173-564: Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó ( Hungarian: [ˈbeːlɒ ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈdɛʒøː ˈblɒʃkoː] ; October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), known professionally as Bela Lugosi ( / l ə ˈ ɡ oʊ s i / lə- GOH -see ; Hungarian: [ˈluɡoʃi] ), was a Hungarian–American actor. He was best remembered for portraying Count Dracula in the horror film classic Dracula (1931), Ygor in Son of Frankenstein (1939) and his roles in many other horror films from 1931 through 1956. Lugosi began acting on
346-630: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to
519-583: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,
692-536: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of
865-531: A $ 1,000 check. Sinatra would recall Lugosi's amazement at his visit, since the two men had never met before. During an impromptu interview upon his release from the treatment center in 1955, Lugosi stated that he was about to begin work on a new Ed Wood film called The Ghoul Goes West . This was one of several projects proposed by Wood, including The Phantom Ghoul and Dr. Acula . With Lugosi in his Dracula cape, Wood shot impromptu test footage, with no particular storyline in mind, in front of Tor Johnson 's home, at
1038-590: A champion of liberty, thereby unleashing a brief outburst of pro-Hungarian emotions. He left embittered because his refusal to oppose slavery alienated his natural constituency, and his long-term impact was minimal. By 1860, 2,710 Hungarians lived in the U.S., and at least 99 of them fought in the Civil War. Their motivations were not so much antislavery as a belief in democracy, a taste for adventure, validation of their military credentials, and solidarity with their American neighbors. An increase of immigration from Hungary
1211-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to
1384-475: A child, Bela G. Lugosi , in 1938. (Bela eventually had four grandchildren (Greg, Jeff, Tim, and Lynne) and seven great-grandchildren, although he did not live long enough to meet any of them.) Lillian and Bela vacationed on their lakeshore property in Lake Elsinore, California (then called Elsinore), on several lots between 1944 and 1953. Lillian's parents lived on one of their properties, and Lugosi frequented
1557-463: A clown in the first film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , He Who Gets Slapped (1924) starring Lon Chaney , but this has been heavily disputed. The rumor originated from the discovery of a publicity still from this film found posthumously in Lugosi's scrapbook, which showed an unidentified clown in heavy makeup standing near Lon Chaney in one scene. It was thought to be evidence that Lugosi appeared in
1730-466: A crewman aboard a merchant ship , then made his way north to New York City, where he again took up acting in (and sometimes directing) stage plays in 1921–1922, then worked in the New York silent film industry from 1923 to 1926. In 1921, he met and married his second wife, Ilona von Montagh, a young Hungarian emigree and stage actress whom he had worked with years before in Europe. They only lived together for
1903-545: A desire to play more comedy, as he had in the Mother Riley farce . Independent producer Jack Broder took Lugosi at his word, casting him in a jungle-themed comedy, Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952), starring nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Jerry Lewis look-alike Sammy Petrillo , whose act closely resembled that of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ( Martin and Lewis ). Hal B. Wallis , Martin and Lewis's producer, unsuccessfully sued Broder. Lugosi enjoyed
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#17328525767982076-592: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as
2249-536: A female friend were both arrested for shoplifting in New York City, which was the last he heard of her.). Lugosi took his place in Hollywood society and scandal when he married wealthy San Francisco resident Beatrice Woodruff Weeks (1897–1931), widow of architect Charles Peter Weeks , on July 27, 1929. Weeks subsequently filed for divorce on November 4, 1929, accusing Lugosi of infidelity, citing actress Clara Bow as
2422-506: A few weeks, but their divorce took until October 1925 to be finalized. He later moved to California in 1928 to tour in the Dracula stage play, and his Hollywood film career took off. Lugosi claimed he performed the Dracula play around 1,000 times during his lifetime. He eventually became a U.S. citizen in 1931, soon after the release of his film version of Dracula . Lugosi's first film appearance
2595-467: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,
2768-638: A lively career on stage, with plenty of personal appearances. As film offers declined, he became more and more dependent on live venues to support his family. Lugosi took over the role of Jonathan Brewster from Boris Karloff for Arsenic and Old Lace . Lugosi had also expressed interest in playing Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey to help himself professionally. He also made plenty of personal live appearances to promote his horror image or an accompanying film. The Vincent Price film, House of Wax premiered in Los Angeles at
2941-423: A man costumed as a gorilla on a leash. He later allowed himself to be photographed drinking a glass of milk at a Red Cross booth there. When Lugosi playfully attempted to bite the "nurse" in attendance, she overreacted and spilled a glass of milk all over his shirt and cape. Afterward, Lugosi was interviewed by a reporter who botched the interview by asking the prearranged questions out of order, thoroughly confusing
3114-619: A murderer in Fritz Lang 's M and went on to play many antagonistic villain roles. Actor Béla Lugosi played Count Dracula in the stage version and subsequent film of Bram Stoker 's classic. Academy Award winner Paul Lukas is perhaps best remembered for his acclaimed role in the film Watch on the Rhine and for his portrayal as Professor Aronnax in Walt Disney 's 1954 film version of Jules Verne 's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under
3287-531: A penny from her fortune.) On June 26, 1931, Lugosi became a naturalized United States citizen. In 1933, the 51-year-old Lugosi married 22-year-old Lillian Arch (1911–1981), the daughter of Hungarian immigrants living in Hollywood. Lillian's father was against her marriage to Lugosi at first as the actor was experiencing financial difficulties at the time, so Bela talked her into eloping with him to Las Vegas in January 1933. They remained married for 20 years and they had
