Maila Nurmi, whose on camera persona, Vampira, was quite likely the first ever Goth chick, has died of a cardiac arrest in her home at age 86.
Vampira was a sexy vampire that hosted horror movies on television each week on ‘The Vampira Show‘ in 1954. Although the show was canceled after a year, Vampira remained a cult icon.
Although probably the inspiration behind Morticia on ‘The Addam’s Family’ and Cassandra Peterson’s alter ego Elvira, Nurmi lost a lawsuit against Peterson, who she claimed stole her character.
“There is no Elvira. There’s only a pirated Vampira,” she was quoted as saying in an Associated Press story at the time. “Cassandra Peterson slavishly copied my product and made a fortune. America has been duped.”