Born: October 20, 1882
Died: August 16, 1956
What’s scarier?
His classic performance as Dracula . . . or the fact that Hungarian-born actor was a major morphine addict? By the time he bit the dust of a heart attack while lying on the couch in his Los Angeles apartment, the movie monster was a mere shadow of his former self. Lugosi’s body was found with a copy of B-grade film director Ed Wood’s next epic, “The Final Curtain,” in his clenched hand. Ah, a movie he could have really sunk his teeth into!
Lugosi was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, wearing a Dracula cape—the expenses were quietly paid for by fan Frank Sinatra.
Morbid Curiosity, By Alan W. Petrucelli