3460-540: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of
3633-604: A prominent dermatologist , found the Erno Laszlo Institute for cosmetic research. Andor Szentivanyi discovered "The Beta Adrenergic Theory of Asthma." In mathematics, Paul Halmos contributed significantly to probability theory , statistics , and logic . Cornelius Lanczos developed numerous techniques for mathematical calculations, of which the Lanczos algorithm and Lanczos approximation are named after him. Jewish mathematician John von Neumann , acknowledged as one of
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#17328525767983806-799: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and
3979-572: A seaman on a merchant ship, then making his way north to New York City and Ellis Island. In 1927, he starred as Count Dracula in a Broadway adaptation of Bram Stoker 's novel , moving with the play to the West Coast in 1928 and settling down in Hollywood. He later starred in the 1931 film version of Dracula directed by Tod Browning and produced by Universal Pictures . Through the 1930s, he occupied an important niche in horror films, but his notoriety as Dracula and thick Hungarian accent greatly limited
4152-504: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of
4325-514: A six-month tour of Dracula , Lugosi co-starred in a lowbrow film comedy, Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (also known as Vampire Over London and My Son, the Vampire ), released the following year. Following his return to the United States, he was interviewed for television, and reflected wistfully on his typecasting in horror parts: "Now I am the boogie man ". In the same interview, he expressed
4498-464: A special double feature. The combination was so successful that Umann scheduled extra shows to accommodate the capacity crowds, and invited Lugosi to appear in person, which thrilled new audiences that had never seen Lugosi's classic performance. "I owe it all to that little man at the Regina Theatre," said Lugosi of exhibitor Umann. "I was dead, and he brought me back to life." Universal took notice of
4671-711: A suburban graveyard, and in front of Lugosi's apartment building on Carlton Way. This footage ended up posthumously in Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), which was filmed in 1956 soon after Lugosi died. Wood hired Tom Mason , his wife's chiropractor , to double for Lugosi in additional shots. Mason was noticeably taller and thinner than Lugosi, and had the lower half of his face covered with his cape in every shot, as Lugosi sometimes did in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . Following his treatment, Lugosi made one final film, in late 1955, The Black Sleep , for Bel-Air Pictures, which
4844-449: A turning point for the actor, but within the year he was back on Hollywood's Poverty Row, playing leads for Sam Katzman ; the producer was then releasing through Monogram Pictures . At Universal, Bela Lugosi was usually cast for his name value; he often received star billing for what amounted to a supporting part. Lugosi went to 20th Century-Fox for The Gorilla (1939), which had him playing straight man (a butler) to Patsy Kelly and
5017-471: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under
5190-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as
5363-451: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across
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5536-629: Is estimated to be around 4 million. The largest concentration is in the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area in Northeast Ohio . At one time, the presence of Hungarians within Cleveland proper was so great that the city was known as the "American Debrecen ," with one of the highest concentrations of Hungarians in the world. In 1583, Hungarian poet Stephanus Parmenius joined Humphrey Gilbert 's expedition to North America with
5709-700: Is ethnic Hungarian; he still speaks some Hungarian today. Peter R. Orszag , the Director of the Office of Management and Budget under President Obama has Hungarian roots. Besides U.S. Representative Lantos there were other Hungarians in the Congress, like Ernest Istook , Joseph M. Gaydos , Eugene Jerome Hainer or Ernie Konnyu . Current U.S. Ambassador to Myanmar, Thomas Vajda , is also of Hungarian descent. Others include famous Holocaust survivor Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel known for his activism and for writing
5882-555: Is in New York City . Wallingford, Connecticut , has a vibrant Hungarian-American Club and community. Columbus has a Hungarian American neighborhood named Hungarian Village . The Fifth Ward of New Brunswick, New Jersey remains the traditional heart of the Hungarian community. Hungarian-born population in the U.S. since 2010: Estimated population by state according to the 2018 American Community Survey . Estimated percentage of
6055-503: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by
6228-441: Is noteworthy as being Bela Lugosi's only color film. Lugosi played Dracula for a second and final time on film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), which was his last "A" movie. For the remainder of his life, he appeared – less and less frequently – in obscure, forgettable, low-budget B features. From 1947 to 1950, he performed in summer stock , often in productions of Dracula or Arsenic and Old Lace , and during
6401-635: Is the former No. 1 professional tennis player in the world. Joe Namath is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame , as Larry Csonka or Lou Groza , too. Notable players were the Gogolak brothers, especially Pete Gogolak , who invented the soccer style kicking. Famous coach was Don Shula . Former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay hit the spotlight when he married Jayne Mansfield . Olympic gymnastics coach Béla Károlyi coached nine Olympic champions, fifteen world champions, and six U.S. champions. Al Hrabosky
6574-502: The Rugrats series, a popular children's show. Animator George Pal was known for producing landmark science fiction films , considered to be first to introduce the genre to film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences founded the "George Pal Lecture on Fantasy in Film" series in his memory. In music, Miklós Rózsa composed numerous film scores ; perhaps his most recognizable score
6747-558: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as
6920-626: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of
