For no reason whatsoever, I attempted to find the origins and the first occurrence of Dracula's parodic onomatopoeia, the notorious "Bla!", cemented by scores of "I am Dracula, bla, bla, bla!" uttered in many a cartoon.
He definitely bla-blas prominently in the 1998 pinball machine "Monster Bash":
...but the "Bla!" must certainly be older than that.
I have read claims that it actually began with Lugosi himself in 1930, due to either his pronouncing "blood" in an odd, exaggerated manner (I have not heard it myself in any way that would excuse comprehending it as "Bla!"), or due to someone not being able to understand what he was saying, and deciding that it was "Bla!" (possible, I suppose, but is it accurate? And if so, how did the "Bla!" enter the popular vernacular?)
It has been alleged that the "Bla!" may have come from the 1964 song "My son, the vampire":
...but did it? The singer of the sing clearly exclaims "Blo!", rather than "Bla!". I suppose that the former may have transformed into the latter, like the Count himself transforming into a bat - but, again, did it?
Another alleged source is the 1952 film "Vampire over London" (also occasionally listed under the same title as the aforementioned song), in which Lugosi parodies himself. However, either I missed his supposed "Bla!" in the film, or he does not utter it at all.
So what is the earliest occurrence of the actual, genuine "Bla!"? Are there any pre-blas that led to the birth of the classic "Bla!"? Is it perhaps the "Blo!" from "My son" after all?
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He definitely bla-blas prominently in the 1998 pinball machine "Monster Bash":
...but the "Bla!" must certainly be older than that.
I have read claims that it actually began with Lugosi himself in 1930, due to either his pronouncing "blood" in an odd, exaggerated manner (I have not heard it myself in any way that would excuse comprehending it as "Bla!"), or due to someone not being able to understand what he was saying, and deciding that it was "Bla!" (possible, I suppose, but is it accurate? And if so, how did the "Bla!" enter the popular vernacular?)
It has been alleged that the "Bla!" may have come from the 1964 song "My son, the vampire":
...but did it? The singer of the sing clearly exclaims "Blo!", rather than "Bla!". I suppose that the former may have transformed into the latter, like the Count himself transforming into a bat - but, again, did it?
Another alleged source is the 1952 film "Vampire over London" (also occasionally listed under the same title as the aforementioned song), in which Lugosi parodies himself. However, either I missed his supposed "Bla!" in the film, or he does not utter it at all.
So what is the earliest occurrence of the actual, genuine "Bla!"? Are there any pre-blas that led to the birth of the classic "Bla!"? Is it perhaps the "Blo!" from "My son" after all?
statistics: Posted by JerryKing — 2:15 AM - Today — Replies 3 — Views 203