Finish Maila Nurmi, born in 1922, imigrated to the USA with her family when she was two years old. She grew up in Ohio and later Oregon, before she moved to Los Angeles. She started out as a hot, blond, pinup model in men's magazines, had some smaller parts in a few movies, worked as a chorus line dancer at the Florentine Gardens along with famous stripper
Lili St. Cyr, and even was a show girl for
Mae West before she fired her for upstaging her.. Before landing the role as Vampira, she worked as a hat-check girl in a cloakroom on Hollywood's Sunset Strip.
Maila was spotted by a television producer one night, at a high profile Hollywood costume party in 1953. She was wearing a costume inspiered by Morticia in the cartoons of Charles Addams. He wanted Maila to host horror movies in her own show for KABC_TV. She was aired as the first female horror movie host in 1954, on The Vampira Show! The rest is history as they say. She instantly became a sensation and national icon, even though the show was only on local in LA. She was only aired on television for one year, but made a great impact while she was. She was voted by the NATAS as the Most Outstanding Female Personality of 1954.
Vampira and all her little quirks was created by Maila, her husband, a film and television writer came up with the name.. Later on the television station wanted to buy the rights to the character and likeness of Vampira from Maila. She on the other hand refused and got fired, she might even have been black listed.. She later appeared in a few smaller productions, and in
Ed Wood's camp classic,
Plan 9 From Outer Space, as a Vampira-like zombie.
Maila was best friends with
James Dean in the early 50's, till he passed away. they spent time together at
Googie's coffee shop on the corner of Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. He even appeared on The Vampira Show in a small bit. Vampira dressed as a librarian, rapping his fingers with a ruler and stating that he was a "very naughty boy"...
"
She often said that Dean and herself had a primal understanding of each other, like two aliens somehow stranded on earth, the only beings here that could communicate in the same language". ~ Sid Terror
Nurmi opened
Vampira's Attic in the early 60's, an antiques boutique on Melrose Avenue. She also made jewelry and clothing whitch she sold to the celebs..
In 1988 Cassandra Peterson became Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark. A horror host which was extremely influenced by The Vampira Show.. Maila filed a law suit against her for steeling her character, she claimed there was 150 simularities, but Cassandra retained the rights to Elvira. The show went national and she became synonymous with Halloween, and a very rich woman...
On January 10. 2008, Nurmi passed away of natural causes, 86 years old, in her home in north Hollywood..
I think it's sad to learn how the television company screwed Maila over, wanting to own the rights to her character Vampira, and how they later found a way to do so with the new television host Elvira. Even if she is a true icon in the horror genre and still has many fans out there. Vampira is for many a lost chapter in the book, I think most people don't even know about Vampira. I must admit that I hadn't really either before the ghastly gal poll, but I had to do some research in order to get it together. For most people out there, Elvira is the one that they think of when they hear female television horror host.. Elvira gave new life to the character and brought it out to a new generation. Today the persona of Vampira lives on with every one of us horror loving creatures out there. If not as Vampira herself, as Elvira or even as Morticia Addams and Lily Munster. Who also was inspired by the first female television horror host, Vampira A.K.A Maila Nurmi...
(All information found online, various sources).
A little "secret" from the 50's, at least one that I didn't know of.. Cuz who would think that the sexy pinup chics of the 50's armed them selfs with four layered padded bras, with suspension bridge tecnology to enchance their curves and bring their breasts to new heights and volumes..?? Apparently long before silicon was the common substance to stuff your breasts with and maybe in the lack of having such a thing and tennis socks was last years.. This four padded bras known as a Fling was used among the burlesque artists, show girls, strippers and yes our beloved Marilyn Monroe and probably most of the pinups back then. Marilyn's "wonderbra" went on auction in England earlier this year and was expected to fetch a staggering 2,000 £!! 
