Your Cruelly, Elvira by Cassandra Peterson

Fans of Elvira, the Mistress of the Dark, a character brought to life by actress Cassandra Peterson, will not be disappointed with her honest and engaging autobiography. Cassandra is a natural comedienne who developed a multimillion-dollar business around her persona; an enduring piece of popular culture with a life of its own.

She details a life so rich, each segment could be a book on its own. Growing up in Manhattan (Kansas), her parents owned a costume shop, making Halloween her favorite time of year. She was a teenage groupie watching all the major rock bands and often talked her way backstage to meet the Animals, Jimmy Page, the Yardbirds, and Jimi Hendrix. At fourteen she was dancing at Club A-Go-Go, local drag bars, and entertaining GIs at the Army base. At seventeen, she became a Las Vegas showgirl in the Dunes prestigious show Vive Les Girls! Her dream of becoming Ann-Margret was coming true. Dancing two shows a night, she met all the major headliners, including Elvis in his famous white and gold penthouse suite.

She toured Rome in a band and was an extra in Fellini's classic Roma. In Miami, she was in a revue at the Playboy Club. In Hollywood, she worked for Don Kirshner's Rock Concert where she hung out with Queen, Elton John, and the Pointer Sisters. She headlined a revue touring gay clubs in Mama's Boys. She joined the groundbreaking improv troupe The Groundlings with Paul Reubens and Phil Hartman. She was beautiful background in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, and had roles in many '70s TV shows.

This was all before age 30, when she got her breakthrough call from an LA TV channel who were looking for a ghoulish 'horror hostess' to introduce late-night B-films. She developed the Elvira character as a sexy 'valley girl' and it was a hit. The look was Morticia Addams but the beehive and attitude were her own. Luckily she managed to own the character rights when it became syndicated and the marketing began. In 1988, she filmed the now cult classic comedy Elvira Mistress of the Dark (it was even shown at Cannes), followed by a pilot TV sitcom, and the sequel film Elvira's Haunted Hills.

It is not all good news; there were failed marriages and romances, times when she was so broke she was on the street, and she survived an abusive marriage. After having a child at 43, she met a woman and came out as a lesbian, now in a long term relationship. Cassandra is still going strong at 74 and as the undisputed Queen of Halloween, Elvira will live forever.

2021 / Hardcover / 304 pages