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Bela Lugosi, who made his mark as Dracula in Hollywood, insisted to reporters he battled a crippling habit to medicine for over 20 years — however one creator claimed he “deliberately exaggerated” his story for a heartbreaking reason.
“What he said was that he had been dependent on drugs for 20 years, in some cases 25 years,” creator Robert Cremer advised Fox News Digital. “But he greatly exaggerated the story… And this exaggeration of his dependency on drugs was aimed, in part, at [his fourth wife] in the hope that she would feel guilty, would reconcile with him and come back to him.”
“He wanted to win back his wife and his son,” Cremer added.
’30S STAR SUFFERED TWO NERVOUS BREAKDOWNS, LOBOTOMY AFTER FACING A SERIES OF TRAGEDIES: BOOK
Hungarian-American actor Bela Lugosi as Count Dracula in the 1931 horror traditional “Dracula.” (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Cremer, who was a syndicated columnist at The Hollywood Reporter, has a brand new e-book set to be printed on Dec. 17, “Bela Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape.” It options over 700 images, household artifacts and historic paperwork, a lot of which have by no means been seen outdoors of Lugosi’s household. It additionally highlights interviews with those that knew the actor through the years.
“Bela Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape” is ready to be printed on Dec. 17. (Clover Press)
Cremer has identified the Lugosi household for over 50 years. His authentic e-book concerning the Hungarian performer was printed in 1976. His upcoming launch is the one licensed biography on the star, who died in 1956 at age 73.
Lugosi introduced Dracula to life in Hollywood after his success in the starring function on the stage, the Los Angeles Times reported. His efficiency, which concerned a definite accent, slicked-back black hair, a flowing cape and a captivating persona, helped outline how vampires are depicted on the display screen through the years.
“This overblown idea that he was dependent on drugs for so long is absolute nonsense.”
Bela Lugosi performing as Dracula on the stage, circa 1927. (The Lugosi Collection)
But regardless of skyrocketing to fame, Lugosi turned depending on morphine attributable to accidents he suffered in World War I, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) reported.
“His [fourth wife] Lillian made it quite clear he was only dependent on drugs from 1953 — after their divorce — until he committed himself to rehabilitation in 1955,” Cremer defined. “She said before that, he was not a drug addict in any sense of the word. He only took the medication when he had really extreme pains caused by this World War I injury. He was not taking it regularly as a drug addict would. He only took it when it was absolutely necessary to take care of the pain.”
Bela Lugosi’s fourth spouse, Lillian Arch, was 30 years his junior, stated creator Robert Cremer. (The Lugosi Collection)
Cremer stated that Lugosi had hoped his account would make studio heads really feel sympathy and provide him extra roles to help his household.
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Bela Lugosi with his fourth spouse, Lillian Arch, circa 1951. (Harold Clements/Express/Getty Images)
“The divorce from Lillian in 1953 devastated him,” Cremer defined. “He was a very proud man, and he took his marriage seriously. He took his responsibility for his family very seriously. And in those years, between 1948 and… through the early 1950s, he was just on the road constantly.”
Bela Lugosi is seen at a Los Angeles hospital to deal with his drug habit, circa 1955. The 72-year-old advised reporters he had been taking narcotics for 20 years. (Getty Images)
“… This is a man who was well beyond retirement age with sciatica problems that caused him a great deal of pain on the road endlessly,” Cremer shared. “He felt this responsibility that he wanted to provide adequately for his wife and his son.”
Lugosi married Lillian in 1933. They welcomed his solely little one, a son named Bela G. Lugosi, in 1938.
Bela Lugosi and Lillian Arch welcomed Bela Lugosi Jr. in 1938. (The Lugosi Collection)
Cremer beforehand spoke to the physician who handled Lugosi for his drug dependency, in addition to Lillian earlier than she died in 1981.
“I brought boxes of Kleenex to Lillian’s place when we talked about [the divorce],” Cremer recalled. “The tears flowed endlessly. She really loved him, but Bela could not conquer his jealousy. And because there was a 30-year difference in age, he always felt that he was inadequate as a husband and was very jealous. For that reason, he felt Lillian must be looking around for younger men, which was absolutely not the case. Because of the jealousy, Lillian finally felt that she could not expose her son Bela Jr. to the tension, the arguments, his accusations any longer.”
