You absolutely know her as Elvira, Mistress of the Dark from the LA KHJ-TV's weekly horror B Movie Macabre. Seventy-year old American actress Cassandra Peterson starred as the role of Elvira between 1981 and 1986 and from 2010 till 2011. Cassandra first worked as an LA-based showgirl and then became the late-night Halloween TV movie host.
The character she plays, Elvira, became popular all over the world. The character was later used in various movies and widely adopted as a Halloween costume in several countries. Peterson continues to make several TV and movie appearances and voice-over animations as Elvira to this day.
This year of 2021 was full of voluminous events for the famous actress Cassandra Peterson who is known as Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark. Here's what she's been up to.
8 Cassandra Released Her Memoir 'Yours Cruelly, Elvira'
This year, Peterson wrote and published her new memoir, "Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs Of The Mistress Of The Dark."
The Queen Of Halloween revealed shocking events and stories from her personal and professional life. She shared with readers and her fans her struggles and successes. Peterson discussed how she grew up to become the international star that she is today. Cassandra talked in her memoir about her difficult childhood, some heartbreaking stories in her life, as well as fun events.
7 Elvira Revealed A New Romance In Her Memoir
Peterson revealed she had been in a secret relationship with a woman called Teresa Wierson, known as T, for 19 years. In her new memoir, Cassandra said she met Teresa in Hollywood Gold's Gym. At first, she thought T was a boy. She only discovered that Wierson was a girl when she saw her in the ladies' bathroom.
Peterson went on to say that the couple’s relationship started as a friendship and did not develop to romantic until Cassandra divorced her husband, Mark Pierson. The star reveals she had never felt this happy before meeting Teresa. She feels safe, truly loved, and blessed for the first time in her life because of her love relationship with T.
6 Cassandra Peterson Accused NBA Legend Wilt Chamberlain Of Sexually Assaulting Her
Cassandra dropped another bombshell in her memoir, revealing that she was sexually assaulted by NBA legend Wilt Chamberlain in the 1970s. Peterson says she was attending a party at Chamberlain’s house when he forced her to perform sexual acts.
The experience, as the actress recalls, was traumatizing and left her with feelings of shame and guilt. It was not until the #MeToo movement came that Cassandra understood that she did not do anything wrong.
Chamberlain died in 1999, aged 63, because of a heart attack.
5 She Celebrated Elvira’s 40th Anniversary With Shudder
Elvira celebrated her 40th anniversary by hosting a scary Halloween horror movie night for Shudder. On September 25th, the horror movie cult icon hosted the movie marathon for viewers in the U.S. and Canada. The event will be released via Shudder in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand starting September 27th.
The spooky movie marathon includes 1998's Elvira, Mistress Of The Dark, 1960's The City Of The Dead, 1973's Messiah Of Evil, and 1959's House On Haunted Hill.
4 She Thinks The Next Elvira Must Be A Drag Queen
In May 2021, a fan asked Elvira on Twitter who she would choose as a successor if the Movie Macabre was revived. She replied by tweeting that she would like the next Elvira to be a Drag Queen that understands camp, Elvira’s character, and the genre.
However, since Cassandra Peterson is still making appearances today as Elvira, fans should not expect that there will be a new Elvira. The star even hosted a show called Search For The Next Elvira, but all the candidates failed at the end of the program because the people did not want someone else to take the role. They wanted the original Elvira character.
3 Cassandra Peterson Is Developing A New Elvira Animated Movie
Cassandra is not new to the animation world since she played Elvira’s role in Scooby-Doo! Return To The Zombie Island and Happy Halloween, Scooby-Doo.
The famed actress revealed in an interview that she is working on an Elvira animated film. She says animation is trendy, all animated characters can work, and there will be no need for masks or social distancing due to the recent pandemic.
2 She Released Her New Song, 'Don’t Cancel Halloween'
In the 2020 Halloween season, Elvira released her music video "Don’t Cancel Halloween." The song’s music was made to the tunes of Madonna’s hit song "Holiday." Cassandra says she made the music video to campaign for Halloween and save the spooky holiday. Due to the covid-19 pandemic, lockdowns and curfews imposed by worldwide authorities, and people being told to practice social distancing, this meant no costume parties, trick-or-treating, or Halloween decorations for the year to many people last year.
1 She is releasing her new comic book tale, 'Elvira: The Wrath Of Con'
Since the San Diego Comic-Con didn’t happen this summer due to the pandemic, Dynamite Entertainment revealed it is releasing a comic book tale called "Elvira: The Wrath Of Con." The 48-page book is written by comic author David Avallone. Artist David Acosta drew the project.
Fans of Elvira were delighted to hear the news since they weren’t able to attend the San Diego Comic-Con this summer, but they will have a legend to read about their favorite character.