Bela Lugosi, who made his mark as Dracula in Hollywood, insisted to reporters he battled a crippling addiction to drugs for over two decades — but one author claimed he “deliberately exaggerated” his story for a heartbreaking reason.
“What he said was that he had been dependent on drugs for 20 years, in some cases 25 years,” author Robert Cremer told Fox News Digital. “But he greatly exaggerated the story… And this exaggeration of his dependency on drugs was aimed, in part, at [his fourth wife] in the hope that she would feel guilty, would reconcile with him and come back to him.”
“He wanted to win back his wife and his son,” Cremer added.
Cremer, who was a syndicated columnist at The Hollywood Reporter, has a new book set to be published on Dec. 17, “Bela Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape.” It features over 700 photos, family artifacts and historical documents, many of which have never been seen outside of Lugosi’s family. It also highlights interviews with those who knew the actor over the years.
Cremer has known the Lugosi family for over 50 years. His original book about the Hungarian performer was published in 1976. His upcoming release is the only authorized biography on the star, who died in 1956 at age 73.
Bela Lugosi starred as Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic “Dracula.”
Lugosi brought Dracula to life in Hollywood after his success in the starring role on the stage, the Los Angeles Times reported. His performance, which involved a distinct accent, slicked-back black hair, a flowing cape and a charming persona, helped define how vampires are depicted on the screen over the years.
But despite skyrocketing to fame, Lugosi became dependent on morphine due to injuries he suffered in World War I, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) reported.
“His [fourth wife] Lillian made it quite clear he was only dependent on drugs from 1953 — after their divorce — until he committed himself to rehabilitation in 1955,” Cremer explained. “She said before that, he was not a drug addict in any sense of the word. He only took the medication when he had really extreme pains caused by this World War I injury. He was not taking it regularly as a drug addict would. He only took it when it was absolutely necessary to take care of the pain.”
Cremer said that Lugosi had hoped his account would make studio heads feel sympathy and offer him more roles to support his family.
“The divorce from Lillian in 1953 devastated him,” Cremer explained. “He was a very proud man, and he took his marriage seriously. He took his responsibility for his family very seriously. And in those years, between 1948 and… through the early 1950s, he was just on the road constantly.”
“… This is a man who was well beyond retirement age with sciatica problems that caused him a great deal of pain on the road endlessly,” Cremer shared. “He felt this responsibility that he wanted to provide adequately for his wife and his son.”
Bela Lugosi and Edward Van Sloan in a scene from the 1931 film Dracula.
Lugosi married Lillian in 1933. They welcomed his only child, a son named Bela G. Lugosi, in 1938.
Cremer previously spoke to the doctor who treated Lugosi for his drug dependency, as well as Lillian before she died in 1981.
“I brought boxes of Kleenex to Lillian’s place when we talked about [the divorce],” Cremer recalled. “The tears flowed endlessly. She really loved him, but Bela could not conquer his jealousy. And because there was a 30-year difference in age, he always felt that he was inadequate as a husband and was very jealous. For that reason, he felt Lillian must be looking around for younger men, which was absolutely not the case. Because of the jealousy, Lillian finally felt that she could not expose her son Bela Jr. to the tension, the arguments, his accusations any longer.”
“This overblown idea that he was dependent on drugs for so long is absolute nonsense,” Cremer continued. “Lillian reiterated that… numerous times. She said, ‘It’s so important for me to make sure that people know what the real background of this is.’
Bela Lugosi’s fourth wife, Lillian Arch, was 30 years younger than him. DIGITAL PRESS
“The newspapers, of course, were basing their reports on what Bela had said. But this deliberate exaggeration was never, ever dealt with by the press in later years.”
Cremer noted that the main reason why Lillian was willing to speak out was to help set the record straight.
“We agreed on the fact that we wanted this drug issue clarified for once and for all, so there is no more misinformation floating around about it,” Cremer added.
A poster from the film “Dracula.” New York Post
Lugosi struggled with painful sciatica in his later years. Still, he was determined to perform for fans. Cremer described how, before an appearance on stage as Dracula where he had to climb out of a coffin, he was “deathly afraid” that a sciatic attack would occur on stage, interrupting his performance.
Lugosi’s granddaughter, Lynne Lugosi Sparks, told Fox News Digital it was important for the family to address the decades-long rumors about his drug use.
“The first three chapters of the book deal with the end of his life and that topic to get it out of the way, because the rest of his life story is so interesting and important,” she explained. “… Right off the bat, we have my grandmother’s feelings known [about] what the true situation was. And then we really get to the heart of the book, which is this beautiful story of Bela’s life.”
Cremer said Lugosi was exploited by film studios. At the end of his life, the actor felt he had been forgotten.
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“Lillian told me that after he starred in ‘Dracula’ [in 1931], he began appearing almost immediately in small roles, some even uncredited,” he explained. “… She felt these roles were far below his stature as a major Hollywood star. His closest friend… whom I interviewed endlessly, said that he talked to him and asked, ‘Why are you taking these uncredited and very minor roles?’ Bela said, ‘I want people to see me more.’… He felt if he could keep his face on the screen constantly, that it would increase his popularity and increase his stature, which was not true.”
“This tendency for him to take minor roles at very low salaries created the impression among the studios that they could get him for a nickel or a dime, where they would have to pay other actors far more,” said Cremer. “They also knew that regardless of the role he was appearing in, he crafted a magnificent performance… This tendency continued throughout his career… It was a tragic story.”
Lugosi died in his apartment at age 73 from a heart attack. His fifth and final wife, Hope Lininger, said that the actor “seemed to be getting better month by month” following his treatment for drugs.
Lugosi Sparks shared that her grandmother and father chose to bury her grandfather in his costume.
“It was their way of paying tribute to the role that he had created and was known for, although they would’ve had no idea at the time that, just a few years later, there would be a resurgence in horror films, and they would be shown on TV,” she said.
“Bela… thought he had been forgotten. And that tribute to him, burying him in that cape and costume, was their way of saying, ‘This is Bela. Bela is Dracula. This was [the] accomplishment of his life.’”