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IMDbPro

Maila Nurmi(1922-2008)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Maila Murmi as "Vampira"the first TV horror hostess for ABC, 1954
Trailer for the documentary "Vampira and Me," the life story of the original goth icon as told by and to one of her closest friends. Includes major new footage of Vampira discovered for this project that went unseen for 60 years. The definitive visual record of Maila Nurmi and her time.
Play trailer1:28
Vampira and Me (2012)
3 Videos
18 Photos
The original glamour ghoul herself, "Vampira", of late night 1950s television, was actually born Maila Syrjäniemi (later changed to the easier surname Nurmi) on December 11, 1922 in Petsamo, Finland. Her uncle was the multiple Olympic medal runner Paavo Nurmi. Maila arrived in the United States with her family as a baby and lived a rather nomadic existence at first as her father was a writer who lectured on temperance.

It was director Howard Hawks, of all people, who discovered Maila while she was performing in Mike Todd's Grand Guignol midnight show "Spook Scandals". Hawks escorted the lovely blonde beauty to Hollywood with the hopes of grooming her into the next Lauren Bacall. Cast in the film version of the Russian novel "Dreadful Hollow", the project was put on hold so many times that Maila walked out of her contract in frustration. She became a cheesecake model and an Earl Carroll dancer for several years in his revues, sharing a chorus line at one time with future burlesque stripper Lili St. Cyr.

Married at the time to child actor-turned-screenwriter Dean Riesner, she came up with the idea of "Vampira" at a masquerade contest where she based her costume on Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons. Heavily painted up with long fingernails, a mane of raven-colored hair, and slim-waisted black attire, the Morticia gimmick won the best costume award that night... and more. She caught the attention of local television and was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up and watch its regular programming of cheapjack horror schlock. The macabre madam was a genuine hit (for one season, at least, in 1954-55), adding a sexy nuance and silly double entendres to her campy horror set.

She earned an Emmy Award nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality". Fan clubs sprouted up all over the world. She appeared in "Life", "TV Guide" and "Newsweek" magazine articles, and could be seen around and about town and in Las Vegas judging contests and making variety special appearances. Songs were written about the "Queen of Horror". She even appeared with arms outstretched and ghoulishly attired in the worst cinematic failure of all time, Edward D. Wood Jr.'s Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957), as Bela Lugosi's zombie-like mate, for which she is infamously associated. Lugosi actually was a huge fan of hers and had always wanted to work with her. Wood shot some footage of her years later as a tribute to Lugosi (he died in 1956 during filming) and added it before the film's release.

By the late 1950s, Maila's extended "15 minutes" of fame was over. With her career at stake (pun intended), she stretched things out with haphazard appearances in abysmal movies [The Beat Generation (1959); Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)] before closing the lid permanently on "Vampira". In later years, Maila divorced her writer/husband and became passionately involved in animal protection rights. A painter on the sly, she created some "Vampira" portraits that became a collector's item. Living very modestly in Southern California, she appeared in a small gag cameo in the film I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998). Malia Nurmi died at age 85 of natural causes at her home in Los Angeles, California on January 10, 2008.
BornDecember 11, 1922
DiedJanuary 10, 2008(85)
BornDecember 11, 1922
DiedJanuary 10, 2008(85)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • Awards
    • 3 wins

Fantastical Physical Transformations

Fantastical Physical Transformations

From amazing prosthetics to groundbreaking VFX, these actors totally transformed for their roles.
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Photos

Photos18

Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi
Tor Johnson and Maila Nurmi in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Maila Nurmi
Maila Nurmi in Vampira: The Movie (2006)
Maila Nurmi as "Vampira", the first TV horror hostess for ABC, 1954
"Maila Nurmi as "Vampira", the first TV horror hostess for ABC, 1954
Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Mona McKinnon, and Maila Nurmi in Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Maila Nurmi in Vampira Returns (1956)

Known for:

