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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
 Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:14:04
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 08/06/2018 00:32:20 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:16:41
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‘PLAN 9 FROM BIKINI BEACH’: GLAMOUROUS BEATNIK GHOUL GIRL ‘VAMPIRA’ GOTHS IT UP BACK IN THE 1950S
(Maila Nurmi (aka ‘Vampira’) looking gorgeously goth at the beach with her umbrella, mid-1950s.)
Maila Nurmi the captivatingly gorgeous Finnish model and actress with a tiny nineteen-inch waist, created an instant sensation when she attended a
masquerade ball in Hollywood in 1953. She was dressed as the cartoon character created by longtime New Yorker contributor Charles Addams that would
later become the inspiration for “Morticia Addams” in The Addams Family television series. After winning the top prize in the ball’s costume contest, Nurmi
became “Vampira,” introducing—and often poking sly fun at—horror movies on her own local LA television program The Vampira Show on WABC. By the time
that 1954 rolled around Nurmi was already a star. After doing time as a coat check girl in her early years, Nurmi was now rubbing elbows with everyone from
Marlon Brando (who romanced Nurmi), to Surrealist photographer Man Ray (who shot her), to Antonio Vargas (who drew her) to James Dean (who wondered
if she was possessed by something demonic). The evil “Maleficent” character from Disney’s animated Sleeping Beauty was even based on her look (as confirmed
by Disney), but her fame sadly didn’t last as long as it should have. She was cast in Ed Wood Jr.‘s Plan 9 from Outer Space in 1959, for which she was paid $200
but insisted on not saying a word of Wood’s lousy dialogue. It is for this mute role that she will eternally remembered.
After disappearing from the Tinseltown spotlight Nurmi continued to be a sort of real Hollywood vampire, even ghoulishly cavorting with the Misfits and
performing with a punk band called Satan’s Cheerleaders during the 1980s when she was in her sixties. At one point Nurmi got into some legal disputes
stemming from the rights to Vampira’s image including one lawsuit Nurmi launched against Cassandra “Elvira” Peterson for ripping off her Vampira image,
which was dismissed. Despite this, Nurmi’s “Vampira” character continues to endure since she conceived of her over 60 years ago. She was played by Lisa
Marie in Tim Burton’s film, Ed Wood.
Somewhat rather underappreciated during her time, Maila Nurmi was lovingly profiled in the 2012 documentary Vampira and Me which featured newly restored
kinoscopes of her TV appaearances. Some of the photos that follow (though tame) might be slightly NSFW because, bikinis.
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Charles Addams cartoon drawn for the New Yorker of the then still-unnamed character “Vampira” (and later TV’s “Morticia Addams”) was based on.
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(Nurmi as a blonde back in the mid-1950s.)
Zowie!
(Plan 9 from Outer Space’ poster)
Honeymooners Parody - (Red Skelton, Vampira & Peter Lorre)
A convincing “Vampira” look alike played actress Mary Beth Hughes who appeared with Peter Lorre
(as a hearse-driving parody of Jackie Gleason’s “Ralph Kramden”) in this ‘Honeymooners’ parody on
a 1954 episode of ‘The Red Skelton Show.’
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 08/06/2018 09:15:02 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:24:16
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VAMPIRA’S SELFIES
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Mark Berry of SFX Magazine described Vampira’s glamorous allure:
Before encountering the infamous film director with a fetish for angora,
Maila Nurmi, the Finnish-born artiste beneath the famous black wig and
hemorrhage-red nails, created a phenomenon with her Vampira persona
in 1954. Her iconic gothic style, sardonic wit and incredible hourglass-figure
made her the ghoulish fantasy of guys and ghouls across the globe, despite
appearing on a TV show that was only broadcast to the Los Angeles area.
With a venomous stare that would wither a black rose, the voluptuous vamp
would emerge every week from thick, dry-ice fog to the sound of creepy organ
music. Vampira would silkily perch upon a skull-encrusted chaise-lounge,
and in a sexy, Marlene Dietrich drawl, introduce old horror movies like White Zombie
and Island Of Lost Souls. Between reels, she would recite weird poetry, drink poison
cocktails and chase her pet spider Rollo around set.
