Jami
Deadly is a busy girl. Her resume is highlighted with activities such as
becoming a renowned Marilyn Monroe impersonator, hosting her own goofy horror t.v. show called “Deadly
Cinema”, and being featured as a pinup
beauty contest winner in several magazines.
She has been a retro enthusiast for over a decade and has collected
just about everything there is to own about Marilyn, as well as
vintage pinup books, old Hollywood biographies, and a large dvd
collection. I will be sure to feature Ms. Deadly's collection on iTaggit as soon
as she has finished posting her things.
As
a young brunette growing up on a farm, she loved watching Betty
Grable, Jean Harlow, and Mae West, but could identify most with Miss
Marilyn Monroe. Jami spoke of Monroe's inner light that matched her
beauty as one of her most outstanding features to replicate. Being an
impersonator is more work than one would begin to believe. It takes a
lot of character study and mental preparation to get down every
little detail and mannerism about the person. Jami's first priority
is portraying Marilyn in a positive light, as her memory has been
skewed by media coverage since her death in 1962. “When
I am applying my makeup in the mirror, I have to start the
psychological transformation as well, and by the time I've applied
the beauty mark, I'm Miss Monroe.”
As
a successful Marilyn impersonator, Jami has been able to travel
around the world performing in conventions and publicity shoots
during her
career. She has met a wide array of persons, including
those who lose touch with reality, become starry eyed, and begin to
ask her personal questions as if she were really Marilyn. Jami also
mentioned one instance where she “did a gig representing the
Marilyn Monroe touring exhibit, and people were coming up to me and
poking me to see if I was a wax figure or not. It can get a little
strange!”
In
my previous two blogs of this trilogy, I have introduced you to Drew
and his comic Halloween Man, as well as Gayla and 666photography.
Jami is Drew's wife and the cover model for Halloween Man, which
Gayla shot. Gayla has also produced some of Jami's favorite career
photos, which can be viewed on their MySpace pages. Jami also loves
starring in her own t.v. show, “Deadly Cinema,” which mixes
Elvira with Mystery Science Theater 3000. Jami was inspired to create
a blonde bombshell horror host, bringing a twist to the usual raven
haired beauties. She crossed paths with director/writer/cast member
Matt Muhl, and as they say, the rest is history. Jami describes her
show as “an odd mix of a
glamorous blonde, bad "b" movies, a pink
coffin, and monster cast members.” People have embraced it and now
it has its own cult following separate of her pinup career. If you
want to check it out: Jami has a 3-disc set of all her episodes,
including special features, available here on her MySpace page.