7093-488: The Abel Prize known for his contributions in several mathematical fields. In art, Bauhaus artist Marcel Breuer became known as one of the first modernists for his modular construction and simple forms. Another Bauhaus artist László Moholy-Nagy , highly influenced by Russian constructivism , helped introduce the movement to the United States; he was a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into
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7266-579: The Academy Award for Best Directing four times, finally winning for Casablanca , considered by many critic polls to be one of the greatest films ever made . George Cukor , who was of Jewish descent, won an Academy Award for Best Director for My Fair Lady . King Vidor was nominated for the same Academy Award five times. Independent directors and the films that have brought them acclaim include Nimród Antal for his cult film Kontroll ; Peter Medak , infamous for his B-movies ; and László Benedek for
7439-622: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , in which he (or his agent) calls the idea that he is only fit for horror films "an error." Lugosi developed severe, chronic sciatica , ostensibly aggravated by injuries received during his military service. Though at first he was treated with benign pain remedies such as asparagus juice, doctors increased the medication to opiates . The growth of his dependence on opiates, particularly morphine and (after 1947, when it became available in America) methadone ,
7612-665: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on
7785-808: The First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and
7958-515: The Golden Globe Award -winning film rendition of Death of a Salesman . Joe Eszterhas wrote the screenplay for Basic Instinct , dubbed a cult classic. Andrew G. Vajna produced the Die Hard , Rambo and The Terminator sequels. Ladislas Farago wrote numerous books on World War II espionage, including a screenplay for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! . Animator Gábor Csupó created
8131-563: The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1937 for discovering the biological process of Vitamin C in the human body. Georg von Békésy won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his research on the mammalian ear. George Andrew Olah won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on carbocations , and later hydrocarbons and their applicability to ethanol fuel. Ernő László ,
8304-731: The Ritz Brothers . When Lugosi's Black Friday premiered in 1940 on a double bill with the Vincent Price film The House of the Seven Gables , Lugosi and Price both appeared in person at the Chicago Theatre where it opened on Feb. 29, 1940 and remained for four performances. He was finally cast in the role of Frankenstein's monster for Universal's Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). (At
8477-706: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,
8650-516: The Satmar Hasidic dynasty , which originated in Hungary) where 18.9% of the total population claimed Hungarian as their ancestry. Other places with over 10% are Fairport Harbor, Ohio (14.1%) and West Pike Run Township, Pennsylvania (11.7% ). About one hundred other municipalities have more than 5% of Hungarian-American residents, but the highest number of Hungarian Americans living in the same place
8823-641: The Soviet Union , and again, Hungarians rose up in revolution. Like the 1848 revolution, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 failed and led to the emigration of 200,000 "56-ers" fleeing persecution after the revolution, 40,000 of whom found their way to the United States. There was a renewed economic migration after the end of communism in Hungary during the 1990s to 2000s. According to the 2010 U.S. Census , there were 1,563,081 persons of Hungarian ancestry in
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#17328525767988996-457: The United States as of 2006, with − according to 2000 census data − 1,398,724 of them indicating Hungarian as their first ancestry. Estimates of the number of Hungarian Americans in the United States exceed 4 million, but also include the large number of ethnic Hungarian immigrants, most of whom have emigrated from Romania, the former Czechoslovakia, or the former Yugoslavia. The states with
9169-729: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in
9342-423: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at
9515-412: The miniseries Shogun with Richard Chamberlain ) and made over 30 films including the cult classic The Warriors . Director Frank Darabont , nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director three times, is most popular for Stephen King adaptations, including The Shawshank Redemption , ranked among audience polls as one of the greatest films of all time . Michael Curtiz was nominated for
9688-442: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held
9861-423: The "Father of California Viticulture" or the "Father of Modern Winemaking in California." The first large wave of emigration from Hungary to the United States occurred in 1849–1850, when the so-called " Forty-Eighters " fled from retribution by Austrian authorities after the defeat of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 . Lajos Kossuth gave a seven-month speaking tour of the U.S. in 1851 and 1852 to great acclaim as
10034-467: The "other woman", and claimed Lugosi tried to take her checkbook and the key to her safe deposit box away from her. She even claimed he slapped her in the face one night because she ate a pork chop he had hidden in their refrigerator. Lugosi complained of her excessive drinking and dancing with other men at social gatherings. The divorce became official on December 9, 1929. (Weeks died 17 months later (at age 34) from alcoholism in Panama, Lugosi never receiving
10207-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross
10380-431: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia
10553-493: The 1903–04 season, playing small roles in several plays and operettas . He took the last name "Lugosi" in 1903 to honor his birthplace, and went on to perform in Shakespearean plays. After moving to Budapest in 1911, he played dozens of roles with the National Theatre of Hungary between 1913 and 1919. Although Lugosi would later claim that he "became the leading actor of Hungary's Royal National Theatre", many of his roles there were small or supporting parts, which led him to enter
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#173285257679810726-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from
