Vanguard

Issue date: 10/29/07 Section: Entertainment

The Halloween season inspires curiosity about all kinds of ghouls, goblins and supernatural villains. Therefore, an interest in Dracula is only natural as the end of October draws near-it is, after all, the haunting season. The name Dracula brings to mind many images, including Bram Stoker's novel of the same name and the many Hollywood representations of the immortal king of the night. But, one face, one voice most often appears in the minds of Dracula fans around the world, the infamous Bela Lugosi.

Gary Rhodes' book "Bela Lugosi: Dreams and Nightmares" proves that Lugosi still draws fans more than 50 years after his death. Lugosi's name is synonymous with Dracula, the most famous character he portrayed during his career as a horror film star. However, "Dreams and Nightmares" is a book about Lugosi's personal journey as much as a chronicle of his movie-making prowess.

Rhodes' presents Lugosi's life story with amazing attention to detail. The reader will find information that paints a hauntingly real impression of Lugosi's travels, hardships and relationships. The result is a story that fascinates readers in the same way Lugosi enthralled fans as Dracula on stage and film.

Rhodes' writes about all stages of Lugosi's life, but "Dreams and Nightmares" focuses on the actor's life between 1952 and 1956. The reader learns details of Lugosi's political connections in his country of birth, Hungary. Since Hungary was communist at his time of service, this fact later caused Lugosi no end of trouble with the U.S. government. Lugosi spent much of his career under suspicion for communist ties due to his past Hungarian political ties.

Rhodes also chronicles Lugosi's love life, including five marriages and several affairs. In the 1920s, Lugosi supposedly had a brief interlude with then-famous actress Clara Bow. The relationship was popular news in publications such as, the New York Daily Mirror and the Los Angeles Times. There is also detailed information about his 20 year marriage to his second wife, Lillian, and their son, Bela Lugosi Jr.

Another large portion of the biography focuses on Lugosi's relationship with friend and fan Richard Sheffield. Sheffield met Lugosi in 1953 when Sheffield was only 14 years old. Sheffield was, even then, an avid horror movie and Lugosi fan. Readers will find details of how a simple phone call started a three-year friendship. Sheffield was the last person to see Lugosi alive on the day he passed away; this was a fitting final visit, since Lugosi bequeathed many of his prized possessions to Sheffield.

The book is also visually appealing in every way. The cover artwork and design are very professional. The photographs inside make even a quick skim through the text worthwhile. Dozens of photos of Lugosi, his family, Richard Sheffield and many more are found on nearly every page of the book. For nearly every written detail unearthed by Rhodes' research, he includes a related image to bring the text to life.

"Dreams and Nightmares" also has a connection to the University of South Alabama. USA graduate student Beau Foutz performed research about Lugosi that is included in the published book.
"I worked between December 2005 to April 2006 in research. I covered all of Lugosi's southern tours for Arsenic. Those states included Va., N.C., S. C., Ala., Tenn. and Ga. During this research, a previously unknown touring city, Raleigh, North Carolina, was discovered," Foutz said. Foutz also acted as a press agent and created and released press releases about "Dreams and Nightmares."

Foutz was quick to point out that his training in USA's communication department's advertising program helped him with the research and the marketing assistance he offered Rhodes.

"As a consultant, I created press releases for the locations researched. It would correspond with the book's release. And I also contacted Turner Classic Movies was very interested in featuring one of our press releases. Jeff Stafford, of TCM, was extremely cooperative. Then I advised Rhodes on releasing ads and book to various magazines, including Fangoria and Filmfax."
"This gets back to Dr. Mark's CA 476, which was about targeting and branding. With targeting, we went after our readership through press releases in those genre magazines. With branding, we played up, in the press releases, the newly discovered material on Lugosi and as well as making connections to a Hollywood legend visiting those local communities I researched. And by mentioning those cities in the book, we were also courting new readership."

Foutz goes on to say that Dr. Mark has taught him a lot about advertising. In particular, advertising research. "There's something called a SWOT test. You apply this to the product. And the Lugosi book received the same treatment."

"Dr. Mark held more influence over this than she realizes. In her classes, she teaches integrated marketing. So I understood not only promotional work, but also some aspects of public relations. It came down to playing consultant just like in advertising campaigns," Foutz stated.
And promotion wasn't the only aspect. For his part in the book, Foutz researched Lugosi's "Arsenic and Old Lace" tour in 1944 and Lugosi's work with stage magician Bill Neff in 1947.

"Historical research was something that Dr. Ward encouraged me in. He does a comparison of Dracula as a multi-language film during the transition from silent to sound film in his CA 343 class. But as a graduate student, it was CA 540 where I learned about film history and style."
Ward, himself, is also an author. His book "A History of the Hal Roach Studios" follows the studio's existence from 1916-1960. Because of this, Foutz knew Dr. Ward was the "go-to man" for any research concerns.

The book is published by Gotham and is available through http://www.oldies.com.

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