Ingrid Garner from Hollywood California presented A Hollywood Horror Story at the Orlando International Film Festival. This show was about Vampira, the first host of horror movies on TV. Vampira was a legend before her time. She created the character on her own with costuming she had on hand. She built her persona before punk or goth was a fashion trend. She based her look on the evil queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Ingrid’s performance as the Horror goddess was sultry and enticing. She managed to bring the mistress of the dark back to life. The show was both funny and very sad. Vampira’s popularity was brief yet her legacy lives on to this day.
The actress, Maila Nurmi who created Vampira, moved to Hollywood with the hope of becoming an actress. She got several small roles she then went on to create the Vampira character. She hosted a TV series called simply, The Vampira Show, from 1955 to 1955 on KABC-TV. When the show was canceled, she retained the rights to the character.
She later appeared in Plan 9 from Outer Space directed by Ed Wood. That low budget film is now considered a classic because of how campy it is. Tim Burton made a film to celebrate Ed Woods Campy universe.
Maila’s intimate relationship with young actor James Dean was something I wasn’t aware of. She understood him in a way few others did but in the end she was unable to protect him from himself. She claimed to have had an affair with Orson Wells and she had his child, which she gave up after birth.
She appeared in a few other films after Vampira was canceled but she had to fall back on laying linoleum to bring in cash. She then opened a boutique shop where she sold handmade jewelry and clothing.
In 1981 KHJ-TV wanted to revive the Vampira character for Television. She worked with the producers as an executive producer. Then she left the project after the station cast a comedic actress, Cassandre Peterson, that she felt was just not right for the part. The TV station could no longer use the Vampira name so Cassandra became Elvira. Elvira used the same sultry black dress and used all the same graveyard puns. Vampira sued for copyright infringement but lost. The court felt the likeness was simply a close resemblance. Elvira went on to become a massive cult hit in the 1980’s. The show reached millions of viewers every weekend in dozens of markets nationwide. A film was made built around the character called Elvira Mistress of the Dark. Elvira’s legacy has proven timeless and she remains popular at horror conventions, and she retains rabid fans to this day.
My mother’s name was Elvira but she died a decade before the name gained its goth horror cult notoriety.
I love any show that introduced me to someone who deserves to be recognized for her creativity. I left feeling that Vampira should have received royalties or a lump sum buy out for having created the character that Cassandra imitated.