10899-404: The 1940s as a screen menace. In addition to his nine Monogram features, he worked in three features for RKO and one for Columbia ( The Return of the Vampire , 1943). He also accepted the lead in an experimental, economical feature, shot in the semi-professional 16mm film format and blown up to 35mm for theatrical release, Scared to Death (completed April 1946, released June 1947). The feature
11072-429: The 1959 British film, which would finally explain the mystery. Lugosi repeatedly married. In June 1917, Lugosi married 19-year-old Ilona Szmik (1898–1991) in Hungary. The couple divorced after Lugosi was forced to flee his homeland for political reasons (risking execution if he stayed) and Ilona did not wish to leave her parents. The divorce became final on July 17, 1920, and was uncontested as Lugosi could not show up for
11245-409: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,
11418-593: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in
11591-493: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,
11764-404: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of
11937-481: The Cheese . In 1925, he played an Arab Sheik in Arabesque which premiered in Buffalo, New York at the Teck Theatre before moving to Broadway. His first American film role was in the silent melodrama The Silent Command (1923) which was filmed in New York. Four other silent roles followed, villains and continental types, all in productions made in the New York area. A rumor has circulated for decades among film historians that Lugosi played an uncredited bit part as
12110-410: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of
12283-458: The DEA agent Hank Schrader , in the critically acclaimed American crime drama series Breaking Bad is also of Hungarian descent from his father's side. Actress Drew Barrymore 's mother is Hungarian. Actor Tony Curtis has been in over 100 films, including his iconic roles in Some Like It Hot and The Defiant Ones . Actress Jessica Szohr of Gossip Girl is of partial Hungarian descent. Actor Peter Lorre became famous after his role as
12456-613: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond
12629-623: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in
12802-772: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke
12975-530: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As
13148-540: The Hungarian film industry. During World War I , he served as an infantry officer in the Austro-Hungarian Army Imperial and Royal 43rd Infantry Regiment from 1914 to 1916, with the rank of lieutenant . He was awarded the Wound Medal for wounds he sustained while serving on the Russian front . Returning to civilian life, Lugosi became an actor in Hungarian silent films, appearing in many of them under
13321-552: The Hungarian stage in 1902. After playing in 172 productions in his native Hungary, Lugosi moved on to appear in Hungarian silent films in 1917. He had to suddenly emigrate to Germany after the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919 because of his former socialist activities (organizing a stage actors' union), leaving his first wife in the process. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany , before arriving in New Orleans as
13494-675: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed
13667-450: The Monster (1955). During post-production of the latter, Lugosi decided to seek treatment for his drug addiction , and the film's premiere was arranged to raise money for Lugosi's hospital expenses (resulting in a paltry amount of money). According to Kitty Kelley 's biography of Frank Sinatra , when the entertainer heard of Lugosi's problems, he visited Lugosi at the hospital and gave him
13840-514: The Oscar for Close Encounters of the Third Kind ). Laszlo Kovacs , most famous for his work on Easy Rider and Five Easy Pieces , won three Lifetime Achievement Awards for cinematography. Ernest Laszlo , who worked on over 60 films, won an Academy Award for cinematography for 1965's Ship of Fools . Andrew Laszlo , worked first in television ( Ed Sullivan 's Beatles at Shea Stadium and
14013-859: The Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and
14186-812: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,
14359-598: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through
14532-476: The Paramount Theatre on April 16, 1953. The film played at midnight with a number of celebrities in the audience that night ( Judy Garland , Ginger Rogers , Rock Hudson , Broderick Crawford , Gracie Allen , Eddie Cantor , Shelley Winters and others). Producer Alex Gordon , knowing Lugosi was in dire need of cash, arranged for the actor to stand outside the theater wearing a cape and dark glasses, holding
14705-606: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany
14878-530: The Seas . Actress Ilona Massey was frequently billed as "the new Dietrich " and famously played the role of a femme fatale in Love Happy . Sex symbol Zsa Zsa Gabor was perhaps better known for her status as a socialite and nine marriages than her stint as an actress. Her younger sister Eva Gabor was known for her role on the television show Green Acres , and her older sister Magda Gabor famously helped save
15051-631: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against
15224-521: The Soviet Red Army , a period of chaotic democracy in the years immediately after the war, a variety of repressive Communist regimes, and a popular uprising that was put down at gunpoint... [where] many young people were killed; countless others were interned. Some two hundred thousand Hungarians escaped to the West. I was one of them. In 1956, Hungary was again under the power of a foreign state, this time
15397-582: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening
15570-480: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as
15743-446: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced
15916-502: The aging star. Embarrassed, Lugosi left abruptly, without attending the screening. Late in his life, Bela Lugosi again received star billing in films when the ambitious but financially limited filmmaker Ed Wood , a fan of Lugosi, found him living in obscurity and near-poverty and offered him roles in his films, such as an anonymous narrator in Glen or Glenda (1953) and a mad scientist in Bride of
16089-497: The arts. Lajos Markos was a significant portrait artist, having created portraits for iconic celebrities such as John Wayne . Photographer Sylvia Plachy published several photobooks detailing her personal history in Central Europe . In politics, Tom Lantos was a U.S. Representative for San Francisco , being the only Holocaust survivor to serve in the U.S. Congress . The father of former New York governor George Pataki
