THE VAMPIRA SHOW
VAMPIRA
VAMPIRA RETURNS
VAMPIRA THE MOVIE

MAILA NURMI - "VAMPIRA"

"The Vampira Show" was a hosted horror movie show, with "Vampira" played by Maila Nurmi. It aired on KABC-TV Channel 7, Los Angeles, California (USA) between 30 April 1954 until 2 April 1955. The movies included classic horror, crime, and detective stories. In 1956 Nurmi returned to television as "Vampira" with a new horror hosted show on KHJ-TV Channel 9 Los Angeles, California. The show may have not lasted more than a year. In 2006, Nurmi appeared in "Vampira: The Movie", a documentary focusing on Nurmi and her character "Vampira". Nurmi was born Maila Elizabeth Syrjaniemi on 11 December 1922 in Petsamo, Finland; and passed away on 10 January 2008 in Los Angeles, California. There has been numerous merchandise released featuring "Vampira", as well as publications. Portrait of "Vampira" by Dave Dunlap.

Portrait of "Vampira" by Bradley Beard.
"Vampira" - biography (taken from Bradley Beard's Facebook page)"

The Vampira Show premiered on May 1, 1954 and the rest is history. Today I present the first television horror show hostess, the one and only Vampira. The seed for Vampira was sown when a young Finnish actress named Maila Nurmi attended a masquerade ball as Morticia Addams. She obviously caught the attention of TV producer Hunt Stromberg, Jr. who wanted her to host horror movies on KABC-TV in Los Angeles. The show was a scream… literally as she opened her show with a blood curdling scream. She set the stage for every future host with her macabre skits and graveyard humor. She became so popular that she appeared with Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre, and Lon Chaney Jr. in a comedy skit on the Red Skelton show. Let's all scream for Vampira, the queen of horror hosts... a scream for today that will still be heard tomorrow. In 2011, Maila Numi - "Vampira" of "The Vampira Show", was inducted into "The Official Horror Host Hall of Fame". In 2016, Johnny Coffin - curator of the Vampira collection, was inducted into "The Official Horror Host Hall of Fame", Behind the Screams induction. The following is a promotional video for "Vampira The Movie": Vampira The Movie (trailer) from The Professor on Vimeo. The following are some clips from "The Vampira Show": The Vampira Show (clips) from The Professor on Vimeo.

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