31 Days of Halloween with The Kelly Society Day 29 - For The Love of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
31 Days of Halloween with
The Kelly Society
Day 29
Hi there die-hard Halloweenies! If you clicked on this post and are a fellow lover of Elvira, you are definitely a die-hard Halloweenie!
Vivien Kelly here of The Kelly Society, the best paranormal cleansing team in Half Moon Bay, California. I'm your hostess and I love Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Every time I watch Elvira I crack up, because she makes the jokes I can't make in a paranormal investigation. I need to stay professional, but Cassandra Peterson (the actor who plays Elvira) is an accomplished comedian and has created a fun, spooky, hysterical, and compassionate character in Elvira.
So, instead of popping in a random bio for Cassandra, I'm inserting the cover of her memoir book available from 9/21/21 with bio below.
The woman behind the icon known as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, the undisputed Queen of Halloween, reveals her full story, filled with intimate bombshells, told by the bombshell herself.
On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35% of her body, and the prognosis wasn't good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra built model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula, and idolized Vincent Price.
Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley, changed the course of her life forever, and led her to Europe where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv group, The Groundlings, and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul "Pee-wee" Reubens, honing her comedic skills.
Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot. Yours Cruelly, Elvira is an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn't shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heart-breaking tale of a Midwest farm girl's long strange trip to become the world's sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.
You can order Cassandra's book at:
Enjoy some of the greatest photos of Elvira, from her Knotts Scary Farm shows to publicity shots
Elvira's Movies
Elvira's Comic Books
Check out Elvira's new Haunted House for Halloween available online and at Luna Moon Gothic in Salem, Massachusetts
Click on Elvira's website for her upcoming events and more horrors!
Enjoy a high hair and busty Halloween all - in honor of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!
Vivien
The Kelly Society
Every Halloween we watch Elvira's Halloween movie. Elvira's parents owned Peterson Party Land in my home town. We used to play among the costumes after school and then she graduated and went off in search of her fame and fortune. Those were fun times!