Bela Lugosi is so identified with Dracula, people are surprised to hear he was a Shakespearean actor in his native Hungary, a big hit on the New York stage, and he played a few heros in films.  "Chandu the Magician" and "The Whispering Shadow" were two very popular serials.

In '65, Lugosi's friend Lon Chaney remembered: "Bela was this great little guy who was always fun to be around. Everybody loved his company.  But he had an accent that kept him in villain roles. Actors with European accents were always cast as villains.  It was very unfair, because in Europe American actors were never typecast.  But, like most of us, Bela wasn't in any position to be choosy about his roles.  Bills had to be paid.

"The Wolfman was mine.  I played him in five films and always for sympathy.  There was no way I could portray him as just a monster."

"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" sabotaged the careers of The Wolfman, Dracula, and the Frankenstein monster, Chaney said.  "For the first time, these three were in supporting roles and made to look foolish. After Costello got through, there was no interest in them at all."



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