Recently, we talked with the legendary Cassandra Peterson about her life, career, the phenomenon that is Elvira, and her new book, Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark.
Horror Geek Life: Let’s jump in and talk about your book, which was a wild read. Why did you decide that now was the right time to put this book out?
Cassandra Peterson: I don’t know if I should thank you! (laughs) But no, thanks; it really is a wild ride. I think I’ve been talking about doing this book forever, for years and years, that I was going to write my autobiography, telling panels at comic cons, so everyone’s been asking me, when are you going to do it? I actually finally found the time, mostly due to the pandemic, to organize it all and finish it up. I had written essays and notes to myself and finally had the time I needed to sit down and work on it four to eight hours a day. Also, I just turned 70, so if I don’t do it now, I don’t know when I’m going to do it! (laughs)
Horror Geek Life: There is so much information, from personal stories, the celebrities you met, and the birth of Elvira. Was it hard to put it all together?
Cassandra Peterson: It was, yeah. It was a fun process. I really had a great time, but a lot of it was also really hard, talking about my relationship with my mother, my failed marriage, those kinds of things were difficult, but yeah, most of it was fun. When I got up to becoming Elvira, that was a little bit like reporting my resume, you know? Remembering how this happened, what show I did, and why I did things, but I know fans want to know that stuff, so I had to put that in there.
Horror Geek Life: One part of the book I found fascinating was your stories about working with the improv group The Groundlings, which Phil Hartman and Paul Reubens were also a part of. How was that experience working with the troupe?
Cassandra Peterson: I think the main thing The Groundlings gives you is confidence. It’s like I always tell everyone if you can stand up in front of a crowd of people, not know what you’re going to say, and try and entertain them and be funny, then you can just about do anything after that, you know? I actually recommended The Groundlings to my previous lawyer I had and my doctor because they both spoke at conventions, did some public speaking, went to classes with The Groundlings, and they thought it was invaluable. Even for people not into doing comedy, it can be helpful, but if comedy is your thing, it really hones those skills. Just being around all the terrific actors really gives you something to strive for and emulate. So many talented people came out of The Groundlings and are still in The Groundlings, too.
Horror Geek Life: You left home at such an early age, became a dancer, then a Vegas showgirl. Looking back, how do you remember those early years on your own? While exciting, they were some wild and crazy years.
Cassandra Peterson: They were, they really were. I look back and think, thank God my kid didn’t do all that! (laughs) Yeah, because of my relationship with my mom, I left home, and I would come back and attempt to move back in, thinking things were going to be okay, and it never sort of worked out. I ended up getting my own apartment, traveling around the country in my car, which I didn’t have a driver’s license for, and go-go dancing at night clubs when I was still in junior high and high school. It took a while to get to my Elvira years; I think I was two weeks shy of turning thirty.
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Honestly, back in the ’70s and ’80s, turning thirty was thought of as pretty much the end of your career if you were a woman in the acting business. I couldn’t get an agent to save my soul back then, I went through one after another. I describe one of those interviews with a potential agent in the book, but they weren’t going to take you on if you were 30 years old; they figured you were on your way out. Thankfully, it’s not quite that bad today; not fantastic for women, but getting better.
Horror Geek Life: Do you think there’s still a long way to go for women in the industry?
Cassandra Peterson: I’m so happy when I work on the various jobs here in LA and see the camera operator being a woman, the director being a woman, the casting people are women; it’s so hopeful. I do think with the #MeToo movement, it’s getting better. There’s still a long way to go, unfortunately. Every day, I see some crazy thing about a woman being harassed, not just in this business but in politics, in a factory, where they are not paid as much as men, simply not treated equally, and that is really a sad testament to how far we have not come.
Horror Geek Life: Here you are, 40 years later, still working away. How amazing is it to look back and see not only the career you carved out with this persona but how big an impact Elvira had on people’s lives?
Cassandra Peterson: I know, it’s so bizarre how this funny, strange character has inspired so many people. I find it jaw-dropping every time someone comes up to me and says Elvira changed their lives for the better. It’s just like, oh my God, it really makes my life and career worth it. Even to have someone step outside what may be a dreary life and, for the moment, have a big laugh, it really changes people and takes them away from their day-to-day problems. I mean, I’ve met people who say I’ve actually saved their lives; it’s incredible, I’m left speechless, I really am.
