‘Dracula’ star Bela Lugosi ‘exaggerated’ his drug addiction to get his wife back

Bela Lugosi, who made his mark as Dracula in Hollywood, insisted to reporters that he battled a crippling drug addiction for more than two decades, but one author claimed he “deliberately exaggerated” his story for a heartbreaking reason.

“What he said was that he had been dependent on drugs for 20 years, in some cases 25 years,” author Robert Cremer told Fox News Digital. “But he greatly exaggerated the story… And this exaggeration of his drug dependency was directed, in part, at (his fourth wife) in the hope that she would feel guilty, reconcile with him and return to him.”

“He wanted his wife and son back,” Cremer added.

Cremer, who was a columnist for The Hollywood Reporter, has a new book coming out Dec. 17, “Bela Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape.” It features more than 700 photographs, family artifacts and historical documents, many of which have never been seen outside of Lugosi’s family. It also highlights interviews with those who knew the actor over the years.

Cremer has known the Lugosi family for more than 50 years. His original book about the Hungarian artist was published in 1976. His upcoming release is the only authorized biography about the star, who died in 1956 at age 73.

Lugosi brought Dracula to life in Hollywood after his success in the lead role on stage, the Los Angeles Times reported. His performance, which included a distinctive accent, slicked-back black hair, a flowing cape, and a charming personality, helped define how vampires have been portrayed on screen over the years.

But despite rising to fame, Lugosi became dependent on morphine due to injuries he suffered in World War I, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) reported.

“His (fourth wife) Lillian made it pretty clear that he was only dependent on drugs from 1953, after their divorce, until he committed to rehab in 1955,” Cremer explained. “She said before that that he was not a drug addict in any sense of the word. He only took the medication when he had really extreme pain caused by this World War I injury. I didn’t take it regularly like a drug addict would. “I only took it when it was absolutely necessary to relieve the pain.”

Cremer said Lugosi hoped his account would make studio heads sympathetic and offer him more roles to support his family.

“Lillian’s divorce in 1953 devastated him,” Cremer explained. “He was a very proud man and took his marriage seriously. He took his responsibility for his family very seriously. And in those years, between 1948 and… until the early 1950s, I was constantly traveling.”

“…This is a man who was past retirement age and had sciatica issues that were causing him a lot of pain on the road incessantly,” Cremer shared. “He felt the responsibility of wanting to adequately support his wife and son.”

Lugosi married Lillian in 1933. They welcomed their only child, a son named Bela G. Lugosi, in 1938.

Cremer previously spoke with the doctor who treated Lugosi for his drug dependency, as well as with Lillian before she died in 1981.

“I brought boxes of tissues to Lillian’s house when we talked about (the divorce),” Cremer recalled. “The tears flowed incessantly. She really loved him, but Bela couldn’t overcome her jealousy. And since there was a 30-year age difference, he always felt inadequate as a husband and was very jealous. For that reason, I felt that Lillian must be looking for younger men, which was not the case at all. Due to jealousy, Lillian finally felt that she could no longer expose her son Bela Jr. to tension, arguments, and her accusations.”

“This exaggerated idea that he was dependent on drugs for so long is absolute nonsense,” Cremer continued. “Lillian reiterated that… numerous times. She said: “It’s very important for me to make sure people know what the real background of this is.”

“Of course, the newspapers based their reports on what Bela had said. But this deliberate exaggeration was never addressed by the press in later years.”

Cremer noted that the main reason Lillian was willing to talk was to help set the record straight.

“We agreed that we wanted this drug problem to be cleared up once and for all, so that there is no more misinformation about it,” Cremer added.

Lugosi battled painful sciatica in his later years. Still, he was determined to perform for the fans. Cremer described how, before a stage appearance as Dracula, where he had to climb out of a coffin, he was “deadly afraid” that a sciatica attack would occur on stage, interrupting his performance.

Lugosi’s granddaughter, Lynne Lugosi Sparks, told Fox News Digital that it was important for the family to address decades-old rumors about his drug use.

“The first three chapters of the book are about the end of his life and that issue to leave aside, because the rest of the story of his life is very interesting and important,” he explained. “…Right off the bat we know my grandmother’s feelings (about) what the true situation was. And then we really get to the heart of the book, which is this beautiful story of Bela’s life.”

Cremer said Lugosi was exploited by movie studios. At the end of his life, the actor felt forgotten.

“Lillian told me that after starring in ‘Dracula’ (in 1931), she began appearing almost immediately in small roles, some even uncredited,” he explained. “…She felt that these roles were far below her stature as a big Hollywood star. His closest friend… who I interviewed endlessly, said he talked to him and asked him, ‘Why are you taking on these uncredited, very minor roles?’ Bela said, ‘I want people to see me more’… He felt that if he could keep his face on the screen constantly, it would increase his popularity and height, which was not true.”

“This tendency of him to accept minor roles at very low salaries created the impression among studios that they could get him for a nickel or dime, while other actors would have to be paid much more,” Cremer said. “They also knew that no matter what role he played, he gave a magnificent performance… This trend continued throughout his career… It was a tragic story.”

Lugosi died in his apartment at the age of 73 of a heart attack. His fifth and last wife, Hope Lininger, said the actor “seemed to be getting better month by month” following his drug treatment.

Lugosi Sparks shared that her grandmother and father decided to bury her grandfather in his costume.

“It was his way of paying homage to the role he had created and was known for, although at the time they had no idea that, just a few years later, there would be a revival of horror films, and it would be shown on television” , said.

“Bela… thought they had forgotten him. And that tribute to him, burying him with that cape and that suit, was his way of saying: ‘This is Bela.’ Bela is Dracula. This was (the) achievement of his life.’”