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Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was an American-Finn actress who created the campy 1950s character Vampira. She was raised in Astoria, Oregon , where she worked in tuna and salmon canneries.
Tragic heartthrob James Dean was a fan of The Vampira Show. Dean watched Nurmi in his downtime and even guest-starred on the show, in a scene where he had his back to the camera. Nurmi also reportedly visited Dean on the set of the film that made him a sensation, Rebel Without A Cause. Despite their incongruity, the pair of them seemed to be ...
Oct 11, 2023 · According to The Death of James Dean, by Warren Newton Beath, Maila Nurmi first spotted James Dean at the premiere of the Audrey Hepburn film, Sabrina. Although Nurmi didn't meet Dean at that event, she did strike up a friendship with a fan named Jack Simmons. Simmons so admired Nurmi that there was little he wouldn't do for her.
- William J. Wright
In 1954, a 31-year old former model, nightclub coat-check attendant and necktie painter named Maila Nurmi attended a Hollywood party with her husband, actor-writer Dean Riesner. She made her own vampire costume, inspired by the cartoons of Charles Addams, out of fabric scraps. She must have cut quite a profile because months later another ...
Apr 15, 2021 · Maila Nurmi's Vampira fame took a dark turn after James Dean's death. (Courtesy of Feral House) In “Glamour Ghoul,” Niemi informs us that Maila discovered her Vampira inner self while growing ...
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Jan 12, 2021 · Maila Nurmi hanging from her feet as Vampira in a photo from the biography “Glamour Ghoul.” (Feral House) She was “the first Goth,” says Sandra Niemi, Nurmi’s niece and now her biographer.
