How I Became a Bela Lugosi Fan

The first Bela Lugosi movie I saw was Dracula.  I cannot remember how old I was, but I know I was a preteen.  My parents are both fans of old movies, so as you can imagine I got hooked.  I had seen the more recent Draculas, but I was extra intrigued by the 1931 Dracula.  Sure, it ran slow for my taste, but something about it was so mysterious.  The next Bela Lugosi film I saw was Son of Frankenstein.  My parents would almost make a tradition out of watching old horror movies around Halloween.  When Lugosi's Ygor came on screen, my mother pointed out to me that he is the same actor who played Dracula in 1931.  I was amazed that this was the same person.  He looked, sounded, and acted totally different from his Dracula character.  I knew right then and there that this was a very talented actor.  I became more interested in his work.  Soon afterwards, I saw movies like The Black Cat, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.  Again, I was hooked by this actor.  I wanted more.  At this time I was sixteen years old and I had to have everything affordable on Lugosi.  I had to see more of his films and read Lugosi biographies.  I began to also accumulate toys and magazines.  When I was in college and using the computer a lot, I surfed the web to see what I could find on this great actor.  I am now twenty-eight years old and I  still love Bela Lugosi.  He can play every kind of role convincingly and effectively.  Even when he got some parts that wasted his talents, he gave it all he had.  He was a real professional.  Of course when I was going through my puberty years, I also began to notice how handsome he was.  If you are now searching the web for fine actors, stop where you are.  You just found Bela Lugosi.