Bela Lugosi Biography

Fast Facts

• Volunteered for military service in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I and was wounded on the Russian Front
• Made his film debut in The Leopard (1917) under the name Arisztid Olt
• Before learning English, learned his lines in English language roles phonetically, which led to his distinctive speaking manner
• Made his U
• S
• film debut in 1923 in The Silent Command
• His third wife, Beatrice Weeks, filed for divorce days after their 1929 wedding, naming actress Clara Bow as the other woman in the divorce papers
• Starred in the Broadway adaptation of Dracula before reprising the role in the 1931 film
• Originally chosen for the starring role in Frankenstein, but turned it down in favor of another film role
• Made his last appearance as Dracula in 1943 in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
• Appeared in several Ed Wood movies, including Glen or Glenda? and the posthumously-released Plan 9 from Outer Space
• Buried in his Dracula cape