Please settle in for my essay about the most famous movie vampire brought to us by Bram Stoker's book, and the many other portrayals of The Count and associated players

BELA LUGOSI

Clearly, he quintessential cinematic "Dracula" is Bela Lugosi.  As he had mentioned to Gloria Holden, who played the lead in "Dracula's Daughter" - "Be very careful of this role, it is both a blessing and a curse."  Bela was right. He is a cinematic legend but was forever branded as Count Dracula.  I was lucky enough to purchase a large collection of vintage autographs which included this fantastic 5x7 photo of him in his most famous role.  It's an amazing photograph- even though the autograph is secretarial.  I wrote to his son BELA LUGOSI, JR. who was kind enough to autograph the photo with him and his father wearing his Dracula cape. He returned the other photo unsigned where Junior looks extraordinarily handsome, but Bela looks worse for wear.  Perhaps a thoughtful move and careful preservation of his father's image by not endorsing it with a signature.  But I think the picture is very moving and appropriately telling of Bela's struggle during his later years.  The autograph from Junior was accompanied by a carefully worded letter from HIS daughter, that stated the autograph was "most likely not authentic".  Still, it is a great piece of movie memorabilia to have an original photo that was sent out during the time of the movie. Here's a rare interview, to see Bela "the person" from 1931.

CHRISTOPHER LEE

The Dracula that I first saw on screen was not Bela Lugosi, it was Christopher Lee - who I thought was much more menacing and scarier, especially because he was in color.  He played Dracula about 10 times, and I think I saw most of those movies, so to ME, it was Christopher Lee that was known as THE Dracula.  Of course, Christopher Lee has had many roles during his long career including the James Bond and Lord of the Ring franchises.  An excellent actor who is often type cast as the scary guy, I thought he was brilliant in a 1964 episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour called "The Sign of Satan". He played a horror movie actor who fears that real satanists are after him.  In this fantastic TV episode, Christopher Lee is compelling, totally immersed in his role and simply mesmerizing to watch.  You can find it on Plex or Roku. So good! But for now ... A Bite Montage

Regarding the Christopher Lee autographs in my collection, I have accumulated many over the years but there are only a couple that are authentic.  You'd think that the way that Christopher signs his L's with the downward tail would be a simple detail that forgers would easily replicate, but as you can see from the examples here, they did not. The authentic Christopher Lee autographs are the two photos, and the one index card matched with the Dracula photo. I've heard from other collectors that he really didn't like signing Dracula photos and would often do so in the dark spots. I'm grateful for the ones I have that ARE authentic!

FRANK LANGELLA

Now the first Dracula that I saw on screen, in a theater, during a first release, was Frank Langella in 1979.  He was good but I don't remember being as moved or haunted by his performance as I was with Christopher Lee's. When I met Frank, walking into or out of a Broadway Theater in 1996. My first two thoughts were how tall he was and that he was so much more handsome in person than I expected - and in the back of my mind I was thinking "OK, Whoopi Goldberg - I can see why you're with this man" (they were a couple at that time).  Frank was a gentleman; he signed my Dracula photo (I think it's my fault that it's smudged) and also the playbill from "Present Laughter: My remembrance of our encounter was simply that he was a classy guy

GEORGE HAMILTON

That same year of Langella’s Dracula also brought us "Love at First Bite" with George Hamilton doing a comedic and campy take on the Count.  I don't remember much about the movie and I'm sure a lot of the campiness went over my 14-year-old head. But I do find George Hamilton to be of interest. He was so incredibly handsome as a young male starlet, maintaining that year-round deep tan and smooth face even to this day, co-starring with Connie Francis in "Where the Boys Are", his close friendship with Elizabeth Taylor, the talk show that he did with his ex-wife Alana and most gossipy is his close relationship with Imelda Marcos and the accusations that he was used by the Marcos family for “funneling” (aka “laundering” their money. I don’t know if this is spurious or not since the details in the press around this issue have been a bit vague. But George has always been very cunning with the press and his choice of words.   I'll be meeting him in person if everything goes as planned, in June 2025 so I will update this entry after that.  Luckily, I have a few of his authentic signatures in my collection and I love his crisp and linear penmanship.

