Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Glamour Ghoul
Glamour Ghoul: The Passions and Pain of the Real Vampira, Maila Nurmi | Sandra Niemi
2 posts | 1 read
Maila Nurmi, the beautiful and sheltered daughter of Finnish immigrants, stepped off the bus in 1941 Los Angeles intent on finding fame and fortune. She found men eager to take advantage of her innocence and beauty but was determined to find success and love. Her inspired design and portrayal of a vampire won a costume contest that lead to a small role on the Red Skelton show which grew into a persona that brought her the notoriety she desired yet trapped her in a character she could never truly escape. This is Malia’s story. Her diaries, notes, and ephemera and family stories bring new insights to her relationships with Orson Welles, James Dean, and Marlon Brando. Sandra Niemi—Malia’s niece—fills in the nuances of her life prior to fame and her struggles after the limelight faded and she found a new community within the burgeoning Los Angeles punk scene who embraced her as their own. , Includes rare photographs.
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
review
mdolan995
post image
Pickpick

Amazing introduction to who Maila was. It‘s written by her niece and does not have the bias that many familial biographies do. She is very honest about how wonderful and loving Maila could be but also how difficult she could be. I definitely recommend.

quote
mdolan995

I sang when all I really wanted to do was cry. There was a whole world out there of which I was not a part. And as long as I volunteered to stay here, the hellishness would continue unabated.