A tongue-in-cheek recipe for the Vampira creation is attributed to Nurmi:
2 oz. Theda Bara (vamp, vamp)
2 oz. Morticia (morbid Victorian)
3 oz. Norma Desmond (Sunset Boulevard)
4 oz. Tallulah Bankhead (the voice, dahling)
2 oz. Marilyn Monroe (demons are a ghoul’s best friend)
3 oz. Katherine Hepburn (Victorian English)
2 oz. Bettie Davis (mama, baby)
3 oz. Billie Burke (dilettante)
3 oz. Marlene Dietrich (singing voice)
8 oz. Bizarre pin-up
Add 3 lizard eggs, 2 mothballs and a glass eye from a pygmy. Shake vigorously till steaming.
Until her death in 2008 Nurmi was quite approachable, giving interviews regularly in her L.A. neighborhood and graciously interacting with her devoted horror
and Goth fans (including the original Misfits lineup with Glenn Danzig). There is a lot of wonderful interview footage in Kevin Sean Michaels’ 2006 documentary
Vampira: The Movie . Nurmi’s friend R.H. Greene’s documentary Vampira and Me was released last year.
Below, Maila Nurmi, a.k.a. Vampira, talking about her artwork:
Vampira Maila Nurmi Discusses Her Artwork
(Maila Nurmi discusses her art. From the her final recorded interview by Mark Berry. All art by
Maila Nurmi courtsey Sandra Niemi, Coffin Case Collection, Haxan Collection) |
+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 07/06/2018 12:50:08 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:34:44
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James Dean and Maila Nurmi. In the early 1950s, Nurmi was close friends with
James Dean, and they spent time together at Googie's coffee shop on the corner of
Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. She explained their friendship
by saying, "We have the same neuroses" |
+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 07/06/2018 14:08:57 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:36:31
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Kip Tyler & the Flips - She's My Witch
Bobby Bare - VAMPIRA
(Vampira by Bobby Bare featuring images of Maila Nurmi as Vampira)
Vampira Intro
Maila Nurmi Vampira / Biography
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 08/06/2018 00:28:59 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:45:31
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R.H. Greene's "Vampira and Me" Off-Ramp documentary is now a major motion picture
Vampira and Me - Trailer
In 1954, Maila Nurmi shocked the world as sexy horror host Vampira on KABC. She rocketed to national, then worldwide stardom, then quickly faded.
She died in 2008. A couple of years ago, R.H. Greene, who became friends with Nurmi in her later years, told her story for Off-Ramp in a documentary
called "Vampira and Me." That radio documentary is now a film up for "Best Documentary" at the LA Film Festival. There's one more showing: Saturday,
Jun 23, at 7:30 pm, at Regal Cinemas L.A.
When we aired the radio doc, Greene wrote:
'In the interviews I conducted with Maila when we were friends back in the 1990s, she made it clear again and again how completely uninterested and
even hostile she was to the conformity and largesse that were universal priorities of her era and every era since. "I don't like to do wholesome people,"
she said to me when describing the inspiration for the giddily unwholesome Vampira. "I don't like to dwell on their very existence, let alone pretend to
be one."'
'Vampira became an enduring icon because she offered a place to stand for all the misfits who hear a stifled scream beneath the smiley face pasted over
so much of modern life. And she was empowered to do this by the fact that the woman who created her meant it with every molecule of her being.
'The goth kids suiting up on Halloween weekend may not even know whose crest they're wearing when they slip into their black fishnets, cinch their waists,
and press on their long red fingernails. But the momentary exhilaration they feel -- that sense of danger, and the cool breeze of freedom wafting like oxygen
though the stale air of the everyday -- has been blown to them like a kiss from Maila's ruby red lips. It's a cliche, but freedom isn't free -- especially not for
the pioneers. In the end, it cost Maila a lot to maintain that stance for so long, but I don't know if there was another one available to her.'
