Overview

Béla Lugosi’s commanding presence, hypnotic voice, and mesmerizing gaze made him the embodiment of Count Dracula, a role that has established him as a cultural icon and a legend of the silver screen forever.  But there's so much more to this captivating individual than meets the eye.   This definitive biography of the man behind that menacing cape takes you deep into the personal life of Béla Lugosi as no other biography can. Exclusive interviews by the author, Robert Cremer, with Lillian Lugosi Donlevy, his wife of 20 years, as well as with Béla’s closest Hungarian relatives and friends, reveal new insights into Béla’s humble beginnings in Transylvania, his political activism in Hungary ‒ which cost him his wife, family and almost his life, his harrowing transatlantic crossing to the U.S. and his struggles here to realize his dream of becoming a success on stage and in film. The story doesn't stop there, but also provides compelling insight into the reasons for Béla’s decline into B-movie productions in Gower Gulch in the 1950s. Exclusive interviews with Edward D. Wood, Jr. unlock heretofore unknown background on Béla’s involvement in the filming of the cult classics Glen or Glenda, Bride of the Monster and Plan 9 from Outer Space as only Ed Wood could provide.   The ultimate book for cinephiles, horror enthusiasts, and fans of Bela Lugosi is not to be missed. Featuring over 700 photos, family artifacts, and historical documents, many of which have never been seen outside of Lugosi’s own family, collected here for the first time!

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9781951038915

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Robert Cremer began his journalistic career as a syndicated columnist at the Hollywood Reporter in Hollywood. He later established the first university cable network at the University of California at Berkeley and directed the university FM radio station KALX there. He was a regular contributor to the entertainment section of the San Francisco Chronicle and was a feature writer for other newspapers on the West Coast. While in the U.S., he authored two books, Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape and Orienteering with Map and Compass. Following his move to Germany in 1993, he authored a book in German, Die Geheimsprache des Blues, which he then translated into English ‒ The Secret Language of the Blues ‒ for distribution in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries. He currently lives in the Bavarian town of Bamberg, which has the densest concentration of beer breweries in the world. He attributes his continuing output in retirement to this fact alone.

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