The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures is currently under construction in Los Angeles for a planned grand opening sometime in early 2020, and THR reports today that one of the iconic horror movie relics that will be on display at the museum is the actual cape that the late Bela Lugosi wore in director Tod Browning’s 1931 horror classic, Dracula!
Lugosi held on to the cape up until the day he died – he was buried in a cape he wore for the Dracula stage production – and it was donated by Lugosi’s son Bela G. Lugosi.
“My father’s screen-worn cape has had a very special place in my life and in the lives of my children and grandchildren. In fact, it has been a part of my mother’s household and then my household since I was born—for over 80 years,” Bela G. Lugosi said in a statement published by THR. “It became clear that there is no better home for the cape than the Academy Museum, allowing movie lovers to view a piece of classic horror film history and enjoy Bela Lugosi’s acclaimed performance for years to come.”
“This outstanding acquisition simultaneously represents the character of Count Dracula as a cultural icon and the life and career of an extraordinary actor, Bela Lugosi. It is important to us as a museum to be able to restore and safeguard this artifact, especially knowing that much of the material history of the classic horror cycle has been lost forever. We are deeply grateful to the Lugosi family for entrusting us with a treasure that means so much to them,” said exhibitions curator Jessica Niebel.
Jack Nicholson’s red jacket from The Shining has also been acquired for the museum, along with the outfit worn by Kathy Bates in another Stephen King adaptation, Misery.