Hello there funny names fans, and Happy Almost-Halloween!
Everyone ready for tomorrow? Everyone already eaten their entire stash of mini chocolate bars? No? Just me?? Damn. Happens every year. No matter – we’re getting into the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve (eve) around here whether the sugar keeps me awake for days or not.
Get it? Spirit?? See what I did there?!?
Ok. I’ll stop trying to compete with the boys punning abilities and just set the mood instead, shall I?
(Of course it’s the full 13 minute version. Like you even need to ask?)
Now that we have the appropriate soundtrack, it’s time to introduce the subject of today’s post. Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó was born on a dark and stormy night, in an ancient castle on the shores of Transylvania …
I’m kidding. About the dark and stormy night part, anyway.
“Teenagers today just don’t understand romance like we did”
Béla really was born in Lugos, Transylvania, though. He changed his name to Bela Lugosi after fleeing the Hungarian Revolution in 1919, and eventually settled in New York. He worked odd jobs and took small theater roles, including a part in what is now officially my favourite play in the history of plays: “The Devil in the Cheese”. Apparently others were equally impressed with his foray into the dangerous world of dairy products, because Lugosi was offered the iconic title role in the American theatrical run of “Dracula” not long after.
And then, as they say, a star was born. Certain sparkly faced vampires popular with the tween set have nothing on Lugosi. According to my showbiz sources:
Lugosi’s Dracula was at once so sexy and so haunting that audiences gasped when he first opened his mouth to speak. After a half-year run on Broadway, Dracula toured the United States to much fanfare and critical acclaim throughout 1928 and 1929.
Universal Pictures knew a good thing when they saw one, and the now legendary horror film “Dracula” was released in 1931, with Lugosi reprising his
“What are you talking about? This looks totally appealing and not awkward at all”
famous character. Unfortunately, the movie was maybe a little bit too legendary for Lugosi, who found himself typecast as the villain in most of the film parts he was offered thereafter. His luck in his personal life wasn’t much better: although hugely successful by funny names standards, his marriages to Ilona Szmick, Ilona von Montagh, Beatrice Weeks and Lillian Arch all ended in divorce.
As his popularity waned, those four expensive divorces and an even more expensive morphine habit led to Lugosi taking parts in obscure, low budget B movies, like “Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla”. He died of a heart attack in 1956, at age 73.
In a (kind of undead and slightly creepy) remembrance of his greatest success, he was buried wearing his Dracula cape. I can’t possibly top that for a closing line, so I’m off to find some more chocolate. Have a spook-tacular Halloween, all!
I think this is the first time you’ve used the term “the boys” and not been referring to me in the slightest! It’s all good. I’m glad to share the limelight with Arto and Diddy. Especially Diddy. That guy does self-deprecation as well as anyone I’ve ever met 🙂 Happy pre-Halloween!
I know. I know. I do that all the time. And I’m so sorry.
Bad Diddy! Bad Diddy! Bad! Bad! Bad!
Hey, isn’t Amb’s post great?!? Best BoFN Halloween post ever!!!
Granted, this is my first BoFN Halloween, so I don’t know what the others were like . . . but still, Amb is smokin’!
Hey, Amb, don’t forget Plan 9 from Outer Space, also immortalized in Ed Wood, one of Johnny Depp’s better ones, and Bela Lugosi died in the middle of filming it.
Ed Wood is such an incredibly unfunny name it’s almost a funny name.
“it” being Plan 9, not Ed Wood.
It’s not so much that Halloween BoFN posts are a thing, as it’s a “amb will use any excuse to throw a party” thing. (see also: Valentine’s Day, Dave’s birthday, the season premiere of “Community”). But I’ll take that smokin’ compliment anyway, thank you very much!
I know !!! Isn’t it?!? When I was googling, I mean researching, for this post, I got caught in a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp recursive loop and spent way too long watching clips from Ed Wood (and Edward Scissorhands, and Sleepy Hollow, and The Corpse Bride …)
Did you know that the rumour Lugosi died while holding a script called “The Final Curtain” isn’t true? (Thanks, Wikipedia!)
It’s so nice to have a rumor dispelled before you even know it’s a rumor. Saves so much time!
OK, I think the best vampire is Klaus Kinski in Nosferatu and the best vampire victim babe is Isabelle Adjani in the same movie.
I
I haven’t seen that one. Scary movies are so not my thing, man. If you say Klaus and Isabelle are the best, I believe you!
Mind you, have you seen “Let the Right One In”? I haven’t (of course) but I read a post about it a while back and thought it sounded completely terrifying. Will track down the link for you!
I don’t like scary ones, either. I couldn’t sleep after the 70s Carrie movie. Nosferatu was creepy and disturbing but basically one of those milestone arty films. The five minute love bite scene is kinda iconic.
Oh honey. You’re going to be referred to plenty tomorrow. Stay tuned. xo.
Haha, alright. Expecting good things 🙂
“his marriages to Ilona Szmick, Ilona von Montagh, Beatrice Weeks and Lillian Arch all ended in divorce”
Now THAT is good! What an outstanding cluster of names.
But doesn’t this just illustrate perfectly what I’ve been talking about here? You could have stretched this thing out for four most posts. Yes, a whole week of posts devoted to “Bela Lugosi and his Wives”!
Why, oh why must BoFNites be so profligate with funny names?!?! These things don’t grow on trees, yuh know.
Diddy, my darling, in all the time you’ve known me, whatever has made you think that I’m any good at holding back anything ?!?!?! Funny names (and excessive punctuation marks) are no exception 😉
Well, you just wait till we kick off our End Funny Name Waste Now! campaign. It will make that Free Amb Movement seem like a doll house schnookers party.
Haha, spicing things up on the BoFN!
That video! Memory lane for sure. (a friend and I had every single line and dance move of those 12ish min memorized) Didn’t realize at the time, but it wouldn’t be topped. Best video of all time. Vincent Price? Young Michael Jackson? Great dance moves? Popcorn? ’80s fashions? Twilight is a sleeper in comparison.
But about Bela–you’ve provided fine edutainment yet again 🙂 Am going to have Clare read it. Her science teacher is a bit of a monster nut (apparently owns one of the world’s only authentic Herman Munster masks) and devoted last week to all things Monster. C came home with Qs about a guy named Bela something-or-other and this should do! Also love how you got all those accents in his name. Fancy footwork (just like Michael). Or maybe cut-and-paste, but I’m still impressed.
Whoohoo to the Thriller dance moves !!! We’ve talked about the awesomeness that is “13 Going on 30”, yes? Your comment totally made me think of this scene:
If we haven’t, then we totally need to talk. It’s such an awesome movie! You’d get a kick out of it, I think 🙂
Are you really? Yay! I’m super excited that I get to go to school with Clare on this one. If I had known I would have used more PG language at the beginning! Sorry, Mom. 😉 And I wish I could take the credit, but you’re right, those fancy accents are all courtesy of cut and paste.
Smiling!!!!! Have only watched parts of that movie, but it’s going in Netflix queue NOW. Why is it not surprising that you adore a (Jennifer Garner!) movie about a 30-year-old who is 13 on the inside? 😉 (says a like-minded soul, though ratchet that first age up a bit)
I am so 13 on the inside !!! 😀
Is it just a coincidence that Bella is so named in Twilight?
The clubs in the 80s used to play Bauhaus’s “Bela Lugosi Is Dead,” which has a much nicer ring to it than “Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó Is Dead.”
Hahahaha. It does indeed! 🙂
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