The_Kitchen_Guy
Silver Member
- 12,458
A true pioneer. What? You never heard of her???
Well, if I had told you Vampira was dead at 85, you'd still say you never heard of her. Well, here she is:
http://www.aolcdn.com/aolnews_photos/09/01/20080115111909990001
Maila Nurmi created the Vampira character in 1954 at KABC-TV to host a television show in Los Angeles that ran crummy horror flicks. Her character was probably inspired by Charles Addams' macabre cartoons and even though her show only lasted one year, it inspired a flurry of local horror hosts all over the country. Vampira may very well have inspired Morticia Adams and Lily Munster about ten years later.
Nurmi also sued Cassandra Peterson, who created and portrayed Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Nurmi's $10 Millon suit failed, although she said, "Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped."
She made an appearance in Ed Wood's Plan Nine From Outer Space, arguably the worst commercial movie ever made. Her character appeared in Tim Burton's Ed Wood.
Vampira once rode in a Los Angeles parade, sponsored by an auto museum. She rode in a 1951 hearse that also made an appearance in the movie, Ed Wood. Nurmi will be taken to her final resting place in that same hearse.
She was a trend-setter, no doubt about it. Rest In Peace, Vampira.
Well, if I had told you Vampira was dead at 85, you'd still say you never heard of her. Well, here she is:
http://www.aolcdn.com/aolnews_photos/09/01/20080115111909990001
Maila Nurmi created the Vampira character in 1954 at KABC-TV to host a television show in Los Angeles that ran crummy horror flicks. Her character was probably inspired by Charles Addams' macabre cartoons and even though her show only lasted one year, it inspired a flurry of local horror hosts all over the country. Vampira may very well have inspired Morticia Adams and Lily Munster about ten years later.
Nurmi also sued Cassandra Peterson, who created and portrayed Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Nurmi's $10 Millon suit failed, although she said, "Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped."
She made an appearance in Ed Wood's Plan Nine From Outer Space, arguably the worst commercial movie ever made. Her character appeared in Tim Burton's Ed Wood.
Vampira once rode in a Los Angeles parade, sponsored by an auto museum. She rode in a 1951 hearse that also made an appearance in the movie, Ed Wood. Nurmi will be taken to her final resting place in that same hearse.
She was a trend-setter, no doubt about it. Rest In Peace, Vampira.