According to reports, Maila Nurmi, best known to the world as the original horror hostess, the glamour ghoul, Vampira, passed away, quietly in her sleep, at the age of 86.
Born Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi on December 21, 1921, in Petsamo, Finland - now Pechenga, Russia. In the 1950s she created the character of Vampira, popular for both films and as a television host. The character was to set the standard for an entire legion of horror hostesses, actresses, and even cartoon characters to follow. I had the honor of meeting her, and she was always kind and gracious with her fans.
This probably shouldn't affect me the way it does, but it does, all the same. As a classic horror fan, she was a goddess, before my time, but timeless all the same. She lived a long life and was a legend in her own time; what more could one ask for?