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 07/06/2018 12:53:49 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 15:52:11
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Vampira – Maila Nurmi
There’s been many comparisons between Vampira and Elvira over the years, and no love lost. Still, these two dames have many common characteristics,
notably that they’re the most popular female horror hosts in American television history… and that no one will ever forget them. So here’s the story of one
of them, the one and only Vampira.
Maila Syrjanieme Nurmi was born on December 11, 1921, in Petsamo, Finland. Her uncle was an Olympic champion in track running, Paavo Nurmi. Her family
moved to the United States when Maila was only two years old. The youngster was already dreaming of being an eventual Hollywood star and at the tender age
of 17, she took a trip to Los Angeles to find fortune. Of course, glory doesn’t come easily and Maila became an exotic dancer and photo model to survive.
She would be present on New York’s theater scene, hired by producer Mike Todd for a mysterious revue called Spook Scandals, where she played a vampire.
This show ran for one whole representation, but why worry when Howard Hawks became interested in Maila? His project was to make our Finnish beauty a new
Lauren Bacall, so everyone returned to California, as he promised Maila the first role in a film written by William Faulkner, nothing less. This production never
came to be and it was back to the dancing floor for Maila.
At some point in 1954, Maila disguised herself as Morticia Addams (a cartoon character from New Yorker Magazine who would eventually become popular on TV
and films) for a masked ball. As simply as that, Vampira was born. Maila’s appearance appealed to Hunt Stromberg Jr., program director for KABC Channel 7, who
was looking for somebody to spice up his night time programming. In a very short time, Maila officially became Vampira to host a show presenting horror movies
each Saturday night at 11 PM.
Needless to say, her singular features, subtle humor and faux-blasé attitude contributed to make her a fast popular success. Introduced with appropriate organ
music, Vampira came out of the fog at the start of each show, saying something like: “I am… Vampira. I hope you had a terrible week.” Before commercial breaks,
she took the habit of reciting weird poetry or even give out cocktail recipes that could give chills to the most veteran witches.
Of course, her unusual figure was a key factor to her success, as Vampira claimed to be gifted with the following measurements: 38-17-36! Huh? Pictures can’t lie…
And how can we forget these three-inches fingernails? It didn’t take long before publications like Time or Newsweek gave her some written space. Marlon Brando,
Mae West and even James Dean became fans, the last even debuting an intimate relationship with Maila.
Oddly, all this attention would be cut short. Dean’s tragic death would seriously shake up Maila, not counting ABC trying to stop her in her attempts to pursue
different career projects, as their intent was to completely own rights to the Vampira character. Consequently, the show would be canceled. Soon after, Maila was
attacked in a beauty parlor by an enraged woman who burned her head, which she had to totally shave after. Other unfortunate burns would follow, as Maila tried
to save her cat from a home fire.
Vampira resurrected with the help of Edward D. Wood Jr., who was shooting his ultimate classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space. Maila was hired for a single day of work
(for $200 bucks!), playing a ghoul who came back to life via some extra-terrestrial ray. Her partner was the immortal Tor Johnson, of whom I will never have enough
time to sing the praises. After reading the script, she insisted in not speaking a single word of dialogue, as she found the story completely awful. She starred in some
more B-movies, but not one of them would achieve the popularity of Wood’s anti-masterpiece, still hilarious and cherished today.
Maila became the owner of an antique shop, creating her own line of clothing and jewels. Renewed interest in Wood’s films at the end of the seventies would
make her once again popular for a new generation of fans. Musical groups like The Damned and The Misfits honored her in songs. As Vampira, Maila even turned
up singer for a punk band. In 1981, seems like a television station contacted her for a renewal of the Vampira concept. According to Maila, many discussions took
place in the following months and she remains convinced that her ideas were stolen for the Elvira character. She sued for ten millions.
Apparently, there remains some rare footage of the Vampira show in the KABC archives, as it remains extremely difficult to view her in the media that made her so
popular. A Finnish documentary about Maila was shot in 1995, entitled Death, Sex and Taxes. In 1998, she returned to movies for I Woke Up Early the Day I Died,
from an old Ed Wood script and starring Billy Zane. She can still be seen on the star conventions circuit.
