Viju Krem: A Woman of Many Talents

NOTE: I start with a caveat in that all of this was independent research. I made every effort to be as accurate as possible; however, there is always a chance I was wrong on something. Do you know something I don’t? Please, enlighten me! I want to be factual.

Bloodsucking Freaks is a title that is familiar with those who have researched disturbing films or cult classics. A product of its time, the film depicts Master Sardu as he performs torture shows with his assistant, Ralphus. What his audience is unaware of is that the performances aren’t some sort of attempt at gallows entertainment; his performances involve people getting murdered on stage unbeknownst to their very eyes. When Master Sardu’s shows are deemed trashy entertainment by a theatre critic, he kidnaps a ballerina, Natasha de Natalie, at an attempt to have an act in his show seen as art.

I was always fascinated in the beautiful Natasha de Natalie character, a ballerina caught in a modern-day Grand Guignol. At face value, there’s scarce information on the clandestine Viju Krem, and I came across Shudder’s tweet about her:

“Viju Krem starred in Bloodsucking Freaks, wrote a book on modeling, went to prison on a stock swindle and was shot between the eyes by her 87-year-old third husband, and somehow doesn't have a Wikipedia page?! Somebody needs to fix that.”

Who wouldn’t be intrigued after reading this? It could either be a black comedy, or a story that would be considered too ridiculous to be true if it had been a memoir. As someone who does their research before believing any meme or news story, I tried to find an obituary for 1983. I had no luck. However, I saw many websites, including IMDb, stating as a fact that she died during a hunting accident. Where was the proof? I did not see any. My curiosity had peaked and I had to unlock the mystery behind the beautiful ballerina with the blonde hair, porcelain skin, and trademark red fingernails. The following is what I have pieced together.

Viju Krem—whose real name was actually spelled Viiu Kreem—was born on February 19, 1948 in Erlangen, Germany. Of Estonian decent, she was the daughter of Robert and Mai Kreem. Both mother and father were well-loved and respected figures who did a great deal to benefit the Estonian-Canadian community. Robert was a social activist who created the now-closed Estonian House in Toronto and was chairman of the organization Saarlaste Ühing. Mai was an avid sportswoman who stressed the importance of eating less and moving more. In particular, she was a popular swimming instructor. Viiu had a younger brother and sister. The family migrated to Edmonton, Alberta. In 1951, the family moved to Toronto, Canada, which eventually became home. From what I have read, it seems like even though the father was often away due to his social work, that it was generally a happy childhood. Viiu went to Oakwood Collegiate Institute in Toronto for her high school years.

Like mother, like daughter. Viiu also showed interest in sports of all kinds and proved to be incredibly athletic. She ran track. She was a cheerleader. She played volleyball. She also gained a name for herself as a gymnast in the 1960s, and at the Kalev Estienne Rhythmic Gymnastics she was in the 1969 Sr. Elite. Nearly 50 years later, in a 2014 article, Estonian Life named her as one of the more notable gymnasts of Estonian origin.

For Viiu, modeling and gymnastics often went hand-in-hand, she started modeling at age 15 for all kinds of clothing products. In 1966, Välis-Eesti reported that she won a beauty contest at Leigh University in Philadelphia, beating 20 other hopefuls. By 1970, she was professionally and internationally modeling.

Eventually, Hollywood came knocking. Joseph E. Levine, who discovered Raquel Welch and who helmed the campaign to get Sophia Loren the Oscar for Two Women, offered Viiu a screen test. However, at the time, she was a newlywed and wanted to focus on her wedded bliss; she married a man named William Assaf in late 1968. However, Viiu eventually answered the call.

By 1975, she was living in New York. She wrote a book entitled How to Become a Successful Model, which took a total of two years to write. This book is currently out of print and runs for at least $88 used, but discusses everything from makeup to exercise and also came with a directory of modeling agencies. At the time of the book’s release, the 27 Club restaurant in New York held a cocktail reception to celebrate. Around the same time, she became a reporter for Manhattan magazine but I am unsure how long she stayed on as a reporter or correspondent. 

