Lugosi rarely spoke about his time in the war but it's noted in Lennig's biography that one of his most prized possessions was a gold ruble, likely obtained from a Russian soldier. However, another biography claims he was discharged after successfully convincing army physicians that he was mentally unstable. He earned the rank of lieutenant in the 43rd Royal Hungarian Infantry, served in the trenches for a year and a half, and was wounded twice in battle, leaving the service to recover in 1916. His former acquaintances found him to be personable, polite, friendly, but a 'loner' and a terrible manager of his finances."ĭuring the summer of 1914, the onset of World War I, Lugosi quickly enlisted in the army even though he could have obtained a deferment due to his position in the theater. Lennig also mentions, "In 1911, perhaps feeling that the aristocratic name was too pretentious, he modified it and so became Lugosi." Early in his career, he was credited as "Bela Lugossy," a name likely chosen since the y ending connotes nobility, something Lennig believes appealed to the young, hopeful actor. He acted in small roles and because of his pleasant singing voice he often appeared in operettas, later joining other troupes at the end of the season and performing in several towns and cities, gradually refining his acting skills. Records researched by Arthur Lennig, a cinema professor and author of Lugosi's biography The Immortal Count, indicate Lugosi's earliest performances occurred during the 1903-1904 season. It was then I got, too, the knowledge of the main key to my character that I had the ability to focus my will, my mind, my body, my emotions into one deep and driving channel." I got, also, the rancid taste of humiliation. However, he desired to work in theater and tried to land minor roles in performances put on by touring groups that came to town.Įarly on, his lack of education proved to be challenging: "They tried to give me little parts in their plays, but I was so uneducated, so stupid, people just laughed at me. of the earth's deep darkness rather than the darkness of another world." He went on to work as a riveter building bridges and later as a machinist when he was 18, assembling large, powerful machines. there I learned my horror, now, of the darkness. Lugosi recalled the fear he felt working underground, saying, "There, in the dark bowels of the earth, I did sometimes think I might go mad. Lugosi later said he traveled 300 miles (it was actually 34 miles), primarily on foot, to Resita, a Romanian mining town, to work in the mines. ![]() "I was very unruly as a boy, very out of control," Lugosi remarked in an interview. Lugosi was the youngest of four children and quickly developed a disdain for his father's strictness and formal education, reportedly running away from home at age 12 after his father's death though there are conflicting stories. ![]() Bela was immensely proud of his Hungarian heritage throughout his life, inspiring him to adopt the professional surname Lugosi after his hometown. Bela Lugosi was born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó on Octoin Lugos, formerly located in the Kingdom of Hungary and what is now Lugoj, Romania.
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