From Transylvania to Tinseltown for a full-blooded life

In this case, acclaimed journalist and Lugosi expert Cremer has written what is described in advance as a comprehensive and essential biography of an actor whose appearance as Dracula in the 1931 film has seen him acclaimed as one of the most iconic movie villains of all time.

The book will feature more than 1100 photographs, including many rare or never published family snapshots, and similarly unseen letters, documents and historical artifacts curated by Lynne Lugosi Sparks, the grand-daughter of Béla Lugois and the curator of his archives and head of Lugosi Enterprises, the family business. There will be exclusive interviews, a foreword by the actor’s son Béla Lugosi, Jr. and an afterword by Lugosi historian Dr. Gary Rhodes.

Cremer’s biography has been in the pipeline for the past few years and the latest news from Clover Press to The Budapest Times is that the final manuscript is being reviewed by the Lugosi estate. Publication is now hoped for in 2026 and when the book does finally arrive it will be a multi-edition and lavish affair.

For the first 48 hours of sale, an early-bird standalone hardcover book will cost USD 125, and the same enclosed in a protective slipcase will be USD 160. There will also be an early-bird Slipcase Edition with Giclée, which is a high-quality 11-inch by 14-inch print, price together USD 180. Next, a Slipcase Edition with a variation of this artwork now titled Mosaic Giclée Print will cost USD 200.

An early-bird Lugosi Heirloom Box Edition will hold the Slipcase Edition of the book, exclusive Lugosi replica photos and rarely seen family replica artifacts. Cost USD 230. The Lugosi Heirloom Box Edition is next with the Slipcase Edition and similar extras. Cost USD 250.

Finally comes the very limited edition Original Art with Lugosi Heirloom Box containing 5-inch by 7-inch Original Pencil Art by Kerry Gammill, cost USD 500 but apparently sold out in advance. Simplest of all, a PDF Edition is USD 50. All varieties can be shipped worldwide.

Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born on October 20, 1882 in Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now the town of Lugoj in Romania, and the family home still stands), and he died on August 16, 1956 in Los Angeles, California. Cremer interviewed Lillian Lugosi Donlevy, the fourth of Lugosi’s five wives and the mother of his only child, Béla Lugosi, Jr, born in 1938. They married in 1933 and were together for 20 years. Interviews were also conducted when possible with the actor’s closest Hungarian relatives and friends.

The author promises new insights into Béla’s humble beginnings in Transylvania, his political activism in Hungary that cost him his wife, family and almost his life, his harrowing transatlantic crossing to the United States, his struggles there to realise his dream of success on stage and in film, and the demons that haunted him along the way, causing his decline into B-movie productions in the 1950s. Director Ed Wood offers heretofore unknown background on Lugosi’s involvement in the latter-day cult classics “Glen or Glenda”, “Bride of the Monster” and “Plan 9 from Outer Space”.

Lynne Lugosi Sparks says: “I love that I had the opportunity to work with our longtime family friend, author Robert Cremer, to see our vision for this special book become a reality. Also, curating the photos and documents for the book provided me with the opportunity to meet fans, collectors, historians and archivists across the US and in Hungary and Romania, many of which have become my friends.”

She said that on a personal level she is very happy that her grandfather’s descendants will have a beautifully written history, accompanied by a pictorial history, of the unique person who is the patriarch of the family. For current and future fans of Béla “Dracula” Lugosi she is thrilled to be able to share the authoritative biography of the man behind the cape.

Lugosi Sparks added that she treasures her many conversations with Cremer in which he recounted stories of his interviews with her grandmother and friends, family and colleagues of her grandfather. “As a little girl I never would have thought to ask my grandmother the questions I have now, so it was very emotional learning her insights and personal feelings that Bob shared with me.”

It had been a daunting task to expand the content of the book and to seamlessly incorporate the many photos into the manuscript, a collaboration that spanned five years. Many books and articles had covered Béla Lugosi’s career and life, some of them comprehensive and respectful of facts, and some that had perpetuated misinformation, rumours and untruths.

“What distinguishes ’Béla Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape’ from all other biographies on my grandfather is the perspective one gets of the human being who has become the icon as Dracula. The facts, insights and real-life experiences shared directly with Robert Cremer by people close to Béla, and which are not found anywhere else, are the heart of the book.

“My grandmother tasked Bob to ’set the record straight’, which he did. This is a very honest, personal and informative book about a unique Hollywood star who had a very interesting life.”

Asked what is the most prized possession from her grandfather’s film work that her family owns, Lugosi Sparks replied that it would have to be the actual cape he wore in the 1931  film that made him famous. The cape was in her grandmother’s and then in her father, Bela Lugosi, Jr.’s, possession until the very difficult decision was made to share this piece of Hollywood history with the world.

“My mom and dad had kept the cape safe for many years but knew that it needed to be properly preserved as a part of film history and shared with the public well into the future. The cape, forever identified with Béla Lugosi as Dracula, is now in the collection of the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.”

Thus immediately correcting one oft-told myth, that Lugosi was buried, at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, wearing the distinguishing item.