WATCH: ‘DRACULA’ STAR BELA LUGOSI ‘EXAGGERATED’ HIS DRUG ADDICTION: AUTHOR
“This overblown idea that he was dependent on drugs for so long is absolute nonsense,” Cremer continued. “Lillian reiterated that… numerous times. She said, ‘It’s so important for me to make sure that people know what the real background of this is.’
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Bela Lugosi and his son on the set of his 1948 film “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” (The Lugosi Collection)
“The newspapers, after all, had been basing their reviews on what Bela had stated. But this deliberate exaggeration was by no means, ever handled by the press in later years.”
Cremer noted that the main reason why Lillian was willing to speak out was to help set the record straight.
Bela Lugosi, circa 1931. (The Lugosi Collection)
“We agreed on the truth that we needed this drug concern clarified for as soon as and for all, so there is no such thing as a extra misinformation floating round about it,” Cremer added.
Bela Lugosi struggled with painful sciatica in his later years. (George Rinhart/Corbis via Getty Images)
Lugosi struggled with painful sciatica in his later years. Still, he was determined to perform for fans. Cremer described how, before an appearance on stage as Dracula where he had to climb out of a coffin, he was “deathly afraid” that a sciatic attack would occur on stage, interrupting his performance.
Lugosi’s granddaughter, Lynne Lugosi Sparks, told Fox News Digital it was important for the family to address the decades-long rumors about his drug use.
Bela Lugosi’s granddaughter, Lynne Lugosi Sparks, told Fox News Digital she wanted to address the mistruths about the late star’s life in Robert Cremer’s family-approved book. (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
“The first three chapters of the e-book cope with the top of his life and that subject to get it out of the best way, as a result of the remainder of his life story is so attention-grabbing and necessary,” she explained. “… Right off the bat, we have now my grandmother’s emotions identified [about] what the true scenario was. And then we actually get to the guts of the e-book, which is this stunning story of Bela’s life.”
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At the end of his life, Bela Lugosi felt he had been forgotten. (John Kisch Archive/Getty Images)
Cremer said Lugosi was exploited by film studios. At the end of his life, the actor felt he had been forgotten.
“Lillian advised me that after he starred in ‘Dracula’ [in 1931], he began appearing almost immediately in small roles, some even uncredited,” he explained. “… She felt these roles were far below his stature as a major Hollywood star. His closest friend… whom I interviewed endlessly, said that he talked to him and asked, ‘Why are you taking these uncredited and very minor roles?’ Bela stated, ‘I want people to see me more.’… He felt if he might maintain his face on the display screen continually, that it will enhance his reputation and enhance his stature, which was not true.”
Bela Lugosi was a sought-after actor on the stage before he was discovered by Hollywood. (The Lugosi Collection)
“This tendency for him to take minor roles at very low salaries created the impression among the many studios that they might get him for a nickel or a dime, the place they must pay different actors way more,” said Cremer. “They additionally knew that whatever the function he was showing in, he crafted an impressive efficiency… This tendency continued all through his profession… It was a tragic story.”
Bela Lugosi is seen here preparing to bite on Vampira’s neck, circa 1956. He died that year at age 73. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Lugosi died in his apartment at age 73 from a heart attack. His fifth and final wife, Hope Lininger, said that the actor “gave the impression to be getting higher month by month” following his treatment for drugs.
Lugosi Sparks shared that her grandmother and father chose to bury her grandfather in his costume.
Lynne Lugosi Sparks is determined to keep her late grandfather’s legacy alive. (The Lugosi Collection)
“It was their manner of paying tribute to the function that he had created and was identified for, though they might’ve had no concept on the time that, just some years later, there can be a resurgence in horror movies, and they might be proven on TV,” she stated.
Bela Lugosi was buried in his Dracula costume. (Getty Images)
“Bela… thought he had been forgotten. And that tribute to him, burying him in that cape and costume, was their manner of claiming, ‘This is Bela. Bela is Dracula. This was [the] accomplishment of his life.’”
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