16262-466: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered
16435-535: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23 July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in
16608-483: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3 August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which
16781-480: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,
16954-636: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw
17127-568: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already." On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,
17300-511: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,
17473-450: The country at New Orleans in December 1920. He made his way to New York and was inspected by immigration officers at Ellis Island in March 1921. He only declared his intention to become a US citizen in 1928; on June 26, 1931, he was naturalized . On his arrival in America, the 6-foot-1-inch (1.85 m), 180-pound (82 kg) Lugosi worked for some time as a laborer, and then entered
17646-588: The creation of Microsoft Office and invented the concept of " intentional programming ." Leslie L. Vadász and Andrew Grove were key leaders in the history of the Intel Corporation . In sociology, Thomas Szasz was a prominent figure in the antipsychiatry movement, as well as a vocal critic of state control over medicine . In astronomy, Victor Szebehely became a leading figure in NASA 's Apollo program . In biology and chemistry, Albert Szent-Györgyi won
17819-513: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply
17992-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and
18165-548: The critically acclaimed Night . Agoston Haraszthy , a famous traveler and writer, became known as the "Father of California Viticulture" and perhaps one of the most accomplished viticulturists in US history. Joseph Pulitzer , a journalist of Jewish descent famous for helping create " yellow journalism " and posthumously establishing the Pulitzer Prizes . Csaba Csere was editor-in-chief of Car and Driver from 1993 to 2008. In
18338-946: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as
18511-441: The decision but believed that it is what his father would have wanted. Hungarian%E2%80%93American Hungarian Americans ( Hungarian : Amerikai magyarok , pronounced [ˈɒmɛrikɒji ˈmɒɟɒrok] ) are Americans of Hungarian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that there are approximately 1.396 million Americans of Hungarian descent as of 2018. The total number of people with ethnic Hungarian background
18684-593: The elegant, somewhat hot-tempered General Nicholas Strenovsky-Petronovich in International House (1933). Regardless of controversy, five films at Universal – The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936), Son of Frankenstein (1939), Black Friday (1940), plus minor cameo performances in Gift of Gab (1934) and two at RKO Pictures , You'll Find Out (1940) and The Body Snatcher (1945) – paired Lugosi with Boris Karloff . Despite
18857-493: The end of the previous film in the series, The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Lugosi's voice had been dubbed over that of Lon Chaney Jr. since Ygor's brain was now in the Monster's skull.) But at the last minute, Lugosi's heavily accented dialogue was edited out after the film was completed, along with the idea of the Monster being blind, leaving his performance featuring groping, outstretched arms and moving lips seeming enigmatic (and funny) to audiences. Lugosi kept busy during
19030-622: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed
19203-500: The film Prisoners (also 1929), believed lost , which was released in both a silent and partial talkie version. In 1929, with no other film roles in sight, he returned to the stage as Dracula for a short West Coast tour of the play. Lugosi remained in California where he resumed his film work under contract with Fox, appearing in early talkies often as a heavy or an "exotic sheik ". He also continued to lobby for his prized role in
19376-521: The film version of Dracula . Despite his critically acclaimed performance on stage, Lugosi was not Universal Pictures ' first choice for the role of Dracula when the company optioned the rights to the Deane play and began production in 1930. Different prominent actors, such as Paul Muni , Chester Morris , Ian Keith , John Wray , Joseph Schildkraut , Arthur Edmund Carewe , William Courtenay , John Carradine , and Conrad Veidt were considered. Lew Ayres
19549-445: The film, but historians all agree that is very unlikely, since Lugosi was in both Chicago (appearing in a play called The Werewolf ) and New York at the time that film was in production in Hollywood. Lugosi was approached in the summer of 1927 to star in a Broadway theatre production of Dracula , which had been adapted by Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker 's 1897 novel . The Horace Liveright production
19722-482: The finished film. Tor Johnson said in interviews that Lugosi kept screaming that he wanted to die the night they shared a hotel room together. In 1959, a British film called Lock Up Your Daughters was theatrically released (in the U.K.), composed of clips from Bela Lugosi's Monogram pictures from the 1940s. The film is lost today, but a March 16, 1959, critical review in the Kinematograph Weekly mentioned that
19895-400: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but
20068-643: The foremost mathematicians of the 20th century, contributed to a wide variety of fields, including computer science , economics , quantum theory , statistics , and hydrodynamics . Neumann's work on nuclear physics was influential in the Manhattan Project . The John von Neumann Theory Prize and the IEEE John von Neumann Medal are named in his honor. Peter Lax is a winner of the Wolf Prize in Mathematics and
20241-586: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold
20414-526: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS ; Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron
20587-674: The health spa there. Bela Lugosi Jr. was boarded at the Elsinore Naval and Military School in Lake Elsinore, and also lived with Lillian's parents while she and Bela were touring. After almost breaking up their marriage in 1944, Lillian and Bela finally divorced on July 17, 1953, at least partially because of Bela's excessive drinking and his jealousy over Lillian taking a full-time job as an assistant to actor Brian Donlevy on Donlevy's radio and television series Dangerous Assignment . Lillian obtained custody of their son Bela Jr. Lugosi called
