POPPIN' FRESH

Maila Nurmi, otherwise known as horror host Vampira, has died aged 86.

Born in a bit of Finland which later became a bit of the Soviet Union, Nurmi's family moved to Ohio when she was two – which has to play havoc with your cultural identity. She then moved to LA when at 17, and, utter knock-'em-half-dead hottie that she was, got a job posing in her smalls for pin-up king Alberto Vargas.

In 1953, while at a masquerade ball slinking about in a skintight black dress and with goth white skin, she was spotted by a telly producer who rightly believed she'd be perfect for hosting a selection of midnight horror flicks. She scored an Emmy nomination for her work as a sort of cross between Fern Britton and Theda Bara and considered James Dean, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis as her mates. She even got jiggy with Orson Welles - sharing him with Rita Hayworth and getting the clap for her trouble, too:

In 1958 she appeared in Ed Wood's camp B movie classic Plan 9 From Outer Space as a zombie:

She opened an antiques shop in the 70s – in her house – and began designing clothes and jewellery for the likes of Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane before going on to sue Elvira in the late 80s for totally ripping off her act. Hell, the Misfits even wrote a song about her.

We're a little bit in love.

See the glorious Maila talking about the creation of Vampira here: