Bela Lugosi, Hungarian born actor, 1882-1956, famous for his portrayal of "Dracula" in 1931, which really put him on the map, but not until until he was almost 50 years old...His rival, Boris Karloff, succeeded where Lugosi failed in that he got lead roles in movies where Lugosi only got second best parts, due to the fact that he reused the part of Frankenstein, whereas Karloff accepted the role and it took him to great heights in his career as an actor, while Lugosi was on the way down and to the poor house...He even got addicted to drugs and committed himself to Camarillo State Hospital in 1956, not long before his death at age 74..This was at the time in his career when he was involved with making horrible movies with Edward Wood, Jr..He had become that desparate for work..while, on the other hand, Karloff was living quite comfortably, although he felt pity for his old rival from Hollywood....Frank Sinatra, annomynously, contributed money to Lugosi so he wouldn`t lose his house in Los Angeles...I always enjoyed "The Black Cat" (1934) where Lugosi has the chance to get even with Karloff, in the end, and begins skinning him alive.....

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