Bela Lugosi Bela Lugosi Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó (; 20 October 1882 – 16 August 1956), better known as Bela Lugosi (; ), was a Hungarian-American actor famous for portraying Count Dracula in the 1931 film and for his roles in other horror films. After playing small parts on the stage in his native Hungary, Lugosi got his first role in a film in 1917. He had to leave the country after the failed Hungarian Communist Revolution of 1919. He acted in several films in Weimar Germany before arriving in the United States as a seaman on a merchant ship. In 1927,
The Ten Commandments (1956 film) the same title, and features one of the largest sets ever created for a film. The film was released to cinemas in the United States on November 8, 1956 and, at the time of its release, was the most expensive film ever made. In 1957, the film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, winning the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (John P. Fulton, A.S.C.). Charlton Heston was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama) for his role as Moses. Yul Brynner won the National Board of