By admin 
Bela Lugosi, who made his name as Dracula in Hollywood, insisted to reporters that he battled a crippling drug addiction for more than two decades – but one author claimed he had ‘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 drug dependency was partly directed at (his fourth wife) in the hope that she would feel guilty, reconcile with him and come back to him.”
“He wanted to win back his wife and son,” Cremer added.
Cremer, who was a columnist at The Hollywood Reporter, will publish a new book on December 17: “Bela Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape.” It contains more than 700 photographs, family objects and historical documents, many of which have never been seen outside Lugosi’s family.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 artist was published in 1976. His upcoming release is the only authorized biography of the star, who died in 1956 at the age of 73.
Bela Lugosi played the role of Count Dracula in the 1931 horror classic ‘Dracula’.
Lugosi brought Dracula to life in Hollywood after his success starring on stage, the Los Angeles Times reported. His performance, with a distinct accent, slicked back black hair, a flowing cape and a charming personality, helped define how vampires have been portrayed on screen over the years.
But despite his rise 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 very clear that he was only dependent on drugs from 1953 – after their divorce – until he committed himself to rehabilitation in 1955,” Cremer explained. ‘She previously said he was not a drug addict in any sense of the word. He only took the medication when he was in really extreme pain caused by this World War I injury. He didn’t use it regularly, like a drug addict would. He only took it when absolutely necessary to take care of the pain.”
Cremer said Lugosi had hoped his story would gain sympathy from studio heads and offer him more roles to support his family.
“Lillian’s divorce 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… the early 1950s, he was constantly on the road.’
“…This is a man well past retirement age, with sciatica problems that caused him a lot of pain along the way,” Cremer said. “He felt a responsibility to provide adequately for his wife and 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 with the doctor who treated Lugosi for his drug addiction, and with Lillian before she died in 1981.
“I brought boxes of Kleenex to Lillian’s house when we talked about (the divorce),” Cremer recalled. “The tears flowed endlessly. She really loved him, but Bela could not overcome his jealousy. And because there was a thirty year age difference, he always felt inadequate as a husband and was very jealous. For that reason, he had the feeling that Lillian was looking for younger men, which was absolutely not the case. Jealousy ultimately made Lillian feel like she had lost her son Bela Jr. could no longer expose himself to the tension, the arguments and his accusations.”
“This exaggerated idea that he was dependent on drugs for so long is absolute nonsense,” Cremer continued. “Lillian repeated that…several times. She said: ‘It’s so important to me to make sure people know the real background to this.’
Bela Lugosi’s fourth wife, Lillian Arch, was 30 years his junior. DIGITAL PRESS
‘The newspapers obviously based their reports on what Bela had said. But this deliberate exaggeration was never, ever covered by the press in later years.”
Cremer noted that the main reason Lillian was willing to speak out was to set the record straight.
“We agreed that we wanted this drug problem cleared up once and for all so that there is no more misinformation floating around about it,” Cremer added.
A poster from the movie ‘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 appearing on stage as Dracula, where he had to climb out of a coffin, he was “terrified” that a hip attack would occur on stage, interrupting his performance.
Lugosi’s granddaughter, Lynne Lugosi Sparks, told Fox News Digital that it was important for the family to address the decades-long rumors about his drug use.
“The first three chapters of the book are about the end of his life and getting that topic out of the way because the rest of his life story is so interesting and important,” she explained. “… We know immediately what my grandmother’s feelings were about the real situation. And then we really get to the heart of the book, which is this beautiful story about Bela’s life.
Cremer said Lugosi was exploited by movie studios. At the end of his life, the actor felt like he had been forgotten.
“Lillian told me that after he starred in ‘Dracula’ (in 1931), he almost immediately began appearing in small roles, some of which were not even credited,” he explained. “… She felt these roles were far below his status as a major Hollywood star. His best friend… who I interviewed endlessly said he spoke to him and asked, ‘Why are you taking these uncredited and very small roles?’ Bela said, ‘I want people to see me more.’… He felt that if he could keep his face constantly on the screen, it would increase his popularity and status, which was not true.”
“This tendency of his to do small roles for very low salaries gave the studios the impression that they could get him for a nickel or a dime, while they would have to pay other actors much more,” Cremer said. “They also knew that no matter what role he was in, he gave a great performance… This trend continued throughout his career… It was a tragic story.”
Lugosi died of a heart attack in his apartment at the age of 73. His fifth and final wife, Hope Lininger, said the actor “seemed to be getting better month by month” after his drug treatment.
Lugosi Sparks said her grandmother and father chose to bury her grandfather in his costume.
“It was their way of paying tribute to the role he created and was known for, even though at the time they had no idea that, just a few years later, there would be a revival of horror films, and they would be on be shown on TV,” she said.
“Bela… thought he was 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) achievement of his life.’”