Born October 20, 1882...
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó lies at rest in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California. And he has done so for over fifty years. And yet it is as if the man is still alive. His face, his voice, his manerisms are all remembered well to this day. This was the man who made vampires charming and dark and powerful and commanding.
And even sexy.
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This was Bela Lugosi.
Lugosi played Dracula unlike any before him and he was perfect for the role. He was from the area, had the accent, but more than that--he emersed himself in the character. His Dracula was like a bullfighter in that his movements were powerful, his command of the stage was complete. He became the Prince of Darkness and he demanded not only the attention of his audience, but their respect and their awe.
And yet, because of his embodiment of the character, because of his absolute mastery of the imagination of the collective audience when it came to what and who Count Dracula was, his career was doomed to be limited or to quote the man himself, “I am definitely typed, doomed to be an exponent of evil.” And, later, “Now I am the boogie man.”
And for his time he was one charming boogie man.
Will always be one sexy scary vampire.
And speaking of Draculas...
Sir Christopher Lee was given the British Institute Fellowship
from fellow actor and friend Johnny Depp at the ceremony.
At age 91 and with over 250 screen credits, what took them so long!
Here's a link to an article about the news:
And now here's a little appropriate music for the occasion...
STAY TUNED TO TCM at 6:15pm for...
EYE OF THE DEVIL
And finally, some more random Halloweenery...
(As always, Click to BEBIGIFY)
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2 comments:
I wish that Hollywood had treated Lugosi better in his lifetime, since he gave so much to the fans that loved his performances.
And yes - Lee's honor was much deserved and well over-due!
When are they going to realize that you have to celebrate these guys while they're around? Lugosi was his own enemy as well, with his pain and medication and money problems, he took too many roles that were beneath him in those post-Dracula days, but like you say, he did deserve better.
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