20760-534: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for
20933-751: The intention of writing a chronicle of the voyage and its discoveries. Parmenius reached Newfoundland , likely becoming the first Hungarian in the New World . Hungarians have long settled in the New World, such as Michael de Kovats , the founder of United States Cavalry , active in the American Revolution . Hungarians have maintained a constant state of emigration to the United States since then; however, they are best known for three principal waves of emigration. Agoston Haraszthy , who settled in Wisconsin in 1840,
21106-435: The introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of
21279-467: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as
21452-591: The largest Hungarian American populations include: A plurality of Hungarian Americans within the United States reside on both the East and West Sides of the Greater Cleveland Metropolitan Area. It has often been said that Metropolitan Cleveland has the most Hungarians outside of Hungary itself. Once known as "Little Hungary," the Buckeye–Shaker neighborhood on the East Side of Cleveland proper
21625-479: The lives of 240 Jewish families during the World War II because of her relationship with a Portuguese ambassador . Harry Houdini , considered by many to be the greatest magician of all time, was an expert escapologist , introducing it as an art form. He was also a major critic and investigator of Spiritualists . In filmmaking, Vilmos Zsigmond was nominated for four Academy Awards for Cinematography (won
21798-621: The medical examiner at the age of 73. The rumor that Lugosi was clutching the script for The Final Curtain , a planned Ed Wood project, at the time of his death is not true. Lugosi was buried wearing one of the "Dracula" capes and his full costume as well as his Dracula ring in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California . Contrary to popular belief, Lugosi never requested to be buried in his cloak; Bela G. Lugosi confirmed on numerous occasions that he and his mother, Lillian, made
21971-410: The more colorful role of the villain, The Invisible Ray , and a romantic role in producer Sol Lesser 's adventure serial The Return of Chandu (1934), but his typecasting problem appears to have been too entrenched to be alleviated by those films. Lugosi addressed his plea to be cast in non-horror roles directly to casting directors through his listing in the 1937 Players Directory , published by
22144-447: The movie contained new Lugosi footage (intriguing since Lugosi had died in 1956). Back in 1950 however, Lugosi had appeared on a one-hour TV program called Murder and Bela Lugosi (which WPIX-TV broadcast on Sept. 18, 1950) in which Lugosi was interviewed and provided commentary about a number of his old horror films while clips from the films were being shown; historian Gary Rhodes thinks some of this Lugosi TV production found its way into
22317-460: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of
22490-411: The police one night after Lillian left him and threatened to commit suicide, but when the police showed up at his apartment, he denied making the call.(Lillian eventually did marry Brian Donlevy in 1966, by which time he had also become an alcoholic, and she died in 1981.) Lugosi married Hope Lininger, his fifth wife, in 1955; she was 37 years his junior. She had been a fan, writing letters to him when he
22663-645: The population by state according to the 2018 American Community Survey rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. In entertainment, Szőke Szakáll, known as S. Z. Sakall , was a Hungarian-Jewish film character actor. He was in many films including In the Good Old Summertime , Lullaby of Broadway , Christmas in Connecticut and Casablanca in which he played Carl, the head waiter. The comic style of Ernie Kovacs influenced numerous television comedy programs for years to come. The Fox Film Corporation
22836-726: The proceedings. (Szmik then married wealthy Hungarian architect Imre Francsek in December 1920, moved with him to Iran in 1930, had two children, and died in 1991.) After living briefly in Germany, Lugosi left Europe by ship and arrived in New Orleans on October 27, 1920, and, after making his way north, underwent his primary alien inspection at Ellis Island, N.Y. on March 23, 1921. In September 1921, he married Hungarian actress Ilona von Montagh in New York City, and she filed for divorce on November 11, 1924, charging him with adultery and complaining that he wanted her to abandon her acting career to keep house for him. The divorce became final in October, 1925. (Lugosi learned in 1935 that von Montagh and
23009-681: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after
23182-420: The relative size of their roles, Lugosi inevitably received second billing, below Karloff. There are contradictory reports of Lugosi's attitude toward Karloff, some claiming that he was openly resentful of Karloff's long-term success and ability to gain good roles beyond the horror arena, while others suggested the two actors were – for a time, at least – amicable. Karloff himself in interviews suggested that Lugosi
23355-498: The rest of the year, made personal appearances in a touring "spook show", and on early commercial television. In September 1949, Milton Berle invited Lugosi to appear in a sketch on Texaco Star Theatre . Lugosi memorized the script for the skit, but became confused on the air when Berle began to ad lib. He also appeared on the anthology series Suspense on October 11, 1949, in a live adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe 's " The Cask of Amontillado ". In 1951, while in England to play
23528-403: The role. Through his association with Dracula (in which he appeared with minimal makeup, using his natural, heavily accented voice), Lugosi found himself typecast as a horror villain in films such as Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934) and The Raven (1935) for Universal, and the independent White Zombie (1932). His accent, while a part of his image, limited
23701-399: The roles offered to him, and he unsuccessfully tried for years to avoid typecasting . He co-starred in a number of films with Boris Karloff , who was able to demand top billing. To his frustration, Lugosi, a charter member of the American Screen Actors Guild , was increasingly restricted to mad scientist roles because of his inability to speak English more clearly. He was kept employed by
