Today's date sadly marks the anniversary of death of the original Dracula, Bela Lugosi, who died back in 1956.
Bela was originally from Hungary, and before shipping off to America to pursue his dreams of acting he'd ran away from home at 12, was a Lieutenant in World War 1, and was forced to flee his homeland for his activism.
He almost didn't land his most famous role of Dracula, as it was originally intended for Lon Chaney, who sadly developed throat cancer. But even then Lugosi wasn't the studio's next choice, he was their third. Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula became one of the most iconic movie monsters of all time, but at the cost of leaving him type-cast as ominous and charismatic villains.
Unfortunately Lugosi's frustrations with Hollywood took its toll on his private life, and as his career slumped he fell into financial troubles and ill health as a result of a morphine dependency he developed when recovering from his war injuries. Lugosi attempted to fight it and checked himself into rehab, but sadly it wasn't enough to get him back on top, and he died on 16th August 1956. He was buried in a Dracula cape.
But Lugosi was remembered for more than just being Dracula, because behind the Count he was a pretty cool dude. He was well known in his golden years to be one of the greatest party hosts in Hollywood, hiring actors to play clumsy waiters to trip up and have near misses around his guests for his amusement. He was always seen in Tuxedos in the media, but in his downtime he actually preferred sportswear, the more colourful the better - can you imagine Dracula just kicking back with a cold one watching the game in his sweatpants? Awesome. Lugosi is also fondly remembered for his involvement in some of Ed Wood's films, especially Plan 9 From Out of Space, which was completed after Lugosi's death. He was also used as a model for the devil in Fantasia, the animators intending to capture his ominous stances and facial expressions.
Also a one final little titbit - one of Bela's acting roles was that of a certain Mr. Jesus Christ during one of his early stage performances. For reals, go check it out man, see Dracula dressed up as Jesus! It'll blow your mind, man.
Sleep well, Count.
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