Maila Nurmi

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Actress Maila Nurmi (born December 21, 1921 in Petsamo, Finland - now Pechenga, Russia) portrayed "Vampira" in many shows, and starred in Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space. She was also known as a close friend of James Dean and had known Marilyn Monroe when she was just known as Norma Jean. She unsuccessfully sued Elvira for stealing her act.

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Early life

Born in Petsamo, Finland, she was the niece of a famous finnish long-distance runner Paavo Nurmi. Before moving to the United States, she worked as a model.

As Vampira

The idea for the Vampira character was born in 1953 when she caught attention of a television producer Hunt Stromberg Jr. with her tight black dress and pale white skin. She was offered the role of Vampira on ABC TV station. Vampira was a late night horror show hostess who wandered through a hallway of mist and cobwebs to greet viewers of the B horror movie broadcast. She also had on-air antics, including talking to a pet spider called Rollo and encouraging viewers to write for epitaphs instead of autographs.

She was nominated for an Emmy as "Most Outstanding Female Personality" in 1954, and later appeared in Ed Woods infamous low-budget film Plan 9 From Outer Space. She also starred in three other movies in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Later Life

In the 80s she unsuccessfully sued Mark Pierson for character rights over a hostess of a horror movie show called Elvira, an updated version of Vampira. As of 1994 she lived in Hollywood, with few house animals and without car or telephone.

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