Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi

by Sandra Niemi

Maila Nurmi, the beautiful and sheltered daughter of Finnish immigrants, stepped off the bus in 1941 Los Angeles intent on finding fame and fortune. She found men eager to take advantage of her innocence and beauty but was determined to find success and love. Her inspired design and portrayal of a vampire won a costume contest that lead to a small role on the Red Skelton show which grew into a persona that brought her the notoriety she desired yet trapped her in a character she could never truly escape.

This is Malia's story. Her diaries, notes, and ephemera and family stories bring new insights to her relationships with Orson Welles, James Dean, and Marlon Brando. Sandra Niemi--Malia's niece--fills in the nuances of her life prior to fame and her struggles after the limelight faded and she found a new community within the burgeoning Los Angeles punk scene who embraced her as their own.
,
Includes rare photographs.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, History, Audiobook, Goth, Memoir

349 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Francisca · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a story!
And what a life that of Maila Nurmi, better known as Vampira.
So much to unpack... longer review coming soon.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was quite an engrossing biography of Maila Nurmi, the woman who created the iconic horror character Vampira. Nurmi is best known for hosting The Vampira Show, a 1950s television show that broadcast vintage horror films. Her dark sense of humor, “glamour ghoul” style, and shall we say unusual silhouette quickly got her noticed.



This biography was written by her niece, and it contains plenty of Nurmi’s actual journal entries, as well as a fair few rare photos. I was impressed that her niece—who clearly loved and admired her aunt—was NOT interested in penning a hagiography, so while I ended up finding Nurmi a bit less likable than I thought I would, I also found her more human, and hence more relatable. Kudos to her niece for seemingly not giving in to the temptation to whitewash less-than-flattering details out of the story.

If you think you might be interested in reading about someone who is largely considered to be the original goth girl, a woman who once went with her good friend James Dean to a mortuary in order to “touch a real dead guy,” who was featured in what is generally thought of as the worst movie of all time, Ed Wood’s adorable disaster Plan 9 from Outer Space, who named her childhood kitty “Lucifer P. Catt,” and who was the live-action reference model for Maleficent, the Mistress of All Evil, from Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty, well, this is definitely the book for you!



I’ll let The Misfits, who were also big fans, have the last word here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPYSm...

[Bert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got so much joy out of reading this fabulous book. Maila Nurmi’s niece has done the best job imaginable in writing a book about Vampira, one of the most under-appreciated pop culture icons of our time. The depth this book goes in to is amazing, we don’t often get to see this kind of rawness when reading biographies of Old Hollywood stars, after reading this I feel like I know who Maila was as a person, what she was about, what she wanted out of life and the the struggles she faced. Fantastic. An absolute must-read for Vampira fans. Almost every review of this book is 5 stars, that says a lot.

[Ville Verkkapuro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was waiting for this book soooo much and wasn't disappointed!
Like many others, I had a lot of misconceptions about Nurmi. That's pretty logical: she told down right lies about her life, telling she was born in Petsamo and being related to Paavo Nurmi, the Flying Finn, and whatever.
I am a giant fan of Ed Wood and camp and old Hollywood and horror, so Vampira has been a hero of mine. The fact she had Finnish heritage was just a cherry on top. I don't have (much) national pride, but her background was a nice sprinkle of quirkiness and paganism and eccentrism that made me a bit proud that we have the same heritage. Whatever, that's not the point. To me the appeal of Vampira has always been the fact that she has been a true PUNK, a total personality and both a horror icon and a feminist icon. Reading this I was prepared to be a bit let down by this biography, but boy was I wrong. This was an insanely crazy story (at least to me) with some pretty over-the-top namedrops: James Dean, Marlon Brando, Orson Welles, Mae West, Elvis Presley, Misfits, Bela Lugosi... some I knew, some was new.
Also some other themes that interest me and intertwine with my life: alcoholism in the family, financial issues. Made me relate and cheer for her even harder.
This is basically an underdog story, but also a true story of following your inner spirit and being true to yourself. Embracing your eccentricies.
She was a true original, a true innovator and a character, exploited and unappreciated, but at the same time shaping the history of horror and punk and being a total icon and an idol. Wild child, truly free yet somehow truly dependent on others.
She changed the world and lived in a garage. That's how the story reads to me.
My favourite quote of hers: "I have hundred friends.... six of them are humans."
Yeah, on top of it all, she was a huge friend of animals. That's very important to me, too.
I'd love to tell more anecdotes in here, but I wont, just read the book.
I loved everything about this. The story is heartfelt and genuine and made with no hurry in the span of 12 years. It's honest with its view and has levels (as the writer is related to Vampira) but is still a very decent bio with some great prose and imaginative scenes.
I've been thinking getting a Vampira tattoo for the longest time and now I'm even more convinced I'll have to get it. But i'll have to get it in Hollywood, if I ever get there. Then I can go to Hollywood Forever Cemetary and show it her.

