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elionwyrGenerally credited with being the first horror host, Maila Nurmi (December 21, 1921 - January 10, 2008) slinked her way into her title by winning a Hollywood costume contest in 1953. She dressed as the then-unnamed female that graced the pages of Charles Addams' New Yorker comics; in doing so, she caught the eye of KABC-TV's producer, Hunt Stromberg Jr.
It took five months, but eventually Mr. Stromberg got in touch with Maila. She was offered a position doing live-broadcast introductions to late-night horror film airings. During this era of television, having local talent involved with in-house production of programming was the norm. Maila's look and style, however, was something altogether different from what had come before, and her show set the bar for every horror host that was to follow.
A fan club and a mock-running for "Night Mayor of California" helped fuel Vampira's popularity. Though she remains legendary, most of her work has not survived over time because her show was a live broadcast. Additionally, The Vampira Show was only on the air from April 30, 1954 to April 2, 1955. She retained the rights to the character and took her act to competing station KHY-TV, but that version of the show was apparently never aired.
Ironically, some of the best photage that remains of Vampira is from the much-maligned film Plan 9 from Outer Space.
In later years, Maila would sue Cassandra Peterson over Peterson's creation of the character Elvira, which has a similar look and feel to Nurmi's Vampira. Considering Nurmi's deliberate efforts to make sure Vampira was not merely a Charles Addams' rip-off, one can understand Nurmi's emotions concerning the Vampira character. However, the courts ruled in Peterson's favour, and Elvira gained a legendary existence all her own.
For more information about Vampira, please visit:
http://www.vampirasattic.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maila_Nurmi
http://www.milwaukee-horror-hosts.com/VampiraShow.html - episode list
http://www.vampirathemovie.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfvXzrWGt6Y - "American Scary" clip
It took five months, but eventually Mr. Stromberg got in touch with Maila. She was offered a position doing live-broadcast introductions to late-night horror film airings. During this era of television, having local talent involved with in-house production of programming was the norm. Maila's look and style, however, was something altogether different from what had come before, and her show set the bar for every horror host that was to follow.
A fan club and a mock-running for "Night Mayor of California" helped fuel Vampira's popularity. Though she remains legendary, most of her work has not survived over time because her show was a live broadcast. Additionally, The Vampira Show was only on the air from April 30, 1954 to April 2, 1955. She retained the rights to the character and took her act to competing station KHY-TV, but that version of the show was apparently never aired.
Ironically, some of the best photage that remains of Vampira is from the much-maligned film Plan 9 from Outer Space.
In later years, Maila would sue Cassandra Peterson over Peterson's creation of the character Elvira, which has a similar look and feel to Nurmi's Vampira. Considering Nurmi's deliberate efforts to make sure Vampira was not merely a Charles Addams' rip-off, one can understand Nurmi's emotions concerning the Vampira character. However, the courts ruled in Peterson's favour, and Elvira gained a legendary existence all her own.
For more information about Vampira, please visit:
http://www.vampirasattic.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maila_Nurmi
http://www.milwaukee-horror-hosts.com/VampiraShow.html - episode list
http://www.vampirathemovie.com
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfvXzrWGt6Y - "American Scary" clip