I met George Hamilton in June of 2025 - $40 - He was thoroughly happy and actually a little giddy that I had the photos and press clipping from his appearance on stage in Gigi in West Palm Beach in 1965. So I asked if in exchange for the copies I gave him they would give me a discount on his photos and they cut the price in half and charged only $20 each. And then George asked me how many days a week I went to the gym, I told him 3 days a week. He said that he was convinced it was the best thing for aging, to do weightlifting and resistance training. And then I said "And cardio? Do you warm up by doing cardio" and he said "No I don't warm up with cardio because it uses up energy. I do that on a separate day" and I said "Same!". I asked if I could take a selfie with him and his friend/handler took the pictures and George was super friendly and fun and inscribed exactly the way that I wanted him to. Just a chill gentleman.  He came into the restaurant later in the evening and sat in a private room directly behind Sherilyn.  He nursed a single glass of wine. Funny Disco Dracula:

NOSFERATU

Then we have the original movie “Nosferatu”.  Max Schreck, the star of the silent classic from 1922 is an extraordinarily rare autograph that costs thousands of dollars. Klaus Kinski who played Nosferatu in 1982 is also a rare autograph, but I do have him, and you will see details about that version of Nosferatu, Klaus, director Werner Herzog and co-star Isabel Adjani under a separate entry.  As for the 2024 version of Nosferatu with Lily Rose Depp, I am sad to report that I have nobody’s autograph from that cast. Oh well.

LOUIS JOURDAN

On to the BBC miniseries of “Count Dracula” starring Louis Jourdan in 1977.  A fantastically done and well-mounted miniseries that really captures the essence of Bram Stoker's story. Added plus: Louis is a dapper, attractive Dracula! Who wouldn't want to be bit by this handsome man!  As you can see from the color picture autographed here, that glamour shot was sent to him by hundreds if not thousands of people around the world and he always duly signed.  I highly recommend watching his BBC miniseries if you haven't seen it.  Louis Jourdan’s Dracula is different and multi-layered.

MARTIN LANDAU

Martin stole the movie, “Ed Wood” (1994) as far as I’m concerned. His portrayal of the fading, drug addled, yet still “vibrant on command” Bela Lugosi was a career-defining moment, and he deserved that Best Support Actor award. It was a superb performance he transformed INTO Bela Lugosi. I was lucky enough to meet Martin in person at The Hollywood Show in Burbank in April 2014. (He was in the main hallway, seated just around the corner from his ex-wife Barbara Bain from “Mission Impossible” … but I’ll save that story for later when I cover the whole cast.) Martin was a bit tired, understandably so, but was accommodating and gracious when I told him that “Mission Impossible” and “Space 1999” were favorites growing up, but that “Ed Wood” astounded me and was the perfect showcase for his theretofore untapped talent. I think he really liked that – and he took my (blood) red pen and inscribed this “Ed Wood” photo exactly as I requested. A fine actor and a really nice man. Best scene from where I got the still: Halloween at Bela Lugosi’s

BRAM STOKERS DRACULA (GARY OLDMAN & WINONA RYDER)

Next up is “Bram Stoker's Dracula” from 1992, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  I think that this might be my favorite version because I see it as a love story along with gothic horror. Gary Oldman's creep portrayal, the set, the chemistry between him and Winona Ryder...all of it ...was just everything I wanted the Dracula story to be. The scene with Gary Oldman licking a razor as the wizened old monster? Unforgettable and creeeeeepy! The best part? Gary Oldman was allegedly DRUNK while filming this scene …there was a video clip about it - but it's been pulled down. Should we believe this story?!?! HMMM

Now here's the thing about the autographed Dracula still that is signed by both Winona and Gary. Ryder and Oldman share one thing in common regarding their autograph. They write in hieroglyphics and if you can discern their name, it is most probably not authentic. If you can read multiple letters in either of their names, I can almost guarantee you it is not authentic.  Therefore, the duo signed scene from Dracula is a hastily signed authentic photo by two actors who simply scrawled their names hurriedly.  Or it was used as a Doodle Pad in a random kindergarten class. I'll let you be the judge.

The individual autograph of Gary Oldman is also highly questionable.  Sometimes it seems like celebrities just don't even want to make their names legible for any reason. One of the signed cards does show some similarities to Gary's in person signatures. But I'm not even going to attempt an absolute statement of authenticity regarding Oldman.