[Allison Bluvas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare journey through Hollywood's golden age told from the perspective of Maila Nurmi as she transforms into Vampira. Her niece went to great lengths to reconstruct her aunt's story. While Vampira embodies empowerment, Maila suffers lifelong consequences of not playing Hollywood's game. I couldn't put it down!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting much from this book. The title and cover art are a little goofy, so I figured it would be a curiosity and a quick read. Being a lifelong horror fan, I’m shocked by how little I knew about Nurmi. This book is well-written and comprehensive, and Nurmi’s life was fascinating. I can’t recommend this book enough.

[Margie]

Los Angeles Times book review, 1/17/2021, p. E8:

http://enewspaper.latimes.com/infinit...

[Brent Silveria · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible and unique life. This needs to be a movie. This is the story of an iconoclastic free spirit who created a character ripped off throughout the late 20th century without compensation. In many ways it parallels the path of roots rock wherein a person with talent and a vision creates something original and the system just takes it and grinds them down.

If you only know the image of Vampira, you don’t know Maila Nurmi, an artist, costume designer, performance artist and defiant woman who interacts like Forest Gump with some of the most iconic and desired men of the 1950’s and 60’s.

This book is very well written by her niece Sandra Niemi her niece. Let’s all go to Googies coffee shop and discuss it :).

[Marko Suomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alunperin opin Vampiran olemassaolosta Misfitsin biisistä, ja myöhemmin Ed Wood -leffasta. Tässä upeassa, karussa ja koskettavassa elämäkerrassa käydään läpi tämän uniikin persoonan elämän huimia vaiheita. Ihan loistava, ja se Misfitsin kohtaaminen 😭😭 Hollywoodin ja viihdealan haaskalintumaisuus tulee myös hyvin esille, ja niin monen tähden hyvin rikkinäiset elämät parrasvalojen ulkopuolella. Tämä oli tosi omistautuen ja lämmöllä kirjoitettu, iso suositus!

[Sarah Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew a small bit about Vampira prior to reading this book but wow! I really enjoyed this book! Such an interesting life that Maila lived! I loved reading about all her relationships during the golden age of Hollywood. I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves old hollywood and a fan of early horror.

[Rachel Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely incredible read. I loved learning about how many of the old Hollywood movie stars were all entangled in each others lives. Maila Nurmi is truly an inspiration. She stayed true to herself no matter what. She didn’t need anyone’s approval. Thank you very much for sharing her story.

[Juha Viitanen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Elovena-tytöstä Hollywoodin vampyyrikuningattareksi.

Elokuvan kulta-ajan kuuluisin femme fatale, suomalaissyntyinen Maila Nurmi lainasi nimensä Paavo Nurmelta, ystävystyi James Deanin ja Marlon Brandon kanssa ja loi Vampiran hahmon, joka lumosi Amerikan makaaberilla karismallaan. Vampirasta tuli Milla Magian esikuva ja yksi maailman jäljitellyimmistä kulttihahmoista.

