I was not suddenly prepared to become famous. My name and number were listed in the phonebook. First thing I noticed was, after the first show aired, everybody and their mother was calling me to ask if I would show up at their Halloween party, their beauty salon opening, or whatever. market, but it did kind of happen right away. “For the first couple years, I was just in the L.A.

When she channeled her inner vixen and cloaked the newfound person with ghoulish charm, she became an overnight success. After I got the job, I predicted it would last 40 days because it was so cheesy.” I started joking around with the script, and they apparently liked that. I think I got it based mainly on my humor because I had a good comedy improv background. No one told me to dress up, but I got the role, which was a miracle. Women dressed in black with black wigs and everything. They really couldn’t find anybody like that, so when Donna called me about it, she said, ‘You are the perfect person!’ So, I went to audition for the part, and when I walked in wearing my little springtime, turquoise dress, I found a room full of vampires. A woman who was attractive and also did comedy. “Back in those days, that was pretty rare to find. “They were looking for somebody who was sexy and did comedy,” she says. Her 40-year career as the famous horror hostess made her a pop culture phenomenon, which led to Elvira’s Movie Macabre TV series, books, more than 1,000 licensed products, and the eponymous films Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Elvira’s Haunted Hills.Īccording to Peterson, her best friend, romance novelist Donna Kauffman, encouraged her to audition for the role. channel KHJ to be a presenter for its late-night horror movies. That will make you sit down and do it, right?”Įlvira came to life in 1981 when Peterson, then a struggling actress, auditioned at local L.A. When I went out and got a book deal, I got a deadline.

Normally, I am touring, showing up at places, and doing other productions, but now I had this big chunk of time to sit down and concentrate. If not now, when? The other reason is, honestly, the pandemic gave me the time to sit down and write without all these other distractions. “I decided to do it now because one, I just turned 70 years old. “I have written little essays and notes, thinking I should tell this story and that story,” she says. Peterson says she has been thinking about writing this book for at least 15 years. The book also came out in conjunction with the 40 th anniversary of Elvira and the author’s 70 th birthday. Unique and at times scandalous, the Mistress of the Dark candidly recalls her journey to becoming the world’s most glamorous Halloween icon. She has released a brand-new memoir, Yours Cruelly, Elvira. Spooky season is upon us, and Cassandra Peterson, the woman famously known as Elvira, is already handing out a treat.

Cassandra peterson new book