On January 10th, the legendary Vampira (aka Maila Nurmi) passed away. My dad sent emails and phoned me to let me know and make sure I?paid tribute to her here. As a family we watched the enchanting, incredibly thin-wasted beauty repeatedly in Plan 9 From Outer Space. But the Hagues won't be the only ones mourning the loss.

In 1954 she began hosting The Vampira Show which The LA Times describes thus:
“Vampira played with her pet tarantula, gave gruesome recipes for vampire cocktails and bathed in a boiling cauldron. With a knack for the double-entendre and the requisite blood-chilling scream, Vampira was a hit.”She heavily influenced Elvira, so much so that Nurmi sued (and lost).

Sadly,?a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vampira_Show” target=”_blank”>The Vampira Show suffered the same fate as this week's TV pick: it was never recorded and remains lost except in the memories of those lucky enough to have seen it when it aired.