Mailan veljentyttären kirjoittama, päiväkirjoihin pohjautuva elämäkerta kuvaa Hollywoodin loiston mutta maalaa samalla karun kuvan 1950-luvun viihdeteollisuudesta ja amerikkalaisesta unelmasta. Suhteesta Orson Wellesin kanssa syntyi lapsi, joka sai vasta aikuisena kuulla olevansa maailman seksikkäimmän vampyyrin poika."

Näin kirjan esittelyteksti.

Puhutaanpa ensin siitä, miksi kirjan ulkoasu ja jopa teoksen nimi vesitetään suomalaisessa versiossa. Kovin hmettelen tätä suomalaista kantta. Tällä kertaa englanninkielisessä alkuteoksessa on toki poikkeuksellisesti piirretty kansi, mutta se on silti parempi kuin tämä suttuinen valokuva.

Ja sitten se nimi. Onko suomenkielisen nimen antanut edes lukenut kirjaa? Alkuperäinen nimi "naulaa" teoksen ytimekkäästi: "Glamour Ghoul - The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi". Sillä ennen kaikkea kirjassa kerrotaan Mailan intohimoista ja vuosien tuskasta.

Mailan elämäkerran on kirjoittanut Mailan veljentytär Sandra Niemi. Teoksen loppupuolella käy ilmi, että Sandra on ilmeisesti siivojaa, ei ammattikirjailija. Lisäksi Sandra on syntynyt joko 1950-luvun alussa tai 1940-luvun lopussa eli kunnioitettava ikä esikoiskirjailijalle!

Sukulaissuhteesta huolimatta teos ei ole "fanikirja". Toisaalta ihan hirveän objektiivinenkaan se ei ole ja loppua lukuunottamatta puuttuu mm. peilaus ympäröivään yhteiskuntaan. Ammattikirjailija ehkä olisi mennyt vielä syvemmälle Mailan henkilöhahmoon.

Ilman muuta tarina, joka ansaitsee tulla sekä kerrotuksi että luetuksi. Erittäin mielenkiintoisen ja ennen kaikkea omanlaisensa elämän Maila Nurmi on elänyt. Lukijana harmittaa, että hän ei saanut kaikkea ansaitsemaansa tunnustusta ja rahallista korvausta, jotka olisivat hänelle kuuluneet.

Julkkiksiahan kirja vilisee ja piti aina välillä tarkistaa netistä, mitä kaikkea kukin oli tehnyt ja milloin. En esimerkiksi muistanut, että Anthony Perkins (Mailan ystäviä, Psyko-elokuvan pääosassa) oli biseksuaali ja Perkins kuoli AIDSiin vuonna 1992. Ja Perkinsin leski kuoli 9/11-iskuissa, leski oli lentokoneessa, joka osui pohjoistorniin.

Suosittelen kaikille populaarikulttuurista ja populaarikulttuurin historiasta pitäville. Arvio 3,6/5.

[Creighton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t explain how much of an imprint Vampira has had in my life. When I grew up, my mom had posters of her, and modeled her own look after her, so she has always had a dear place in my heart. There’s more pictures of her in our house than some of our family members! So it makes me glad that her niece Sandra wrote this book. I want to say to her, thank you, I think Maila would be proud of you for writing this book.

After watching Vampira and Me, I wanted to read a book on her life. I saw this book on Amazon, and knew I had to have it. I set aside my others books, waiting 4 days for it’s delivery, anxious to read it. I poured through this book in several days, as I had a desire to learn the life story of Maila Nurmi, and this book went through it.

I feel sad for Maila; sad because she went through a lot of heartbreak, exploitation, and lived in poverty. Losing her friend James Dean, being exploited by Hollywood, being used by men like Orson Welles, going through pernicious anemia, and living in poverty.

What really angers and bothers me is how Cassandra Peterson, Elvria, and a bunch of guys in suits made millions from her intellectual property. Cassandra Peterson lives in luxury, while Vampira didn’t have a bed to sleep on and barely a dime to her name.

