B�la Lugosi was the stage name of actor B�la Ferenc Dezso Blask� (October 20, 1882 � August 16, 1956). He was born in Lugos, Hungary, at the time part of Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania), the youngest of four children of a baker. The blue-eyed actor is best known for his portrayal of Dracula in the American Broadway stage production, and subsequent film, of Bram Stoker's classic vampire stoy Lugosi started his acting career on the stage in Hungary in several Shakespearean plays and other major roles, and also appeared in several silent films of the Cinema of Hungary under the stage name Arisztid Olt. During World War I, he served as an infantry lieutenant in the Austro-Hungarian army. Lugosi's first film appearance was in the 1917 movie Ezredes, Az (known in English as The Colonel). Lugosi would make twelve films in Hungary between 1917 and 1918 before leaving for Germany. Lugosi left his native Hungary for Germany in 1919. Following the collapse of B�la Kun's Hungarian Soviet Republic, left-wingers and trade unionists were persecuted, including Lugosi, who was persecuted following his participation in the formation of an actor's union. In exile, he began appearing in a small number of well received films in German cinema. One of his earliest appearances for the German film industry was in the 1920 adaptations of the Karl May penned novels Auf den Tr�mmern des Paradieses ("In the Rubble of Paradise") and Die Todeskarawane ("The Death Caravan") opposite the ill-fated Jewish actress Dora Gerson. Lugosi emigrated to the United States in October 1920 and was legally inspected at Ellis Island in March 1921. On June 26, 1931 the actor became a naturalized citizen of the United States. On arrival in America, the 1.85 m (6'1"), 82 kg (180 lb) Lugosi worked for some time as a laborer, then returned to the theater within the Hungarian-American community. He was spotted there and approached to star in a play adapted by John L. Balderston from Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. The production was very successful. Despite his excellent notices in the title role, Lugosi had to campaign vigorously for the chance to repeat his stage success in Tod Browning's movie version of Dracula (1931), produced by Universal Pictures. A persistent rumor asserts that silent-film actor Lon Chaney was originally scheduled for this film role, and that Lugosi was chosen only due to Chaney's death. Chaney, however, was under long-term contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and his home studio refused to release him to Universal for this project. Further, although Chaney and Browning had worked together on several projects, Browning was only a last-minute choice to direct the movie version of Dracula: this film was not a long-time pet project of Tod Browning, despite some claims to the contrary. Following the success of Dracula (1931), Lugosi received a studio contract with Universal.
