A veteran horror star famous for playing the undead has passed on herself: Vampira (real name Maila Nurmi) died of natural causes yesterday. She was 86.

While Nurmi appeared in several movies, including The Beat Generation and The Big Operator, she is probably best known for the character of Vampira she created in the 1950s. She was the Elvira of her day, hosting a local show on KABC in Los Angeles where she introduced horror movies. She caught the eye of director Ed Wood, who cast her in the cult classic Plan 9 From Outer Space. She was played by Lisa Marie in the Tim Burton film Ed Wood in 1994.

I was just watching Plan 9 recently and on the DVD there's a great documentary that features an extensive interview with Nurmi and other stars from the movie.