Carroll Borland
Encyclopedia
Carroll Borland better known by the stage-spelling Carol Borland, was an American professor
, writer
, and actor
. She is best known for having portrayed Luna Mora, the daughter of Bela Lugosi
's character, Count Mora, in Mark of the Vampire
, and her articulate commingling of the real-life Lugosi and the Count Dracula
character, even though their characters were not really vampire
s in the film. She was born in San Francisco, California
. She was a drama student at UC Berkeley at the time she took the role. She had previously appeared in a stage production of Dracula
with Lugosi, in a minor role as one of his victims.
She was often known to promulgate legends about her paternalistic relationship with Lugosi; in Richard Bojarski's The Films of Bela Lugosi, she describes his funeral as if she had been there, and claims to have been, though she was not actually in attendance.http://books.google.com/books?id=kJZmiLAz6qMC&pg=RA2-PA449&lpg=RA2-PA449&dq=borland+lugosi+funeral&source=web&ots=o9TMfMHg07&sig=E8kENf2zCgU6smFRx0KJFl2vylA
She retired from acting in 1953, though her other screen appearances were limited to a few contract unbilled cameo roles until Fred Olen Ray
cast her as professors in his films Scalps
(1983) and Bio-Hazard (1985).
Her novel, Countess Dracula, was published by Magicimage Filmbooks in March 1994, one month subsequent to her death from pneumonia
, probably due to the enormous cult following she attained from Mark of the Vampire. Her role had only one line at the end of the film, and had only approximately ten minutes of screen time in a film that runs only one hour in its theatrical (and only surviving) cut.
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. She is best known for having portrayed Luna Mora, the daughter of Bela Lugosi
Béla Lugosi
Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó , commonly known as Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian actor of stage and screen. He was best known for having played Count Dracula in the Broadway play and subsequent film version, as well as having starred in several of Ed Wood's low budget films in the last years of his...
's character, Count Mora, in Mark of the Vampire
Mark of the Vampire
Mark of the Vampire is a 1935 horror film, starring Lionel Barrymore, Elizabeth Allan, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, and Jean Hersholt and directed by Tod Browning...
, and her articulate commingling of the real-life Lugosi and the Count Dracula
Count Dracula
Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula and archetypal vampire. Some aspects of his character have been inspired by the 15th century Romanian general and Wallachian Prince Vlad III the Impaler...
character, even though their characters were not really vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s in the film. She was born in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. She was a drama student at UC Berkeley at the time she took the role. She had previously appeared in a stage production of Dracula
Dracula (play)
Dracula is a 1924 stage play adapted by Hamilton Deane from the novel of the same name by Bram Stoker, and substantially revised by John L. Balderston in 1927...
with Lugosi, in a minor role as one of his victims.
She was often known to promulgate legends about her paternalistic relationship with Lugosi; in Richard Bojarski's The Films of Bela Lugosi, she describes his funeral as if she had been there, and claims to have been, though she was not actually in attendance.http://books.google.com/books?id=kJZmiLAz6qMC&pg=RA2-PA449&lpg=RA2-PA449&dq=borland+lugosi+funeral&source=web&ots=o9TMfMHg07&sig=E8kENf2zCgU6smFRx0KJFl2vylA
She retired from acting in 1953, though her other screen appearances were limited to a few contract unbilled cameo roles until Fred Olen Ray
Fred Olen Ray
Fred Olen Ray is an American director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and cinematographer.-Biography:He is the producer, director, and screenwriter of low to medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror, science fiction, action/adventure, softcore sex films and crime dramas...
cast her as professors in his films Scalps
Scalps
Scalps is a 1983 American horror film directed by Fred Olen Ray that revolves around a vengeful Native American spirit.-Plot:Six college archeology students work on a dig in the California desert, despite the warnings of a professor and the town drunk. When the group digs around in an Indian...
(1983) and Bio-Hazard (1985).
Her novel, Countess Dracula, was published by Magicimage Filmbooks in March 1994, one month subsequent to her death from pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
, probably due to the enormous cult following she attained from Mark of the Vampire. Her role had only one line at the end of the film, and had only approximately ten minutes of screen time in a film that runs only one hour in its theatrical (and only surviving) cut.