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Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian-American actor, famous for portraying Count Dracula in the original 1931 film and for his roles in various other horror films. He had been playing small parts on the stage in his native Hungary before making his first film in 1917, but had to leave the country after the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919. He had roles in several films in Weimar Germany before arriving in the United States as a seaman on a merchant ship. In 1927, he appeared as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel, where he was talent-spotted as a character actor for the new Hollywood talkies. He later appeared in the classic 1931 film ''Dracula'' by Universal Pictures. Through the 1930s, he occupied an important niche in popular horror films, with their East European setting, but his Hungarian accent limited his repertoire, and he tried unsuccessfully to avoid typecasting. Meanwhile, he was often paired with Boris Karloff, who was able to demand top billing. To his frustration, Lugosi was increasingly restricted to minor parts, kept employed by the studio principally for the sake of his name on the posters. Among his pairings with Karloff, only in ''The Black Cat'' (1934), ''The Raven'' (1935), and ''Son of Frankenstein'' (1939) did he perform major roles again, and, even in ''The Raven'', Karloff received top billing despite Lugosi performing the lead role. By this time, Lugosi had been receiving regular medication for sciatic neuritis, and he became addicted to morphine and methadone. This drug dependence was noted by producers, and the offers eventually dwindled down to a few parts in Ed Wood's low-budget movies, most notably ''Plan 9 from Outer Space''. Lugosi was married five times, and had one son, Bela George Lugosi. Bela Lugosi was a charter member of the American Screen Actors Guild. ==Early life== Lugosi, the youngest of four children,〔 Referenced information is from an essay in the book written by his son Bela G. Lugosi.〕 was born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), to István Blaskó, a banker, and Paula de Vojnich. He later based his last name on his hometown.〔 He and his sister Vilma were raised in a Roman Catholic family. At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school.〔 He began his acting career probably in 1901 or 1902. His earliest known performances are from provincial theatres in the 1903–1904 season, playing small roles in several plays and operettas.〔Arthur Lennig, ''The Immortal Count'', University Press of Kentucky, 2003, p. 21; ISBN 978-0-8131-2273-1.〕 He went on to Shakespeare plays and other major roles. Moving to Budapest in 1911, he played dozens of roles with the National Theatre of Hungary between 1913–19. Although Lugosi would later claim that he "became the leading actor of Hungary's Royal National Theatre", almost all his roles there were small or supporting parts.〔Arthur Lennig, ''The Immortal Count'', University Press of Kentucky, 2003, pp. 25–26, 28–29; ISBN 978-0-8131-2273-1.〕 During World War I, he served as an infantryman in the Austro-Hungarian Army from 1914-16. There he rose to the rank of captain in the ski patrol and was awarded the Wound Medal for wounds he suffered while serving on the Russian front.〔 Due to his activism in the actors' union in Hungary during the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1919, he was forced to flee his homeland.〔 He first went to Vienna and then settled in Berlin in the Langestrasse where he continued acting.〔 Eventually, he travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana, US as a crewman aboard a merchant ship.〔 He took the name Lugosi, in 1903, to honor his birthplace, Lugos. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bela Lugosi」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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