Maila Nurmi aka Vampira, Mistress of the Dark, Dead at 86
Maila Nurmi, whose on camera persona, Vampira, was quite likely the first ever Goth chick, has died of a cardiac arrest in her home at age 86.
Vampira was a sexy vampire that hosted horror movies on television each week on ‘The Vampira Show‘ in 1954. Although the show was canceled after a year, Vampira remained a cult icon.
Although probably the inspiration behind Morticia on ‘The Addam’s Family’ and Cassandra Peterson’s alter ego Elvira, Nurmi lost a lawsuit against Peterson, who she claimed stole her character.
“There is no Elvira. There’s only a pirated Vampira,” she was quoted as saying in an Associated Press story at the time. “Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped.”
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Filed under: Celebrities
Fascinating story. Actually, she was NOT the first ‘vamp’ or ‘vampire’ as she claims. In 1915 there was ‘Les Vampires’ with the French actress, later writer and director, known as Musidora playing Irma Vep, an anagram for Vampire. Fabulous stuff! There are clips on YouTube. Look for ‘The Ring That Kills’. Look up Musidora on Wikipedia.
The archetype of the vamp evolved in the late 19th and early 20th century as a projection of men’s combined lust and terror of women’s increasing independence and sexual aggression/ freedom compared to what they had been comfortable with, complete control and suppression.
In the late 19th century, Salome was all the rage. In the early 20th century you had Musidora and the American Theda Bara - whose name was supposed to be an anagram for ‘ARAB DEATH’. These were the first Vamps and ‘Vampiras’ in popular culture. So, her narcissistic rage against Cassandra Peterson was just that. Elvira was just a Vampira for another age. And so it goes.
I would add that the raven haired intense Vamp is the opposite of the sunny blonde archetype in Hollywood.