Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a former hang-out of Our Hero. For the special room rate, reserve by August 7 and mention the Cult Movies Convention. You will be entitled to receive a free regular 3-day pass to the Con!! (For other less expensive options, I recommend a perusal of the California-Nevada AAA brochure!)
- Ticket orders - Cameo Distributors, LLC, P.O. Box 685, Torrance, Calif. 90508
- Contact Cult Movies for further info about the Convention - or - call the Hotline - (213) 612-5156 !!!
- Sites Illuminating Lugosi's Life
- Flatt World Figures, Inc. requested me to draft Lugosi's Biography for their new "Lugosi-as-Dracula" figurine, which is due out in March, 1999. Here is that Lugosi Bio for your delectation!
- Here is my longer (unfinished) version of Lugosi's biography.
- Lugosi was born in Lugos, in the Southwest portion of what was then the Kingdom of Hungary.
- I couldn't find any links to Lugosi's hometown of Lugos, Hungary
(now Lugoj, Romania). However, Dialog with Romania has lots of info and links to different sites in Romania.
- At the age of 13, Lugosi ran away from home to become an actor,
but instead found himself working in the mines at Resicabanya
(now Resita, Romania), located about 200 miles south of Lugos.
- At about the age of 17, he moved to
Szabadka (now Subotica, Vojvodina). He lived with his sister and widowed mother and went to work in the railway yard.
- It was in Szabadka that Lugosi got his first opportunity on the
stage - as a chorus boy in an operetta, which was produced in the
Nepszinhaz, or People's Theatre.
- By 1903, Lugosi was appearing at the Ferenc Jozsef Szinhaz (Franz Joseph Theatre) in
Temesvar, the capital of Lugosi's home province of the Banat.
- In 1909, among his many roles, Bela was chosen to play Jesus Christ in a passion play. It appears that this role was of special importance to the young Lugosi, as he had a number of pictures taken of himself in the role. They also illustrate the remarkable resemblance that Bela bore to the traditional images of Christ.
- In 1910, Lugosi got his big break, debuting as Romeo in
Szeged, one of the major cities of Hungary. Through the rest of 1910
and through May, 1911, he appeared in over 30 roles at the
Varosi Szinhaz, or City Theatre.
- During the season in Szeged, Lugosi received offers from two of the
major theatres in
Budapest, the glittering capital and foremost city of Hungary.
- Lugosi joined the Magyar Kiraly Szinhaz (Royal Hungarian Theatre)
in September, 1911, but after only about three months, he left to
join the more prestigious Nemzeti Szinhaz (National Theatre).
- In 1916, shortly after completing his stint in the Army during
WWI, Lugosi was invited to
Debrecen, to again portray Jesus Christ in the production of The
Passion which premiered on April 15, 1916.
- Sites Relating to Lugosi's Films
- You Name It, We Got It! (A Miscellaneous Catch-all of Lugosiana)
- Essays - Lugosi Pro and Con
Bela Buddies and Dracula Fiends (Dracula, Vampire,
and Horror Links)
- The Chamber
of Dr. Werdegast, maintained by young Canadian Chris Veinot is a
very handsome page dedicated to Our Hero and containing some very nice
images (but take some of the factual info with a grain of salt!).
- The Monster
Bash Homepage, has everything from a reprise of this year's Bash, a special salute to Boris Karloff, with Ghast of Honour, Sara Karloff, as well as Forry Ackerman, Dwight D. Frye Jr., Carla Laemmle, and renowned horror scholar, David J. Skal, and a great links page!
- Check out
West Hollywood Gothic, the David J. Skal homepage,for more on this chronicler of the sociology of horror including an annotated bibliography of his books, like Dracula, the Norton Critical Edition
co-edited with Nina Auerbach, and his latest, Screams of Reason, a chronicle of the history of mad scientist from medieval alchemists through the modern cinema of David Cronenberg.
- Also check out
Tall, Dark, and Cyanide, the Gale Sondergaard homepage, dedicated to the slinkiest , most seductively evil brunette to ever inhabit horrordom!
- The
Transylvanian Society of Dracula, an organization devoted to the
serious study of the vampire count in all of his manifestations.
- Elizabeth Miller's Dracula
Homepageis the site for everything connected with Vlad
Dracula, including Dracula '97 and a tour of Transylvania!
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
- To THE LUGOSI FILES - An
electronic newsletter sent free of charge to fans of Bela Lugosi, Dracula
aficionados, or anyone interested in the Golden Age of Hollywood, containing
the latest news about conventions, books, videos, memorabilia, and so on.
You may subscribe by jumping to the ONElist main
page. Then follow the instructions to register as a ONElist subscriber and then type "thelugosiphiles" in the search area and follow the instructions. Or - just drop me a line, and I will add you to the list of Lugosiphiles!
SUBSCRIBE NOW!!
- To LUGOSIPHILIA - An interactive discussion list, dedicated to The Greatest Actor Who Ever Lived! Meet other Belafans and join in informative discussions concerning Lugosi's life and times, collecting Lugosi memorabilia, his co-stars and others with whom he associated, Lugosi's horror films, comedies and dramas. You may subscribe by jumping to the ONElist main page and typing "lugosiphilia" in the search are and then following the instructions. Or - just drop me a line, tell me a bit about yourself and how and why you became interested in Bela Lugosi. I am looking for people who have a sincere interest in learning more about Bela and if that is you, I will gladly add you to the discussion list!
THE WEBWORLD OF BELA LUGOSI
Copyright 1996 - 2000 by Johanne L. Tournier. All rights reserved, except as
specifically granted herein. Permission is given for the reader to make one
printed or electronic copy for personal use only, as long as the author's
by-line and copyright information are retained intact.
Latest revision - June 4, 2000