Winona Ryder forgeries are ALL OVER eBay (and in collections that I bought). People think they can do any variations and pass it off as real since she does have a scribble. With Winona, I have an in-person story, though! My sister and I were Christmas shopping in San Francisco’s Union Square at The Gap (don’t judge). And there was Winona Ryder right in front of us, engaged in conversation with her friend. No sunglasses, no disguise, just Winona Ryder. BAM! I hurriedly grabbed a Gap Catalogue and a pen from the sales counter and my sister, and I followed her out of the store. We walked behind them for a bit and then I approached and said something like “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I’m such a big fan of yours and I’d be thrilled if I can get your autograph!” Winona appeared a bit shy/startled/off-putting (not sure how I’d describe it), but she said “I’m sorry, I only sign autographs for kids”. Damn. Shot down. Little did I know that my sister would be the secret weapon to success. She started crying and said to Winona, “Oh my God, I’ve loved you forever and we share the same birthday!!??! Ok, so now Winona can see that people are starting to stop and recognize her, so she took my pen and Gap catalogue – I told her my name was Bobby and specifically mentioned that I thought her performance in “Dracula” was outstanding and that I thought it was a perfect love story. (Ok, weirdo). So, the signature on the blue page is authentic in-person Winona (aka Wino Forever on Johnny Depp’s revised tattoo) Ryder autograph! BAM!

SADIE FROST

Wrapping up the 1992 version of Dracula, I’ve got an autograph of Sadie Frost (ex-Mrs. Jude Law) who did such a fine job as Dracula’s first victim in the film, Lucy. Wearing those amazing costumes, becoming paler and weaker as she slowly turns – what a great showcase role! I love the signed 8x10 ¾ profile shot, but sadly the pen she used looks like a weak sauce purple ballpoint instead of our desired Sharpie. Still a cool pic.

Watch Sadie/Lucy as a vampire in her best finery getting staked and squirting blood!

FRANCIS LEDERER

Looking up all of the actors that have ever played Dracula is pretty daunting – there are SO many. I have Francies Lederer in my collection, but I never really knew what he starred in; just that he was a handsome actor and I’d look him up someday. Hence, here we are. What a handsome guy – I love the letter he wrote in 1936 thanking a journalist for her “criticism”. How to climb the Hollywood ladder. He was the star of “The Return of Dracula” (1958). The movie may not have the highest IMDb rating, but the trailer is a hoot. “I am the vampire. All living things are my prey. The undead are my allies. The night is my domain”. Check it out on IMDb or the link below

CHUCK COURTNEY

How could I forget "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula" and the fact that I have Chuck Courtney's autograph in my collection?!?! Ummmm. Maybe because I had no clue until I flipped open one of the "C" binders and saw Chuck's autograph matched with the title card. This IS a funny scene, from what looks to be "not great" film

KETTY LESTER

September 2025 at the Hollywood Show in Barbank, I was really looking forward to meeting Ketty Lester, because I think her classic song "Love Letters" is absolutely beautiful. I knew she was a singer, and I have a couple of her albums in my collection, and actually charted again with a couple of songs, but "Love Letters" is a heartwarming chestnut. Then I was reminded by my friend Michael Augustine-Reed that she played "Juanita" in "Blacula". I've never seen the movie, but I loved the lobby card of Ketty going to bite Elisha Cook, Jr. Ketty was 90 years old, very sweet and seemed delighted to have guests at her table. She really got a kick out of signing the inscription of "Don't you know that chasing tail can get you killed". She was just adorable! This clip of "Juanita Wakes Up" ends with the biting scene you see on my picture she signed.

FRANK CRAVEN & JANINA FAYE

Let’s put a fang in it and close the Drac attack for now with two featured players in different decades. Frank Craven was a lower billed character actor that played a doctor in “The Son of Dracula” (1943) and Janina Faye was a child actress who played Tania (the daughter of Lucy) in Hamer’s “Dracula” from 1958. This great still from the movie with Janina and Peter Cushing was a gift from my Hammer Horror expert friend, Michael Augustine-Reed @Hollywoodboy63. If you want to know anything about Hammer Horror, Michael is THE MAN!

DIRECTORY

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