HUNGRY GERALD

No actor influenced HG more than Bela Lugosii. HG’s beloved late sister, Beulah  (then aged 12)  and HG (aged 5) went to the Loew’s Ellesmere movie theater (Working class East  Bronx) for a showing of “Dracula”. Talk about scary!! Bela Lugosi’s portrait of the undead Count scared the hell out of little HG; and, it left HG with a neurotic fear of bats. BSK cured the fear by telling HG that bats were efficient mosquito killers. Horror movies? Only “Psycho” provided on par chilly thrills (made teenage BSK and boyfriend frozen with fear) . Lugosi was buried in his “Dracula Cape”. Lugosi’s widow and an ex-wife paid the funeral expenses; however, Frank Sinatra visited Lugosi when Bela was hospitalized before his death and sent him a $1,000 check. Hey, what’s that lurking in the clouds???