Actors - Maila Nurmi

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	Actors - Maila Nurmi

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 a close friend of James Dean and had been acquainted with Marilyn Monroe when she was still called Norma Jean. She unsuccessfully sued Elvira for stealing her act.

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 the 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 movie hostess who wandered through a hallway of mist and cobwebs while providing viewers with introductions to the films. She also engaged in a variety of horror-related comedy 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 Award as "Most Outstanding Female Personality" in 1954, and later appeared in Ed Wood's 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 1980s she unsuccessfully sued Mark Pierson for character rights over the hostess of a horror movie show called Elvira Mistress of the dark. Pierson claimed that Elvira was nothing more than an updated version of Vampira. As of 1994, she lived in Hollywood, California, USA with a few pets and without car or telephone.

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Actors - Maila Nurmi

Early life

As Vampira

Later life

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