Bela Lugosi & Frank Sinatra?

[BlackLagoon]

I was reading just before about Bela Lugosi's funeral and it came up more then once that Frank Sinatra "very quietly paid for the services".

I read it 1st online--my mother who is a huge Sinatra buff said she hadn't heard of that particular instance--but it was pretty well known among fans that Mr. Sinatra was actually a pretty generous guy and this didn't seem too far fetched.

So...does anyone know if this is true? And if it is true--why? Were they friends? Was Sinatra a fan?--Generous or not, it seems kind of random unless there was a prior history with the two.

Anyone?

[Gillman-Fan]

I've heard different versions of this story over the years. In a Sinatra bio I read once (written by Kitty Kelley) there was a paragraph about how Sinatra paid for some of Lugosi's hospital/rehab expenses even though the two did not know each other.

[BlackLagoon]

That is pretty interesting--I would love to know the truth. All these years later, just bits and pieces are surfacing.

[Anton Phibes]

I forget where I fist heard this, but heard it I did. I had heard that he was actually a fan of the 1931 Dracula and was sympathetic to how Lugosi ended up in the years prior to his death so he paid the bill.

[typhooforme]

I checked on a discussion at the CHFB about this very topic and it seems to have started with a mix-up by Sinatra friend Joey Bishop, who, two or three decades after the event, announced on a talk show that Frank had paid for Bela's funeral.  Bishop misremembered.  Frank DID give Bela money--"quietly" is the word used to describe the event--to help pay Bela's hospital bills after he was treated for his addiction.  But the funeral story mistake--especially as it was broadcast on national tv--took legs and ran.  And still runs today.  The facts regarding Sinatra's kindness during Lugosi's post-hospital time of need were set forth at CHFB by Bill Warren and Ted Newsom, both gents with impeccably accurate behind-the-scenes knowledge.  And both agree that Sinatra WAS, indeed, a fan!

[BlackLagoon]

I checked on a discussion at the CHFB about this very topic and it seems to have started with a mix-up by Sinatra friend Joey Bishop, who, two or three decades after the event, announced on a talk show that Frank had paid for Bela's funeral.  Bishop misremembered.  Frank DID give Bela money--"quietly" is the word used to describe the event--to help pay Bela's hospital bills after he was treated for his addiction.  But the funeral story mistake--especially as it was broadcast on national tv--took legs and ran.  And still runs today.  The facts regarding Sinatra's kindness during Lugosi's post-hospital time of need were set forth at CHFB by Bill Warren and Ted Newsom, both gents with impeccably accurate behind-the-scenes knowledge.  And both agree that Sinatra WAS, indeed, a fan!

Thank you so much for that informative post! The facts I've been craving!

[mike c]

Leave it to Elder Robert to clarify things.

Thanks Bobbo.

[Gillman-Fan]

Good to know I read/remembered this story correctly.

Leave it to Joey Bishop to muddy the waters.

[BlackLagoon]

Leave it to Joey Bishop to muddy the waters.

Haha--Joey Bishop is def that guy.

How did he get into the "boys club" anyway?