23874-481: The show. Karloff's monster was weak by comparison." The same year saw Lugosi making a rare appearance in an A-list motion picture: he was a stern Soviet commissar in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer romantic comedy Ninotchka , starring Greta Garbo and directed by Ernst Lubitsch . Lugosi was quite effective in this small but prestigious character part and even received top billing among the film's supporting cast, all of whom had significantly larger roles. It might have been
24047-678: The stage name "Arisztid Olt". Due to his activism in the actors' union in Hungary during the revolution of 1919 and his active participation in the Hungarian Soviet Republic , he was forced to flee his homeland when the government changed hands, initially accompanied by his first wife Ilona Szmik. They escaped to Vienna before settling in Berlin (in the Langestrasse), where he began acting in German silent films. During these moves, Ilona lost her unborn child, after which she left Lugosi and returned home to her parents where she filed for divorce, and soon after remarried. Lugosi eventually travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana , in December 1920 working as
24220-465: The streets as spoken by older residents who have never left the area. Other cities which include a significant Hungarian American presence include metropolitan New York City , Buffalo, New York , Chicago, Illinois , Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas and Virginia Beach, Virginia . The highest percentage of Hungarian Americans in any American town, village or city is in Kiryas Joel, New York (the great majority of its residents are Hasidic Jews belonging to
24393-529: The studios principally so that they could put his name on the posters. Among his teamings with Karloff, he performed major roles only in The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939); 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 doctor-prescribed morphine and methadone . This drug dependence (and his gradually worsening alcoholism)
24566-415: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word." For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this
24739-418: The theater in New York City's Hungarian immigrant colony. With fellow expatriate Hungarian actors he formed a small stock company that toured Eastern cities, playing for immigrant audiences. Lugosi acted in several Hungarian language plays before starring in his first English Broadway play, The Red Poppy in 1922. Three more parts came in 1925–26, including a five-month run in the comedy-fantasy The Devil in
24912-584: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It
25085-409: The title alongside Basil Rathbone as Dr. Frankenstein's son and Boris Karloff reprising his role as Frankenstein's monster . Regarding Son of Frankenstein , the film's director Rowland V. Lee said his crew let Lugosi "work on the characterization; the interpretation he gave us was imaginative and totally unexpected ... when we finished shooting, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that he stole
25258-410: The title of "the father of the hydrogen bomb ," for his concept of a thermonuclear weapon that uses the energy of nuclear fusion. But he also worked in the Manhattan Project along with other Hungarian physicists like Eugene Wigner (who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 for his work on the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles of elementary particles) and Leó Szilárd . It
25431-426: The tremendous business and launched its own national re-release of the same two horror favorites. The studio then rehired Lugosi to star in new films, fortunately just as Lugosi's fourth wife had given birth to a son. Universal cast Lugosi in Son of Frankenstein (1939), appearing in the character role of Ygor, a mad blacksmith with a broken neck, in heavy makeup and beard. Lugosi was third-billed with his name above
25604-436: The type of role he could play. Lugosi did attempt to break type by auditioning for other roles. He lost out to Lionel Barrymore for the role of Grigori Rasputin in Rasputin and the Empress (also 1932); C. Henry Gordon for the role of Surat Khan in Charge of the Light Brigade (1936), and Basil Rathbone for the role of Commissar Dimitri Gorotchenko in Tovarich (1937), a role Lugosi had played on stage. He played
25777-429: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in
25950-413: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought
26123-418: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November, and
26296-507: The world of business, billionaire aircraft leasing, philanthropist Steven F. Udvar-Házy , billionaire-philanthropist-political activist George Soros , a Jewish Holocaust survivor, are notable Hungarian Americans. American Hungarian language use has been studied by several Hungarian linguists, including Elemér Bakó, Endre Vázsonyi, Miklós Kontra (in South Bend, Indiana), Csilla Bartha (in Detroit, Michigan), and Anna Fenyvesi (in McKeesport, Pennsylvania). World War I World War I or
26469-483: Was Szilárd who persuaded Albert Einstein to write his historic letter to Franklin Roosevelt concerning atomic warfare . Theodore von Kármán was responsible for a number of key theories in aeronautic and astronautics research and development. László Bíró made "biro" the ballpoint pen . In computer science, John George Kemeny co-developed the BASIC programming language in 1964 with Thomas Eugene Kurtz . Computer software businessman Charles Simonyi oversaw
26642-407: Was a cultural enclave for Hungarians and Hungarian Americans in the early to mid-twentieth century before many left for nearby suburbs, such as Shaker Heights . In their place arrived African Americans and other groups in the 1960s. Remnants of Hungarian culture can still be seen in the Buckeye Road area today, namely in street names, restaurants and shops as well as occasionally hearing Hungarian on
26815-453: Was a popular Major League Baseball player, nicknamed "the Mad Hungarian". Gene Mako won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s. In volleyball , Karch Kiraly is the only person to have won Olympic gold medals (or indeed medals of any color) in both indoor and beach volleyball . Joe Kovacs is two-time world champion in shot put and is currently the fourth best shot putter in history. Jewish physicist Edward Teller acquired
