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Feb 9 15 6:31 PM
EDITOR MFTV wrote:oregan wrote:What difference is there between Rhodes two Lugosi books? The book Lugosi pretty much covers his whole career, Bela Lugosi, Dreams and Nightmares covers 1952-1956. From Gary Rhodes when the book was published: My new book BELA LUGOSI, DREAMS AND NIGHTMARES is finished. The frame of the book is 1952-1956, but the book addresses all periods of Lugosi's life. It begins with a few chapters covering the full history of three crises he faced in 1952-53: his career, his marriage, and his politics. From there it introduces his young fan Dick Sheffield and covers their adventures together and with Dick's array of teenage pals. For lack of a better word, "flashbacks" occur that mean the whole of Lugosi's life is covered. With few exceptions, the entire book is built on primary documents, largely those that have not been used before. As a result, the book is a largely new picture of Lugosi's life. This extends from as early as my having found his birth home in Budapest through to an image of Hope at the cemetery where she wanted to bury Lugosi (which wasn't Holy Cross) ... and everything in between. To the degree Ed Wood surfaces, it is through a series of letters he wrote to Lugosi that haven't been previously published and a detailed look at the unproduced Wood scripts for Lugosi. So despite the 1952-1956 frame, this isn't a reworking of the Wood tales. Interviews include at least twenty people who have never spoken about Lugosi before. That takes us to back to his early life in Hungary... all the way through people who worked at Metropolitan Hospital ... someone involved in his 1954 ARSENIC AND OLD LACE production... etc. etc. And dozens and dozens of unpublished photos. I've always been immersed in everything Lugosi, so I'm probably not the best judge of the book or my findings ... but I did get excited, say, going through Lugosi in FBI files and OSS files. Finding out why he and his first wife split up and why/when he decided to go to the US. Finding out about the wild exploits between he and wife number 2 (Ilona von Montagh) ... Finding out details on his first performance as Dracula in New Haven. Learning the first film he was supposed to make at Universal after Dracula (which wasn't Frankenstein)... etc. etc. The filmography includes several new silent films, hitherto unknown... and the book also covers a large number of radio, TV, and stage performances that haven't been chronicled before. Lugosi wearing an apron on the BETTY CROCKER SHOW, for example. For me, this has meant visiting Romania and Hungary several times now. Germany too. And of course work in the US for many years since my first Lugosi book. A key participant was Richard Sheffield, Lugosi's old pal. We first spoke about this book idea in 1986 and it has finally happened. In fact, his name will be on the cover of the book. Also key was Tom Weaver, without whom the book would never have been written or finished. His encouragement and enthusiasm throughout has been crucial. And of course CHFB was extremely important too. When I first made the move to Ireland, I brought all the boxes of stuff for the book. But I was uncertain whether an audience for another Lugosi book existed... the response to a post of mine about this on CHFB over a year ago was huge, not only in the number posted on this site but the 30-40 I got in my personal email. The people of CHFB too. David Wentink has been amazing in all kinds of ways. And David Colton just penned one of the four back cover quotations. Anyhow, a long (and appreciative) post. Thanks for the interest.
oregan wrote:What difference is there between Rhodes two Lugosi books?
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