Bela Lugosi was born Be'la Ferenc Dezso Blasko on October 20, 1882. He was the youngest of four children in an upper-middle class family, and grow up in the small Hungarian town of Lugos (now part of Romanian). At the age of 12, Bela fled his home town, never to return.

Young Bela was desperate to break into acting, but only managed to find employment in the mines and railroad yards. Eventually, his older sister arranged small roles for him in the provincial theatre of Szabadka. Lugosi worked and studied hard and soon won larger roles in bigger towns throughout Hungary.

Adopting the name "Lugossy," (a person of aristocratic heritage), Bela later opted for the name "Lugosi," (of the town Lugos). He appeared in a huge quantity of roles, often 30 or even 40 in one year, and his outstanding singing voice meant he was often given roles in operettas.

Among the roles portrayed by Bela were Jesus Christ and even Romeo. Bela went from success to success, gaining a reputable reputation. With the out break of WWI, Lugosi opted to fight for his country. He was commissioned as a infantry lieutenant, Bela, wounded on three occassions, was decorated for his service, before returning to acting after the war. Bela was now being offered film roles, and starred in around a dozen movies in Hungary (mostly as "Arisztid Olt"), before setting his sights on a move to the USA.

Lugosi first went to Germany (in 1919) were he made another dozen or so film, until he finally left for New York in 1921. Suprisingly, he was cast in the role of Fernando, the Spanish Apache, in the Broadway production of The Red Poppy, suprisingly because Bela still couldn't speak any English! (he memorizing the role phonetically). After numberous other silent films and Broadway productions, he finally got his big break in 1927 when he was offer the lead in the original Broadway production of 'Dracula'.

The play, based on Bram Stoker's classic horror novel, ran for over two years, making a huge star of the stage. Soon, the major movie studios starred to show an interest in Lugosi, and in 1929, he was hired by MGM for a role in the mystery chiller 'The Thirteenth Chair' which was directed by former Lon Chaney director Tod Browning. This would prove to be a historical teaming of director and actor. Browning had been planning a screen version of 'Dracula' for sometime, with Chaney in mind for the title role. When Chaney sadly died in 1930, Browning thought of Lugosi, his genuine East European accent would certainly had authenticity to this early talkie.

It proved to be an excellent choice by Browning; many still today see Lugosi as the embodiment of the vampire count. His performance here would ensure that his hypontic stare, his rich, smooth tones, and his slicked back black hair would be ever present in the horror genre from here until his death.

'Dracula' might seem slow to a modern-day audience, but one thing that wouldn't be deminished by the passing of time is Lugosi's stunning portrayal. Mere months after the completion of Dracula, James Whale announced he would be directing a follow-up, the first sound version of Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. Bela was now being hailed as the next Lon Chaney, and, naturally enough, was cast in the role of the monster. However Lugosi, appalled by the lack of dialogue and the fact the make-up conceiled his appearance, turned the role now. This may have been a mistake by Lugosi; not only was the film argueable the best horror movie to that time, but the role of the monster went to Boris Karloff, who would now rival Lugosi for the crown of undisbuted king of horror.

How much his decision affected his career will never be certain, but Bela's choice of roles most proabaly did. He initially failed to capitalise on his new found fame, appearing in routine stuff like the Charlie Chan thriller 'The Black Camel' and the Joe E. Brown comedy 'Broadminded'. In 1932, Bela finally captialised on his Dracula role, starring a string of excellent horror movies. First up, Lugosi took the lead in 'Murders in the Rue Morgue', a Universal adoption of the Edgar Allan Poe horror story. Bela plays Dr. Mirakle, a deranged scientist searching for a bride for his pet gorilla. It's a good role for Bela, but his next as Murder Legendre in the classic 'White Zombie', would cement Bela Lugosi as a horror icon.

Zombies had been gripping the American public's imagination since the publication of the non-fiction book 'Magic Island' in 1929. After seeing the broadway play 'Zombie' in 1932, independent producers the Halperin brothers decided to make their own tale of the living dead. Amazingly, the captured Bela Lugosi (who was apparently paid a mere $800!) as their star. The plot, set in Haiti, involves Legendre re-animating the dead and trying to convert former silent star Madge Bellamy. 'White Zombie', which was lost until the 1960's, is a creeky but fascinating cult favourite, which, like most of Lugosi's cheapies, includes lots of scenes of Bela wringing his hands and those piercing eerie eyes.

