Here’s another hint: She has a wicked sense of humor. Okay, you’ve seen the photo now and so you know this is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark.
Cassandra Peterson was born in Manhattan, Kansas, and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She began her career at age 17 as the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas history in the show “Vive Les Girls” at the Dunes Hotel. She spent more than three decades as a late night TV host and in B-movies solidifying the Elvira brand and building it into an international cult icon that has become synonymous with Halloween and the horror genre.
In 1981, she auditioned for the role of Ginger Grant for the third “Gilligan’s Island” television movie, shortly before KHJ-TV offered her the horror-host position, where she gained fame.
She was not always popular: “Everybody who grew up being bullied and made fun of a lot, and didn’t fit in socially for whatever reason, identifies with Elvira,” she says. “That was me when I was a kid. Because of the scars I had from [a] boiling water accident, I was teased mercilessly. I didn’t have a lot of friends. My best friend was considered a weirdo by the other kids. So we just kept to ourselves. We would have been goths if that had been invented, you know?”
As another bit of trivia, Elvira is a friend and cousin of RV Education 101’s Dawn Polk.
Elvira was every teen boys dream of dating. At least that is what I was told by my husband. So what new gig is doing on Peacock? I need to look at that one up. She looks great for her age and glad she is still working.
I love Elvira. She’s a Hoot.
I never wouda guessed!
Didn’t follow her career much as a kid and growing up.
Glad she is able to work and hope she is doing well.