Profile Text
U.S. stamp of Lugosi printed c. 1997, photo by Neftali /Bigstock.com
Birth Name: Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó
Date of Birth: 20 October, 1882
Place of Birth: Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary (now Lugoj, Romania)
Date of Death: August 16, 1956
Place of Death: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Ethnicity: Hungarian, possibly Serbian
Bela Lugosi was a Hungarian and American actor. His roles include Dracula (1931), The Black Cat (1934), The Raven (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939), among many others. He was also known as Arisztid Olt.
Bela was born in Lugos, the Austria-Hungarian Empire (now Lugoj, Romania). He left Hungary after the 1919 Communist revolution failed, living in Weimar Germany, and then arriving in the U.S. in the 1920s. He later became an American citizen. He was the son of Paula (de Vojnich) and István Blaskó. He was raised Catholic.
Bela was married to Hope Lininger, until his death. He had a son, attorney Bela G. Lugosi, with his former wife Lillian Arch.
Bela’s paternal grandfather was named János Blaskó. János was born in Rede, Komarom-Esztergom, Hungary.
Bela’s paternal grandmother was named Veronika/Verona Mrazik (the daughter of Anna).
Sources: Bela Lugosi on the 1930 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org Bela Lugosi on the 1940 U.S. Census – https://www.familysearch.org
Genealogy of Bela Lugosi (focusing on his father’s side) – https://www.geni.com