Bela was next cast as the turbaned, death ray wielding bad guy in 'Chandu the Magician', followed by an interesting role as a movie director in the behind-the-movie-scenes murder mystery 'The Death Kiss'. In 1933, Bela's took his next major role, the small but vital part of Sayer of the Law in 'The Island of Lost Souls', based on 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' by H.G. Welles. Often hailed as the greatest horror movie of all time, this chilling tale of a mad scientist (Charles Laughton) converting humans into animals was banned in England until the 1960's.

Lugosi, often criticised as all to often 'playing himself' showed the range of his talents as the beast-man who quotes: 'What is the law? - are we not men?'. A powerful performance that should have showed the major studios what Bela was capable of (it was a rare performance for Paramount).

In 1933, Bela again appeared for Paramount in 'International House', a sci-fi comedy starring 'W.C. Fields, about the invention of a 'Television'! 'A Night of Terror' was a tradition old-dark-house murder mystery with Bela playing another turbaned swami, and, despite the title, 'The Devil in Love' saw Bela in a small, non-horror role, but he was re-united with his 'Dracula' co-star David Manners.

After three years of competing against Karloff, 1933 saw the realisation of the horror fans dream, was both stars were cast in the 1934 'The Black Cat'. Back at Universal, the two stars were outstanding in this classic version of Edgar Allan Poe's horror tale (although, as usual with Hollywood, it shares little in common with the source it's based on). Lugosi plays a doctor searching for his wife and daughter, who have been kidnapped by devil worshipper Karloff. Lugosi portrays a desperate man, and the finale, which sees Lugosi skin Karloff alive, is shocking.

The two stars complemented each other perfectly, and would co-star on many occasions. Lugosi next appeared in the serial 'Return of Chandu' (released in movie forms as 'The Return of Chandu' and 'Chandu on Magic Island'). Bela starred in the title role, which confused audiences who had previous seen him as the taking on Chandu in 'Chandu, the Magician'. It was back to standard murder mysteries for Bela in early 1935, appearing in 'The Mysterious Mr. Wong' (as a Chinaman, but with the usual accent), and 'Murder by Televsion' (with Lugosi as twins).

Bela again donned the cape of Dracula in 1935 in 'Mark of the Vampire', which was essential Tod Browning remaking his own 'London After Midnight' (which starred Chaney, again indicating Lugosi's claim to the title of 'Chaney of the talkies'. Bela plays an actor who disguises himself as a vampire in order to scare people. The non-supernatural premise disappoints most HSF purists, but this was Bela's first appearance as a Dracula-type character in five years.

Lugosi and Karloff were together again in 'The Raven'. In a reverse of 'The Black Cat', this time it's Lugosi as the crazed villian, a Poe-spouting, plastic surgeon with an obbession of Irene Ware and a basement full of torture devices. He turns escaped convict Karloff into a hideous monster, promising to give him a new face only if he assists him in his devious plot to kidnap Ware. One of Lugosi best roles, it was unusal for Lugosi to outshine Karloff so easy as this in films to come.

Bela came to England for the first time in 1935 to make 'The Mystery of the Marie Celeste'. This film also has another historical claim - it was the first HSF film made by the little Hammer Studios. Lugosi plays a crazed seaman who tells the story of the ship discovered without a crew.

'The Invisible Ray', made by Universal in 1936, saw the third teaming of Karloff and Lugosi, and marked a rare thirties addition to the sci-fi genre. Lugosi, as a friendly scientist, is overshadowed by Karloff as a fellow scientist infected by 'Radium X', which causes him to kill by touch. A good film, it was directed by Lambert Hillyer, the man would made 'Dracula's Daughter' later that year. Bela, suprisingly' was not asked to appear in this first sequel to the film that made him famous.

'The Shadow of Chinatown', a silly serial starring Bela as a scientist/super-criminal would be his last HSF part for three years. He didn't act at all in 1938, but if Bela thought his career was near an end, then he was dead wrong; his next major HSF role would be his personal career favourite...

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