Vampira (Maila Nurmi) on her studio set in 1955.
Are things a little too Chrismassy for your liking? Bring a little Halloween into December by celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of the coolest ghoul we have ever known. Feral House, known for their alternative publishing, is planning a Sunday event honoring Maila Nurmi, known by the stage name Vampira.
Vampira, born December 11, 1922, found success in Hollywood as television’s very first horror host, a la Elvira and Svengooli. But she is perhaps best known as the star of Ed Wood’s campy classic, “Plan 9 from Outer Space.”
The day will begin with a 3pm wreath-laying at Maila Nurmi’s monument at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, followed by a signing and film festival starting at 5pm at American Cinemateque Los Feliz 3, which gives you just enough time to drive and grab a bite.
At 5pm there will be a signing by Sandra Niemi, Maila’s niece and author of Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira (Published by Feral House). A screening of Tim Burton’s Ed Wood starts at 7pm, followed by a panel discussion including Ed Wood screenwriters Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander, Sandra Niemi, RH Greene, director of “Vampira and Me,” Oscar-nominated makeup artist VE Neill, who worked on “Ed Wood,” and Dana Gould. Following the panel at 10pm, the theater will screen “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” as well as rare Vampira footage.
Tickets are $13 for the films, but you can probably just crash the wreath-laying. TICKETS.
