Dracula star exaggerated drug addiction to win back his much younger wife: author
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 It features over 700 photos, family artifacts and historical documents, many of which have never been seen outside of Lugosi’s family.It also highlights interviews with those who knew the actor over the years.Cremer has known the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.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 t...