Maila Nurmi | |
|---|---|
 Nurmi in 1947 | |
| Born | Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi December 11, 1922 |
| Died | January 10, 2008 (aged 85) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hollywood Forever Cemetery |
| Other names | Maila Niemi Nurmi Maila Elizabeth Nurmimioni Vampira |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouses | |
Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008),[1] known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American-Finn[2] actress who created the campy 1950s character Vampira.
She was raised in Astoria, Oregon, where she worked in tuna and salmon canneries. She relocated to Los Angeles in 1940, with hopes of becoming an actress. After several minor film roles, she found success with her Vampira character, television's first horror host. Nurmi hosted her own series, The Vampira Show, from 1954 to 1955, on KABC-TV.[3]
After the show's cancellation, she appeared in the 1959 cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space, directed by Ed Wood.[4] She is also billed as Vampira, despite not playing the character, in the 1959 films The Beat Generation, where she plays a beatnik poet,[5] and crime film The Big Operator. She was portrayed by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton's 1994 biopic, Ed Wood.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ Maila Elizabeth Nurmimioni [sic], Social Security Death Index
- ^ Åkman, Erika (March 18, 2022). "Nuori Maila Nurmi menetti neitsyytensä lipevälle ohjaajanerolle ja tuli raskaaksi – totuus maailmankuuluista vanhemmista selvisi pojalle vasta 75-vuotiaana". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved April 11, 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Kristin (October 29, 2015). "Vampira: An Appreciation of the Undersung Proto-Goth Goddess". Vogue. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
- ^ Stewart, Jocelyn Y. (January 16, 2008). "Actress, TV horror film hostess Vampira". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 27, 2015.
- ^ Maltin 1997, p. 92.