INTERVIEW: Lynne Lugosi Sparks on her famous grandfather’s legacy
Photo: Béla Lugosi appears in Dracula on Broadway in 1927. Photo courtesy of Robert Cremer & Lugosi Enterprises / Provided by Superfan Promotions with permission.
It’s not every day that one finds a person who can truthfully say this: “My grandfather played perhaps the most iconic movie villain of all time.” So it goes for Lynne Lugosi Sparks, whose grandfather was Béla Lugosi, the famous actor who first portrayed Dracula. Now the actor’s story is receiving the book treatment thanks to author Robert Cremer. Right now, Clover Press is raising funds via Kickstarter for the publication of Béla Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape, featuring the words of Cremer and photographs from the Lugosi Family Archives.
Sparks has a unique role in the family business. She is curator of the archives and serves as CEO of Lugosi Enterprises. She was pivotal in securing tucked-away photographs and artifacts for the expansive coffee table book; some of these images of her grandfather have never been seen before by the public.
To celebrate the new book and to learn more about her day-to-day job as curator of the Lugosi Family Archives, Hollywood Soapbox recently exchanged emails with Sparks. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What do you love about this book project?
I love that I had the opportunity to work with our longtime family friend, author Robert Cremer, to see our vision for this special book become a reality. Also, curating the photos and documents for the book provided me with the opportunity to meet fans, collectors, historians and archivists across the U.S. and in Hungary and Romania, many of which have become my friends.
What do you see as the goal of this book project?
On a personal level, I am very happy that the descendants of Béla Lugosi will have a beautifully written history, accompanied by a pictorial history, of the unique person who is the patriarch of our family. For current and future fans of Béla “Dracula” Lugosi, I am thrilled to be able to share the authoritative biography of the man behind the cape.
What was it like working with Robert Cremer?
It has been an honor and a pleasure. I treasure the many conversations Bob and I had where he told me stories of the time he spent interviewing my grandmother and friends, family and colleagues of my grandfather. As a little girl, I never would have thought to ask my grandmother the questions I have now, so it was very emotional learning her insights and personal feelings that Bob shared with me. Even though it was a daunting task to expand the content of the book and to seamlessly incorporate the many photos into the manuscript — the collaboration spanned five years and a nine-hour time difference between Los Angeles and Bamberg, Germany — it has been a truly wonderful experience working with Bob.
Do you feel that your grandfather’s legacy is accurately known to the wider public? Do you feel it’s misunderstood in any way?
Over the years, there have been many books and articles written about Béla Lugosi’s career and life — those that are comprehensive of his career and respectful of facts, and those that have perpetuated misinformation, rumors and untruths. What distinguishes Béla Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape from all other biographies on my grandfather is the perspective one gets of the human being who has become the icon as Dracula. The facts, insights and real-life experiences shared directly with Robert Cremer by people close to Béla, and which are not found anywhere else, are the heart of the book. My grandmother tasked Bob to “set the record straight,” which he did. This is a very honest, personal and informative book about a unique Hollywood star who had a very interesting life.
What’s the most prized possession from your grandfather’s film work that your family owns?
It would have to be Béla Lugosi’s screen-worn cape from the 1931 Universal film, Dracula. It was in my grandmother’s and then in my father, Bela Lugosi, Jr.’s, possession until the very difficult decision was made to share this piece of Hollywood history with the world. My mom and dad had kept the cape safe for many years, but knew that it needed to be properly preserved as a part of film history and shared with the public well into the future. The cape, forever identified with Béla Lugosi as Dracula, is now in the collection of the Academy Museum in Los Angeles.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Béla Lugosi: The Man Behind the Cape, written by Robert Cremer and published by Clover Press, is currently raising funds for its publication via Kickstarter. Click here for more information.