Maila Nurmi in Vampira (1956)
Vampira
8.3
TV Series
  • Vampira(as Vampira)
Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
Plan 9 from Outer Space
3.9
  • Vampire Girl(as Vampira)
  • 1957
Maila Nurmi in Vampira Returns (1956)
Vampira Returns
8.3
TV Series
  • Vampira(as Vampira)
The Vampira Show (1954)
The Vampira Show
8.1
TV Series
  • Vampira(as Vampira)

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • No Way In (2000)
    No Way In
    • Woman at Bar (as Vampira)
    • Short
    • 2000
  • Billy Zane in I Woke Up Early the Day I Died (1998)
    I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
    • Woman in Hotel Lobby
    • 1998
  • Dry (1996)
    Dry
    • Vanha nainen (as Vampira)
    • Short
    • 1996
  • Population: 1 (1986)
    Population: 1
    • Mother (uncredited)
    • 1986
  • Bungalow Invader
    • Vampira
    • Short
    • 1981
  • The Magic Sword (1962)
    The Magic Sword
    • The Hag
    • Sorceress
    • 1962
  • Tuesday Weld, Mijanou Bardot, and Mamie Van Doren in Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)
    Sex Kittens Go to College
    • Etta Toodie (as Vampira)
    • 1960
  • I Passed for White (1960)
    I Passed for White
    • Girl Poet (uncredited)
    • 1960
  • The Big Operator (1959)
    The Big Operator
    • Gina (as Vampira)
    • 1959
  • Mamie Van Doren in The Beat Generation (1959)
    The Beat Generation
    • The Poetess (as Vampira)
    • 1959
  • Ray Sparenberg Jr. in Fright Night (1958)
    Fright Night
    • Vampira (1958)
    • TV Series
    • 1958
  • Errol Flynn, Ray Danton, and Dorothy Malone in Too Much, Too Soon (1958)
    Too Much, Too Soon
    • Minor Role (uncredited)
    • 1958
  • "Eighty Yard Run, The" (Playhouse 90) Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. 1957 CBS
    Playhouse 90
    • Vampira (as Vampira)
    • TV Series
    • 1957
  • Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)
    Plan 9 from Outer Space
    • Vampire Girl (as Vampira)
    • 1957
  • Maila Nurmi in Vampira (1956)
    Vampira
    • Vampira (as Vampira)
    • TV Series
    • 1956

Producer

  • Maila Nurmi in Vampira Returns (1956)
    Vampira Returns
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1956
  • Maila Nurmi in Vampira (1956)
    Vampira
    • executive producer
    • TV Series
    • 1956

Writer

  • Maila Nurmi in Vampira Returns (1956)
    Vampira Returns
    • Writer
    • TV Series
    • 1956
  • Maila Nurmi in Vampira (1956)
    Vampira
    • Writer
    • TV Series
    • 1956

Videos3

American Scary
Clip 4:13
American Scary
VAMPIRA AND ME (Official Trailer)
Trailer 1:28
VAMPIRA AND ME (Official Trailer)
VAMPIRA AND ME TRAILER #2
Trailer 1:45
VAMPIRA AND ME TRAILER #2

Personal details

Edit
  • Official site
    • "Vampira and Me" biographical documentary official site
  • Alternative names
    • Maila Syrjaniemi Nurmi
  • Height
    • 5′ 7¾″ (1.72 m)
  • Born
    • December 11, 1922
    • Gloucester, Massachusetts, USA
  • Died
    • January 10, 2008
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease)
  • Spouses
      Fabrizio MioniJune 20, 1961 - ? (divorced)
  • Parents
      Onni Niemi
  • Other works
    Hostess on ABC-TV (as "Vampira") for showings of "B" horror movies.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 2 Portrayals
    • 4 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Once sued Cassandra Peterson, claiming that her "Elvira" persona was modeled after what she created as Vampira.
  • Quotes
    [on Plan 9 from Outer Space (1957)] At the time I thought it was horrible. I knew immediately I'd be committing professional suicide, but I thought, "What choice do I have?". Somehow, I seemed to be dead already.
  • Trademarks
      Slim-waisted black dress
  • Salary
    • Plan 9 from Outer Space
      (1957)
      $200

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