It remains intriguing to guess what kind of cultural impact she could have made if her career would have been longer and more profitable. As an immortal cult figure,
who knows what kind of importance she would have enjoyed in fully becoming mistress of her own destiny?
Filmography
1947 If Winter Comes 1958 Too Much, Too Soon 1959 Plan 9 from Outer Space; The Beat Generation; The Big Operator 1960 I Passed for White; Sex Kittens Go
to College 1962 The Magic Sword 1986 Population One 1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died
(Jun 3, 2018)
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+IN HOC SIGNO VINCES+
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Edited by - Tutta on 07/06/2018 22:50:50 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
Posted - 20/11/2017 : 16:14:46
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TARANTULA GHOUL: THE 1950S VAMPIRA-ESQUE ROCK N ROLL SINGING HORROR HOSTESS
(50s Portland horror hostess, Tarantula Ghoul)
Everyone knows about Vampira, the 1950s TV horror movie hostess whose iconic character drew influence from the Morticia character of Charles Addams’
New Yorker cartoons, the Dragon Lady from the comic strip Terry and the Pirates and the evil Queen Grimhilde from Disney’s Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs.
She is considered to be the first “television horror host.”
Vampira’s highly successful show was cancelled after only a year in 1955 when she refused to sell the rights to the character to ABC. The popularity of the
Vampira character spawned imitators all over the country. It seems that at some point every major television market has had at least one ghoulish horror
host or hostess. One of these was Portland, Oregon’s Tarantula Ghoul—known as “Taranch” to her fans.
(From the March 29, 1958 issue of TV Guide)
Tarantula Ghoul was a vampy “monster of ceremonies” for KPTV’s House of Horror from 1957 to 1959. Played by Suzanne Waldron, the Vampira-like character
bears a striking resemblance to Wynona Ryder’s Lydia Deetz character from Beetlejuice.
House of Horror followed the standard format of showing z-grade movies with comedy bumpers. The cast members included Milton, a grave-robber-turned-gardener,
Baby the boa constrictor, and Sir Galahad the tarantula. Sadly, all episodes of House of Horror seem to be lost to the sands of time. No footage exists of the show
or of Waldron in character. According to Patrick McGreery, general manager of Fox KPTV and KPDX, “The archives are gone. Nobody did a good enough job saving
the clips.”
(TV Radio Mirror - July 1958)
The show was cancelled in 1959 when Waldron became pregnant out of wedlock. This was unfortunately very frowned upon at the time, and Portland lost a
classic campy horror hostess as a result.
During her time as Tarantula Ghoul, Waldron released a single with the songs “Graveyard Rock” and “King Kong.” Both songs are considered classic schlock rock
and have been comped a handful of times, including on the popular Las Vegas Grind and Sin Alley series.
Even without access to clips from the original show, these songs, preserved forever on wax, are quite a legacy for Taranch.
Be sure to spin these frightfully ghoul tunes at your next mash:
King Kong - Tarantula Ghoul and Her Gravediggers.mp4
(Tarantula Ghoul was Portland's vampy monster of ceremonies on House of Horror, a late night
horror movie showcase on KPTV in the late 1950s. Taranch, as she was affectionately known to
her fans, was played by Suzanne Waldron. King Kong was the A-side of Taranch's single released
on Meadows Records. The flipside was "Graveyard Rock.")
Graveyard Rock - Tarantula Ghoul and Her Gravediggers.mp4
(Graveyard Rock was the flipside of Taranch's single released on Meadows Records. The song was
written by B. Anson and J. Ralston. John Ralston was Suzanne's producer-writer for House of Horror.
The A-side was "King Kong.") |
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Edited by - Tutta on 08/06/2018 10:52:54 |
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Tutta
Advanced Member
Germany
32402 Posts
Member since 19/02/2010 |
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OLDIES FOREVER / MUSIC / CARS / MOVIES & Chicas!
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