There were positive moments in her life: her friendship with James Dean and their tombstone haunts with Jack Simmons, her brief time as Vampira on Television and in Plan 9 directed by Ed Wood, when she had a deserved moment of fame; then later in life, when Elvira was stealing from her and she was contemplating ending her life, she was taken in by the Punk Rockers and Goths. Shoutout to the Misfits, The Screamers, The Damned, Patricia Morrison, and especially Satans Cheerleaders, whom she made a punk album with.


To Maila, I’d say, thank you; so many of us love you. I wish I could give you a hug and apologize for all the hell you went through. You’ll always be remembered and loved. Fly high, original Glamour Ghoul

[Poptartk · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a surprisingly engaging book! I have to admit, I was a little leery of what I would find within its covers, given the sordid stories of initially clueless wannabe ingenues who fall prey to industry leches soon upon arrival in Hollywood, but this bio is riveting, exciting, and alternately tearjerking and inspiring. What a life! And what a dynamic woman Nurmi was. She was so innovative and focused. What she lacked was good management AND the understanding that good management was essential for someone with her sensibilities and ambitions. Unfortunately, her personality was such she seemed unable to take the kind of direction a good manager would have given her. AND she was understandably wary of falling under the control of charlatans or predators. Her life was both sad and amazing. Kudos to Sandra Niemi for a heartfelt, pull-no-punches book. Hard to pull off, but she did it!

[Tom Schulte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Niece to the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi, does an incredible job assembling from Nurmi's writing and other sources a largely hidden life. A true pioneering innovator, the headstrong (hardheaded?) actress formed the goth template with fetish wear, designed clothes, and morbid affect inspiring many. The book details here love life including a son with Orson Welles, encounters with Elvis and Brando, her close relationship with Jimmy Dean, a complex courting with Anthony Perkins, and more. Even as withdrawn as she was, there was significant engagement with hippies and punks.

There is much about her fierce and even paranoid defense of her alter ego Vampira which explains much of the basically self-destructive way she managed her career and how she was probably doomed to loathe and assail anything like Elvira that would come about reflecting her innovation. That self-destructive streak seems to me to have arisen in her forced wasp waist as a sever approach that initially read to me like an appetite disorder or harmful body image brought about by the emotional distress of one of her dysfunctional relationships.

[Berlyn Nikolunauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much more than I was expecting. Maila was the truest and earliest punk and I'm so grateful to know her story. Her niece has done such an excellent job putting all this together.
Anyone who has ever considered themselves any kind of goth, punk, hippie or any other subculture absolutely needs to read this.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is full of fascinating information, has a tearjerker of an ending, and has a ton of Nurmi's writing intended for her own memoir in it, but both the author and the subject are less than stellar writers, which makes this a bit of an annoying slog at times.

[Hanna Huhdanmäki · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating life and story! We Finns are always seeking excuses for going to "torille", and I think it's a bloody shame that we haven't done it for Maila years and years ago. She was the blazing embodiment of sisu and we should totally celebrate her as national icon even thought she never set her stilettos on the motherland.

[Dixie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maila Nurmi, "Vampira": Maila's life story from a compilation of her own writings.


She said it best: Maila Nurmi: "I never had an invitation to a Halloween Party when I was a child...I found that as Vampira I was Halloween." 1961

Maila's well known father in the Finnish community was a circuit temperance lecturer, and Finnish Newspaper Editor. Maila often traveled with him, he was a fine orator and she followed in his foot steps as an eloquent and skilled speaker. Her mother was a severe alcoholic and therefore great conflict arose in her family and in Maila's life.
Maila's relationships as an adult,  I believe,  stemmed from her dysfunctional family and lead to her trying to "fix" all the people in her world.  Always blaming herself if something went awry and feeling extreme shyness and vulnerability. 

