Tom Mason

Thomas Robert "Tom" Mason (April 29, 1920 – December 1, 1980) was an American chiropractor, who was best known for appearing in films directed by Ed Wood, the husband of one of his patients.

Biography

Best known as the stand-in for the recently deceased Bela Lugosi in Wood's movie Plan 9 from Outer Space, Mason, who was taller than and bore little physical resemblance to Lugosi, hunched over and held a cape over his face in all of his scenes. This act contributed to the trope of Count Dracula (as well as other stock vampire characters) dramatically covering his face with his cape. Mason appeared in and helped to produce several of Wood's other movies, including Night of the Ghouls and Final Curtain, after which his career in showbiz ended. He died in 1980.

Legacy

In 1994, Mason was portrayed in director Tim Burton's film Ed Wood by actor Ned Bellamy.

In 2005, Mason and the Plan 9 cast were lampooned in an episode of the television series Deadly Cinema, and clips of this episode were featured in the documentary Vampira: The Movie.