Maila Nurmi, whose alter-ego Vampira was a spooky and sexy television personality of the 1950s, has died.

Nurmi was 85.

She created her Vampira character to host horror movies on television in Los Angeles in 1954.

Nurmi wore a revealing black dress and fishnet stockings, and pasted on blood-red lipstick and dark mascara as she introduced films like "Revenge of the Zombies" and "Devil Bat's Daughter."

"The Vampira Show" was canceled after about a year, but Nurmi remained a cult figure among B-movie buffs and is thought to have inspired Morticia Addams on "The Addams Family," which premiered about 10 years later.

Nurmi also had starring roles in a few films, most notably as Vampire Girl in director Ed Wood's grade-Z horror film cult classic "Plan 9 from Outer Space," which starred film icon Bela Lugosi and pro wrestler Tor Johnson.

Actress Lisa Marie played Vampira in the 1994 Tim Burton-directed biopic "Ed Wood," which chronicled Wood's films, including "Plan 9."

In 1989, Nurmi lost a $10 million lawsuit that said Cassandra Peterson's character, Elvira, was pirated from Vampira.