26988-425: Was also observed after World War II and The Holocaust , a significant percentage of whom were Jewish. Andrew Grove (1936–2016), one of the three founders of Intel Corporation summarized his first twenty years of life in Hungary in his memoirs: By the time I was twenty, I had lived through a Hungarian Fascist dictatorship , German military occupation , the Nazis' " Final Solution ," the siege of Budapest by
27161-423: Was becoming apparent to producers, and after 1948's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein , the offers dwindled to parts in low-budget films; some of these were directed by Ed Wood , including a brief appearance in Wood's Plan 9 from Outer Space (released posthumously in 1957). Lugosi married five times and had one son, Bela G. Lugosi (with his fourth wife, Lillian). Lugosi, the youngest of four children,
27334-494: Was born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in 1882 in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary (now Lugoj , Romania) to Hungarian father István Blaskó, a baker who later became a banker, and Serbian-born mother Paula de Vojnich. He was raised in a Catholic family. At the age of 12, Lugosi dropped out of school and left home to work at a succession of manual labor jobs. His father died during his absence. He began his stage acting career in 1902. His earliest known performances are from provincial theatres in
27507-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to
27680-487: Was directly proportional to the dwindling of Lugosi's screen offers. The problem first manifested itself in 1937, when Lugosi was forced to withdraw from a leading role in a serial production, The Secret of Treasure Island , due to constant back pain. Historian John McElwee reports, in his 2013 book Showmen, Sell It Hot! , that Bela Lugosi's popularity received a much-needed boost in August 1938, when California theater owner Emil Umann revived Dracula and Frankenstein as
27853-422: Was eventually hired to play Jonathan Harker, only to be replaced by Robert Ames after being cast in a different role in a different Universal Pictures film. Ames was in turn replaced with David Manners. Lugosi had played the role on Broadway, and was considered before director Tod Browning cast him in the role. The film was a major hit, but Lugosi was paid a salary of only $ 3,500, since he had too eagerly accepted
28026-482: Was for the 1959 epic Ben-Hur . In classical music, Eugene Ormandy , music director for the Philadelphia Orchestra , was appointed an honorary Knight Command of The Order of the British Empire by the Queen of the United Kingdom and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom . In rock music, Tommy Ramone and Gene Simmons , both of Jewish descent, founded bands The Ramones and Kiss respectively In sports, Monica Seles won nine Grand Slam singles titles and
28199-438: Was formed by William Fox . Comedian, actor and producer Louis C.K (born Louis Székely) is a U.S.- Mexican dual citizen. His grandfather, Géza Székely Schweiger, immigrated to Mexico with his family from Hungary. Actress Vilma Bánky starred in numerous silent films opposite Hollywood actors such as Rudolph Valentino and Ronald Colman . Actor Adrien Brody 's mother was Hungarian. Actor Dean Norris most known for playing
28372-413: Was in the 1917 Hungarian silent film Leoni Leo . When appearing in Hungarian silent films, he mostly used the stage name Arisztid Olt . Lugosi made at least 10 films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. Following the collapse of Béla Kun 's Hungarian Soviet Republic in 1919, leftists and trade unionists became vulnerable, some being imprisoned or executed in public. Lugosi
28545-507: Was in the hospital recovering from his drug addiction. She would sign her letters "A dash of Hope". They remained married until his death in 1956. However Bela and Hope were actually discussing getting divorced before he died. Lugosi died of a heart attack on August 16, 1956, in the bedroom of his Los Angeles apartment while taking a nap. His wife, Hope, discovered him when she came home from work that evening, his apparently having died peacefully in his sleep around 6:45 p.m. according to
28718-472: Was initially mistrustful of him when they acted together, believing that the Englishman would attempt to upstage him. When this proved not to be the case, according to Karloff, Lugosi settled down and they worked together amicably (though some have further commented that the English Karloff's on-set demand to break from filming for mid-afternoon tea annoyed Lugosi). Lugosi did get a few heroic leads, as in Universal's The Black Cat after Karloff had been accorded
28891-425: Was proscribed from acting due to his participation in the formation of an actors' union . Exiled in Weimar -era Germany, he co-starred in at least 14 German silent films in 1920, among them Hypnose: Sklaven fremden Willens (1920), Der Januskopf (1920) and an adaptation of the Karl May novel Caravan of Death (1920). Lugosi left Germany in October 1920, emigrating by ship to the United States, and entered
29064-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,
29237-461: Was released in the summer of 1956 through United Artists with a promotional campaign that included several personal appearances by Lugosi and his co-stars, as well as Maila Nurmi (TV's horror host "Vampira"). To Lugosi's disappointment, however, his role in this film was that of a mute butler with no dialogue. Lugosi was intoxicated and very ill during the film's promotional campaign and had to return to L.A. earlier than planned. He never got to see
29410-600: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of
29583-407: Was successful, running in New York City for 261 performances before touring the United States to much fanfare and critical acclaim throughout 1928 and 1929. In 1928, Lugosi decided to stay in California when the play ended its first West Coast run. His performance had piqued the interest of Fox Film , and he was cast in the Hollywood studio's silent film The Veiled Woman (1929). He also appeared in
29756-420: Was the first Hungarian to settle permanently in the United States and the second Hungarian to write a book about the United States in his native language. After he moved to California in the Gold Rush of 1849, Haraszthy founded the Buena Vista Vineyards in Sonoma (now Buena Vista Carneros) and imported more than 100,000 European vine cuttings for the use of California winemakers. He is widely remembered today as
29929-586: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became
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