She was extremely creative and found it safer creating/living as her alter ego "Vampira".  Ultimately falling into a "subculture" like Alice in Wonderland, but never to resurface as Maila Niemi again.

You will be transfixed with the fame she gains, the people she meets and  the twists and turns down the rabbit hole; yet somehow she survived it all.

Sandra Niemi, did an outstanding job of telling Maila's story.

[Jerry James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read (almost did it in one sitting), fascinating life.

Written by her niece, who pieced together a pretty good bio out of a very private life, this is a great biography throughout. And “throughout” is key as many biographies tend to glide past the large ‘uninteresting’ chunks of life which always creates an irksome situation. But the author gives the ‘whole’ life attention.

Nurmi was best friends and lovers with quite a select group: James Dean, Marlon Brando, Orson Wells, Anthony Perkins, and a few abusive characters inbetween. One surprise is the finding of her only child at the end who she gave up at birth and never knew. Imagine HIS surprise when he found out she was his mother and who his father was! That must’ve blown his mind.

It was hard, and a bit incomplete, fleshing her out as a person, but again, she was very private and a bit lost as a person anyway. You never get to feel you ‘know’ her but then you also feel it’s kinda justifiably none of your business.

Her love/hate relationship with her character, Vampira, is pretty standard for anyone locked into such a thing, but it feels like she made peace with it at the end.

[Teo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I felt like this took me through the wringer and back! Such a journey of a life, both fascinating and inspiring at times, but also rather sad and tear-jerking.
 
I didn’t know anything about Vampira/Maila before reading this, so there was a lot of information that was completely surprising and definitely makes this worth a read. I’ll just say my opinions of Elvira have completely changed after this. There’s plenty of gossip about other classic stars from the time, which made this even more fun to read. I do find it interesting that Maila hung out with so many well-known people from the entertainment industry, but I never heard her name or even about Vampira like I hear about them. She’s truly underrated and was very innovative for her time.
The author (Maila’s niece) does a fantastic job of taking you through her life while keeping to the truth and showing the good and the less likable sides of Maila. You can tell this was done with a lot of love, and the epilogue made it even more touching.
 
I highly recommend checking this out, especially if you’re interested in the first Goth.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly engaging Hollywood rags to . . . well rags, but Vampira wore them so well. Maila Nouri was a footnote to history for me. James Dean’s girlfriend. The “inspiration” for Elvira. Plan 9 From Outer Space. I loved getting a full history of this talented, creative, complicated women. A great picture of what it was like to work in Hollywood in the 1950’s. Well written, briskly-paced and dotted with cameos of Hollywood legends. I’m happy that Maila’s story finally gets its due.

[Γιώργος Κλάγκος · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting for this book, written by Maila's niece. Who was Vampira behind the scenes? Old Hollywood and the true story of a spectacular, uncompromised woman who created an iconic character. A real page turner, well done!

[Zombaby Cera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very intriguing and very iconic of the golden age of Hollywood. Knowing her struggles makes me love the person she was even more. I contacted the author (Maila's niece) on Facebook, and she seems like a sweet person. Support her work and the memory of Vampira by buying and reading this book!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartfelt, crafted, and full of surprises!
I've got a review in the works.

[Erin Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of heart and reverence for a creative and resilient woman. Enjoyed this book more than I’ve enjoyed a book in quite some time. A fascinating read!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great tale of a fascinating life. Unfortunately her niece isn't much of a writer -- not that she should be, of course, but it would have been a good idea to work with a co-writer.

[Jan Stinchcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartbreaking.
This thorough biography is a must-read for Vampira fans, lovers of retro horror and old Los Angeles, and anyone interested in the early days of television.

