Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira

            I just finished a wonderful biography of the legendary Vampira, a living Charles Addams cartoon come to life as a television horror host in L.A. in the 1950s; good friend of James Dean; lover of Marlon Brando and Orson Welles; and memorably walking zombie-like through Edward D. Wood’s infamous Plan 9 from Outer Space. 

            The book- Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira (Feral Press) was written by Vampira’s (Maila Nurmi) niece Sandra Niemi, who, after Maila’s death rescued her writing from her home. There were pages scattered across the floor; in drawers; in satchels; in pockets; even in an envelope behind a picture frame. It took years for Sandra to stitch together the wild life of her infamous Aunt, and she did it with real affection and respect for this true eccentric, bohemian soul.

            The book is too good to reveal all its juicy content, so I’ll mention a few highlights.

            Maila was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1922. Her father Onni was a well-respected editor of a Finnish newspaper. Her mother Sophie was forced to travel to Finland with her kids when her husband got a job there, and then to Cleveland, Ohio when Onni took a position as editor-in-chief at another Finnish newspaper. Not surprisingly, she found solace in alcohol, much to her husband’s dismay. Maila was a headstrong, adventurous girl who, after high school went off to college on a scholarship but cut classes and eventually dropped out of school. Her father hit the roof. Mailia eventually told her parents she was going off to pursue her art. She boarded a Greyhound bus for Los Angeles to stay with her Uncle John and Aunt Ida. She had stars in her eyes.

            One night she and her girlfriend went to the popular Musso & Frank’s restaurant on Hollywood Boulevard and she caught the eye of Orson Welles who invited her over to his table. Maila was a strikingly beautiful girl, with incredible cheekbones and a real distinctive look. Welles sent her flowers and invited her out for dinner dates. Maila was a virgin when she slept with Orson Welles, and after a whirlwind of passionate hookups he suddenly ghosted her. Unfortunately, Maila found herself pregnant. Out of options, she returned home to have the baby. Maila reluctantly agreed to give up the baby for adoption. It was a boy. Years later Maila’s mother tracked down Orson Welles to a hotel he was staying at and gave him a wild tongue lashing. He thrust $200 in her hand and pushed her out of his room. All her life, on her son’s birthday, Maila would go outside and drink a toast to the child she never got to keep, desperately hoping he was somewhere happy.

            Maila headed to New York and got a part in a Broadway show starring Mae West called Catherine Was Great. The cast was warned not to speak directly to Miss West. Maila even had a scene-stealing moment on stage that, when Mae saw it, was immediately cut from the show. She did make her debut on August 2, 1944, but reviews were not kind to the play. One good thing came of all this. A castmate complained of an actor who was making her lovesick and miserable. Maila marched over to his place to confront him only to meet Marlon Brando, who was making his stage debut in I Remember Mama. She entered into a tempestuous sexual relationship with Brando that went on for decades. Maila’s niece Sandra saw letters Brando wrote begging her to marry him and Maila confessed why she repeatedly turned him down, “He was a sex addict and a hypocrite. He would have cheated on me in a week and I couldn’t have that.” But Brando remained devoted to Maila and sent her money over the years when he could track down where she was living.

            Back in Hollywood, Maila modeled for cheesecake photos in men’s magazine. But she decided to make a splash at the Bal Caribe costume ball, which was a big deal. She crafted a costume based on a character in a Charles Addams cartoon (that eventually became Morticia). She rented a long Indian wig and stitched together a sexy dress of black rayon- a tombstone gown in tatters. Her lips were blue and her skin a deathly gray. This ghoul girl look was the hit of the ball and she won first prize. She also caught the eye of Hunt Stomberg Jr., the program director of KABC television station who approached Maila to host movies on TV in her vampire attire. Her look was more streamlined, with long fingernails, plunging neckline and a waist cincher. Maila described her look as, “one part Greta Garbo, two parts each of the Dragon Lady, Evil Queen and Theda Bara, three parts Norma Desmond, and four parts Bizarre magazine.” She was an instant sensation. She was paid $75 an episode.

            Maila’s hangout was a place called Googies. It was for more offbeat Hollywood characters. She commandeered a booth at night with her gay driver Jack Simmons, and an ambitious young actor who would roar up on his motorcycle every night at midnight and hang with them. His name was James Dean. Maila and Dean really grooved on one another. It wasn’t sexual, but she loved his sense of humor and impish behavior and he adored her. The three of them were nicknamed the “the Night Watch” at the hangout. Even by Hollywood standards they were an unlikely set of weirdos. 

            Maila begged Dean to get Jack Simmons a part in the new movie he was making (Rebel Without a Cause), because all Jack was doing was shoplifting. Dean did get him a small part in the movie but lived to regret it. Simmons was madly in love with Dean and followed him like a lovesick puppy. Dean had Jack banned from the set and yet he always found a way to sneak on. There have been many books and online sites that state Jack Simmons and James Dean were lovers, but Maila, in a fascinating two-part interview on pleasekillme.com said Jack admitted before Dean died that he’d never had sex with him. Maila was with her new friend- actor Tony Perkins– when she got the news that James Dean had died in a car accident and was devastated. They had to go over and tell Jack Simmons the news and he went insane with grief.

            Now Maila’s success as Vampira was short-lived. Eventually she was fired and black-balled in the industry when a ludicrous article in Whisper magazine came out claiming Maila, a self-proclaimed witch, and Dean were once lovers and she cast a death spell on the actor. From James Dean fans came death threats. Down on her luck she eventually accepted a role in Edward D. Wood’s sci-fi film Plan 9 From Outer Space. Her Vampira character would walk zombie-like through a graveyard alongside 300 lb. Swedish wrestler Tor Johnson in a film that was crowned the “Worst Film of All Tine” by Harry & Michael Medved, but in actuality is deliriously awful and fabulous. Maila decided to play her character mute because she just couldn’t spout Wood’s whacky dialogue. Poor Maila would get in her makeup and outfit and take the bus to the set in full Vampira drag.

            A series of scary boyfriends, lost teeth, ill health, and no income left her practically homeless. She lived in seedy sections of L.A. in places with no phone and sometimes no electricity. But Maila fiercely fought to protect her Vampira identity, even suing Cassandra Peterson for her Elivira character, which Maila believed ripped her off. She lost that case in court. But then something about “Vampira” would crop up, like Tim Burton’s movie Ed Wood, and she would be in demand again. During the punk-era of the 1980s she became friends with many bands like The Misfits. In them she recognized fellow spirits of anger and rebellion. One Halloween she agreed to accompany The Cramps by lying in a closed coffin on stage. While the band played she would rise up out of the coffin as Vampira. Unfortunately the band got delayed. The audience got restless and after an hour Maila just rose up from the coffin and wordlessly wandered off stage. A band called Satan’s Cheerleaders recorded a song “I’m Damned” with Maila on lead vocals.

            Sandra’s personal connection with her Aunt is described in loving detail, particularly when she finally tracked her down years after the entire family lost track of her. Maila died alone in her house in 2008. Her continuously barking dog Houdini alerted neighbors to a problem and they called police. She was found just sitting on the sofa with her feet propped up. Close friends like Dana Gould got her a plot in Hollywood Forever Cemetery, where she was buried alongside her beloved animal. The whole book is filled with remarkable stories and exploits of this fearless iconoclast and renegade spirit who lived her life the only way she could.