IS Nostalgic Poster for Ed Wood's fabulous
Maila was born Maila Syrjaniemi in 1921 in Petsamo, Finland ~She grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, home to the largest Finnish-American community, after her family came to the United States when she was 2 years old ~She is best known for her 1959 role in this poverty row horror where she played Bela Lugosi's vampiric undead wife, more or less herself ~The image she created is known all over the world, though she has rarely been given her due as its source on the big screen ~She originally modeled her character from a Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoon & her moment came in 1953 when she attended Lester Horton's annual Bal Caribe Masquerade in Hollywood dressed as the then-unnamed ghoul-woman. She defeated 2,000 contestants & was named best-costumed reveller at the ball ~
Her first husband, Dean Riesner, screenwriter of Dirty Harry, Charley Varrick, Play Misty For Me & numerous other movies & TV episodes coined her name Vampira ~ She married actor Fabrizio Mioni in 1961 ~ She never had any children
Even at the height of what was worldwide fame, Nurmi's work was unseeable outside greater L. A as she caught the attention of local TV & was placed under contract to Channel 7 in Hollywood to see if she could encourage late night viewers to stay up & watch its regular programming of B-Film horror schlock as the host on their Movie Macabre.Nurmi introduced films while wandering through a hallway of mist & cobwebs. Her horror-related comedy antics included ghoulish puns such as encouraging viewers to write for epitaphs instead of autographs & talking to her pet spider Rollo ~
The Macabre Madam was a genuine hit (for one season in 1954-1955), adding a sexy nuance & silly double entendres to her campyhorror set. When the series was cancelled in 1955, she retained rights to the character of Vampira & took the show to a competing Los Angeles television station, KHJ-TV. Several episode scripts, & a single kinescope of Nurmi in character advertising the station's ability to draw customers for advertisers,are now held by private collectors.
She earned an Emmy nomination in 1954 for "Most Outstanding Female Personality." An instant sensation, fan clubs sprouted up all over the world, which led to Maila being featured in a multi-page spread in "Life, "TV Guide" & "Newsweek" magazine articles,& could be seen about town and in Las Vegas judging contests & making variety special appearances ~
Maila appeared in 1998's I Woke Up Early the Day I Died, The Magic Sword 62, Sex Kittens Go to College 60, & The Beat Generation 59, Monsterama: A Tribute to Horror Hosts in 2004, Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies 01, The Haunted World of Edward D. Wood Jr 96,Vampira - About Sex, Death and Taxes 95, Flying Saucers Over Hollywood: The Plan 9 Companion 92 ~ She posed for pin-up photos in men's magazines such as Famous Models, Gala & Glamorous Models ~ Nurmi was acquainted with James Dean, Marilyn Monroe & Elvis Presley, & briefly dated Orson Welles ~ She was also a model & posed for 'Vargas' In the early 1960s, Maila opened Vampira's Attic, a clothing boutique on Melrose Avenue. She also sold handmade jewelry & clothing. She made items for several celebrities, including Grace Slick of the music group Jefferson Airplane & the Zappa family
Maila once sued Cassandra Peterson to no avail, claiming that her "Elvira" persona was modeled after what she created as Vampira ~ Spellbinding Maila had the dubious honor of being fired by Mae West from the cast of West's 1944 Broadway play "Catherine Was Great," because West feared that she was being upstaged ~ In 1958, singer Bobby Bare recorded a rock 'n' roll song about her, titled "Vampira"She sang in a punk band called “Vampira & Satan's Cheerleaders”
Maila passed away at her home on January 10th. 2008 at the age of 86 ~ She will be missed
The 2008 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards will present a first time award for Best Horror Host in her honor at this year's ceremony.
Quality 19x13" Posters from some of our favorite 30's & up Scifi, Classic Films Produced from originals, using professional equipment's & processed with a photo editing system ~ Vivid colors & detail are painstakenly restored, while removing any scratches,spots, tears, etc., for the finest possible end result Monstrous film memorabilia to decorate your personal media area ~ great conversation pieces Please take a look in my eBay store for 100's of other CLASSIC, SCIFI & HORRORFilm Stills, Posters & Lobbies available in various sizes
Produced from originals, using professional equipment's & processed with a photo editing system ~ Vivid colors & detail are painstakenly restored, while removing any scratches,spots, tears, etc., for the finest possible end result
Monstrous film memorabilia to decorate your personal media area ~ great conversation pieces
Please take a look in my eBay store for 100's of other CLASSIC, SCIFI
CLICK ON eBay's RED DOOR STORE BUTTON ABOVE RIGHT TO SEE OVER 2500 OTHER ITEMS
Pay for your auction win(s) SECURELY with any major credit card via PayPal !Safe & Secure record keeping at 'no cost' to the buyer ~ Accepted by 'most' on-line merchantsIf you are not already a member ~ Join today,It is not necessary to join to make credit card payments via PayPal!
Refunds 'may' be given after receipt of an email from the buyer within 3 days of delivery stating the nature of the request. 'Approved' refunds may be given as either an exchange, credit, or monies back. Postage is only refundable under extreem circumstance, or where the seller is in error. Refunds will not be granted for items lost in the mail that are untrackable., i.e. (USPS 1st. class Mail)
Back to Search Results
) 
Porkepyn Film Memorabilia
Print
Report item
and your 