LUGOSI'S INFAMOUS LOVER

The caption for this photo from PHOTOPLAY (December 1924) describes the 19-year old Clara Bow as a "precocious baby vamp". A few years later, she would meet Bela Lugosi backstage after one of his stage performances playing Dracula. A torrid affair ensued (so the legend goes). As an apparent commemoration, Lugosi commissioned a nude painting of Miss Bow which he hung in each of the houses he owned over the years. One can only wonder what his wives thought...