From 1976 to 1979, she was in several films (mostly adult-oriented), including Let My Puppets Come, an adult film featuring puppets, and Eros Perversion, a parody of Twelfth Night. And there was, of course, the infamous Bloodsucking Freaks, which was filmed in the course of six weeks in New York's Soho district. Considered to be one of the most controversial films of all time due to its violence and various scenes of torture, publications such as The New York Times refused to review it, the MPAA did not give it a classification rating, and even Troma distributor Lloyd Kaufman later expressed regret being involved, saying "I may have possibly secured my place in hell by just watching it... It's very misogynistic. Today, we would not have anything to do with it." I have seen scattered around the web that it was heavily protested by Women Against Pornography and other feminist groups. However, in an interview with Simon Abrams, Kaufman says it was nothing more than an advertising gimmick. Despite all the negative reviews, and thanks to the gimmicks, it was a huge "midnight movie" and the notoriety generated quite the audience. Bad press is good press, right? It cannot be denied that it's a notorious film that could have only been made in the 1970s.

A May 1975 issue of Estniska Dagbladet reported that Viiu was slated to be in All The President’s Men and When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? I do not know if these were movie roles she auditioned for and did not get, or if these were shows performed in the theatre, or if these were exaggerations to generate hype for Viiu. By 1979, I no longer see any film credits; if I had to wager a bet, I think she saw the writing on the wall that most roles she would be offered would be in adult films and grindhouse pictures, and she decided to leave on her own terms. However, I think it may also be safe to say that she wanted to move to new and exciting endeavors, as Viiu seemed like a woman who found the world to be her oyster and wanted to do a bit of everything. Despite her film career coming to a close, it looks like she continued to model:

In 1978 the Estniska Dagbladet reported that Viiu married again to a man named Robert Tomarkin, an investment banker of Swiss decent who was previously married to actress Dorothy Malone for a whopping 28 days. Viiu was wife #4. He was a 46-year-old man who became infamous when he and one of Franklin National Bank's executives used $2,100,000 of the bank's money for a failed stock market scam. Tomarkin was sentenced to 5 years in prison, but was released early, later filing a lawsuit to the tune of $450,000 for supposed injuries he received in prison. As far as I know, despite Shudder’s claim, I did not find anything about Viiu being involved in this scandal in any way or going to prison.

Her third marriage was to New York economist Stephen Gallat in 1986. They tied the knot in Acapulco. I am not sure if this third husband was 87-years-old from the Shudder claim—honestly, I could not find anything about him—but the Free Estonian describes Viiu and Stephen as “the young couple,” so I am very doubtful.

In 1982 she created her own company called Viju Kreem International which was dissolved due to inactivity in 1992. After this, the information trail I found on her goes cold, other than one other article in 2005 (more on that in a bit). However, it looks like she was active as late as the 1990s, not only with sports, but also with this article discussing models at a benefit show:

Until the end, it seems like she was health-conscious like her mother and into social causes like her father. A 2005 article from the Estonian World Review listed her as one of the many donors throughout 1997-2001 to collect $45,000 for the Jõekääru swimming pool to come to fruition. This pool allowed for children to swim in clean water, which had previously been so much a problem that the health department banned swimming in the pool. 

She died on October 29, 2004 in British Columbia, Canada. I do not know how she died, but she was 56 at the time of her death.

I was honestly amazed at how interesting Viiu’s life was. Not exactly Shudder’s depiction of what happened, but I could see a biopic of her life being made. Surely it beats prison and then dying in an ill-fated hunting trip. It seemed like she lived a life well-lived. Whether it be acting, modeling, or gymnastics, or even reporting, she put new meaning to the words “she believed that she could, so she did.”

If you have any additional information to share, please let me know!