The Short and Meaningful Career of Maila Nurmi

I don't know if anyone out there knows who I'm talking about when I say that Maila Nurmi has died.  She passed away on January 10th, but while this little mention may be a bit late, it is heartfelt.

Maila Nurmi was the actress / model behind the tight, black dress of Vampira, the first late-night horror host.  In 1953, she attended a costume ball in Los Angeles as the unnamed ghoul woman from Charles Addams' New Yorker cartoons.  Her look caught the eye of a local television producer who took five months to track her down.  Once her found her, he offered her a job hosting late-night horror films for KABC-TV in LA, a job she took.  In April of 1954, she hit the air.

It was a pretty short run, as the series was canceled in 1955, and she moved the show to a rival station for a bit after that, but Maila Nurmi created a culture that can still be found today.  Cities all over the US created their own horror hosts in the 50s and 60s, and the trend continues today with Rich Koz (better known as Svengoolie) right here in Chicago.  As far as I know, Svengoolie is the only horror host still on the air at a major network, so the trend has really trickled off.

There are hosts around, though.  From Public Access cable stations to video podcasts, people are still dressing up, showing really bad horror films, and performing pun-filled skits and song before commercial breaks.  In one way or another, the trend continues.

But Vampira started it all in 1954.  In her short career, she was nominated for an Emmy, was once fired by a jealous Mae West, and worked with Bela Lugosi (who was actually dead at the time) in Plan 9 From Outer Space.  She was, and is, a cult goddess.

May she and her pet spider, Rollo, rest in peace. (ADAM)