Life in Transition
Vampira Pudgy Brad Renfro
We try make it our business here at Jack Manly to keep our site and our blog on the fun side, hopefully keeping you entertained as well as informed. But sometimes we have to keep it real and talk about the things that are serious and often sad. We'd like to do that now.
Yesterday we heard about the deaths of two people who were at different ends of the age spectrum--Vampira and Brad Renfro. Their deaths served as a reminder that we had not yet mentioned or paid tribute to another gay icon who lost her life recently--one of our favorite entertainers that you probably have never heard of: comedienne Pudgy.
Maila Nurmi was making a career as a pin-up model when in 1953 she attended a choreographer's costume party dressed in a Charles Addams inspired outfit. This caught the attention of a TV producer who wanted to hire her to host horror movies on a local TV station. Thus was born Vampira. She became an immediate hit and spawned lots of imitators over the years. She was limited success in motion pictures but her most famous (or infamous) role was in Ed Wood's cult classic Plan Nine From Outer Space. Surprisingly her circle of friends and acquaintances over the years was a who's who of Hollywood and pop culture--James Dean, Orson Welles, clothing designer Rudi Gernreich, Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley.
Being a cult figure had its benefits. In the 1970s she opened her own thrift store Vampira's Attic and became somewhat of an icon in punk music circles. Although the two were later embroiled in a lawsuit, Vampira was the main inspiration for the cult TV personality Elvira. Vampira was reborn 1994 when she was portrayed by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton's Ed Wood. Vampira achieved some measure of success with merchandising, appearances in documentaries, and with her own website.
She passed away in her sleep on January 10 at age 86.
Brad Renfro rocketed to fame at age 11 in The Client and received many accolades as a future star. The southern born Renfro played a variety of roles in films including Apt Pupil, Sleepers, and Ghost World. The handsome young man unfortunately had a serious addiction problem resulting in notorious arrests over the years. While it seemed he was turning his life around after hitting rock bottom in a well-publicized arrest on skid row, he was found dead at the age of 25 in his apartment on January 15. It just seems that often when one's life goes into a downward spiral they can never climb back out.
Pudgy was Beverly Cardella (nee Wines), a Chicago born stand-up comedienne and singer who played in gay cabaret shows from coast-to-coast starting in the 1980s. In recent years she moved to Las Vegas and hosted stage shows including X Burlesque at the Flamingo where she was billed as "The Queen of Tease". Many thought of her as a female version of Don Rickles, but Pudgy was far more warm-hearted and gregarious. She combined her natural singing talents into her always hilarious routine. In essence, Pudgy was a master of ad lib, venturing into the audience, asking questions and incorporating their unintentionally humorous answers into an evening of true hilarity. Pudgy was a regularly featured act at the Backlot (adjoining legendary West Hollywood gay disco Studio One) and became an instant hit with gay audiences.
She responded in kind becoming a supporter of the gay community and always being warm, friendly and accessible to her gay audiences. We'll always remember her husband Mike getting on the PA system to introduce her with these words "....the one, the only, unpredictable, the irrerepressible Pudgy!" Her son seemed to say it best--"She never dreamed of being of a comedian. She just was."
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