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer]

I have never liked a celebrity and then read their biography, only to like them so much less. In this book The actress who would eventually play Vampira not just in my opinion, but as described by her niece, Was a very selfish person. For example her father funded her adventures in Los Angeles and then New York and then all the promise of stardom her only to her father was basically screw him enough for understood my want or need to entertain in the first place. Not only that this book was two dimensional it like a lot of detail where they needed to be and gave lots of detail when it was totally a relevant. In the section about her childhood her niece want you to believe that she only identified with the evil witch in Snow White and some dragon lady cartoon that was popular in the 20s and 30s is the building of the idea she choreographed her becoming Vampira. Every role she got was because she tried out for it and two out of the three first rolls were dark characters. None of it was her doing. She could care less about the guys who want to fight in World War II again when given the option to be in the US all to entertain the troops, she didn’t do it because of the long plane rides and she didn’t want to go to God knows where! Never once thinking she would be entertaining men that would never leave God knows where and when they did it would only be in a body bag. Many other instances in this book and I can’t say that I finished it I am lucky I got to the chapter I did. Another example of her selfishness was when she was feeling quite indignant and went to to tell of a guy who broke her friends heart. Only to find it was Marlon Brando and then decided to stay and sleep with him and never speak to her friend again.with him. I’m sure they were other examples in the book, but I didn’t finish it and cut it. I really liked Vampira before reading this book but her blasé attitude about how important she was and how unimportant those who didn’t deem her great work. There’s one part of the book I didn’t believe and that is when she had no prospects, yet tour of a contract given to her by Francis Hawk an Oscar nominated director. Then when she got offended because he wanted her to go to a dentist to fix the gap in her mouth… I was just floored. I mean she really thought she was goingto go to Hollywood and be the next big thing with a gap in her mouth? I mean her niece said she read Faye in magazines… What actress was she looking at to say if she could do it to me in the gap and my smile can do it as well? It is not like today will we celebrate our differences from gaps in our smiles to the color of our skin. Back then it was about being white and bright and that wasn’t just your smile. I just thought the whole book was badly written and if true made Vampira look like a selfish unfeeling spoiled person.

[Patrick S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love movies and I even love B-movies. Although I'm not really a fan of Hollywood or the life of those that live that. With rare exceptions, I tend to stay away from biographies and especially autobiographies. The pinnacle was "If Chins Could Kill" by Bruce Campbell. I once met him and told him that he had one of the best autobiographies I've ever read. He said that he "wanted to show it wasn't all limousines and blowjobs". Well, that line has stuck with me ever since and a good autobiography or biography should go a bit more beneath the surface; otherwise, you're just reading a history book.

I knew only of Vampira from my love of "Plan 9 From Outerspace" and a little bit of the horror host idea. This book which is part biography and part autobiography shows that Hollywood isn't all "limousines and blowjobs". The author, who is Maila Nurmi's niece, has amassed a lot of the personal writings of Nurmi and she has filled in the gaps with her own research - hence the part-bio/part-autobio. It makes for an interesting read but where one begins and ends might have been neat to see (maybe it was and my copy didn't have that indication). It also makes it hard at times to figure out what might be true or maybe not so true as someone not related might be more objective. Niemi does a good job of showing Nurmi in a sympathetic light and, for better or worse, even at the height of fame, Nurmi seems like someone who wanted to be part of Hollywood and fame, has the attitude for it, and the uniqueness for it; but doesn't seem to obtain it all.

I did have the joy of reading each chapter and throughout each of them put on my best "Oh, how scandalous!" Rubbing elbows, and sometimes more than elbows, with people like Orson Wells, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Humphrey Bogart, and Elvis Prestley. It's nothing I've ever heard about in passing of my limited knowledge. So if you're into old Hollywood post-talkies this covers some important people and some important times.

One thing that some might not enjoy is because the nature of Nurmi's low level of fame and sometimes only passing encounters with the bigger names you won't get outside of Nurmi's life. But if you're a big Vampira fan this will provide all you'll need. The tone follows the life of Nurmi who creates an iconic figure that lives on in the history of horror media but who doesn't rise above that persona no matter how hard she tried. It's a story that embodies the almost stereotypical rise and fall of Hollywood stardom show the exception proves the rule. It's not "all limousines and..." well you get the idea.

Final Grade - B+