Horror Geek Life: You recently took your private life public and came out. Was there something that made you want to do this now, or did you just feel the time was right?
Cassandra Peterson: I just felt like whenever I was going to write my autobiography, I was going to come clean and talk about everything I don’t talk about to the press or to anybody except very close friends. I felt like the autobiography had to be honest about who I was, and it was going to be no-holds-barred. I apologized to people that were offended, these are things that happened in my life. What was I going to do, not talk about it? I didn’t feel that was an option.
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There are some people who aren’t happy about my relationship with a woman, but what can I say? It’s my life, I have to live it. I didn’t want to keep lying, and I explained to people that if you keep holding in the truth, you get gassed. You really have to let it out. It’s funny, on one of my social media platforms, I lost 11,000 followers when this came out, but I’m very happy to say I gained 60,000 followers on the same platform, so you know, you win some, you lose some.
It’s so strange, though, that people wouldn’t like you because of your personal/private life, but I guess it’s not so surprising in this day and age.
Horror Geek Life: I wanted to ask you about the 40th-anniversary special that is on Shudder. How did that all come about?
Cassandra Peterson: Shudder just approached me to do that, actually, and I was thrilled. They picked those four movies which I freaking love, I mean, one is Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, so you know I love that one. House on Haunted Hill was a very, very important movie for me because that was the first horror movie I ever saw, and it had such a huge impact on me, obviously. The other two films I hadn’t seen in a long time, City of the Dead was great, but Messiah of Evil, yeah, not so much.
I love Shudder, and it was a great time, I think the special came off well and was funny. It was great, too, because they made suggestions, they didn’t tell me these were the four movies, but when they sent them to me to look at, I said great choices, couldn’t be better.
Horror Geek Life: Reading your book, your experiences, and all the people that have come in and out of your life over the years, was there one individual or moment that had the most impact or influence on you?
Cassandra Peterson: Yeah, there were a lot of people, weren’t there? (Laughs) The biggest impact and influence anyone had on my life from the book was Elvis Presley, which is pretty amazing. I worshiped Elvis growing up as a kid, my whole family did; we were a weird family of Elvis freaks.
I met him when I was in Las Vegas, I was seventeen, and he gave me the advice to get the hell out of Vegas. He thought it was a terrible place for a young girl, and he suggested I take singing lessons. He and I actually sat down at the piano while he played, and we sang together, he said I had a nice voice and said, “Why don’t you take singing lessons and pursue that instead of just staying here in Las Vegas?” It was fantastic advice because, back then, when I was 17, I was the youngest showgirl and Vegas, and if it wasn’t for Elvis, I’d probably now be the oldest showgirl in Vegas.
I’m so thankful I met Elvis, and he was so kind to me. It really changed my life.
Horror Geek Life: Music has been very important to you throughout your life, right?
Cassandra Peterson: I have loved music since I was a tiny little kid. I have old 8mm movies of me just dancing like a maniac when I was three, four, five years old. I’ve just really been obsessed with music my whole life. Later in my teenage years, I became obsessed with the people that made the music and chased bands around forever.
I still love music, I listen to it every day, the new music, and I try to keep up with it. I love the classics that I grew up with, the ’60s psychedelic stuff. But I try to listen to new music every single day so I can kind of stay with it, not just listen to the music from my past, thanks to my kid, that also helps.
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So yeah, I love dancing, I love music, and I still do, it’s just such a huge and important part of my life, I mean, I even named some of the titles of my chapters in my book after some of my favorite songs. I actually wanted to name all the chapters after my favorite songs, but the editor kind of put the kibosh on that.
Horror Geek Life: So what’s next for you in your career, both as Cassandra Peterson and Elvira?
Cassandra Peterson: Well, I have a bunch of big projects that I’m thinking about and moving towards now that the book is out there, the main one being a documentary of my life, I’d really like to pursue that. Also, perhaps a six-part series of my life with another actor, probably several actors, since it would start when I’m a child and end when I’m seventy, so far.
One of the things I’ve always wanted to pursue is doing a Broadway play. I would love to do a Broadway play of Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, have sort of a combination of Hairspray and Legally Blonde, which are two of my favorite Broadway productions, I think that could be really fun.
Great interview!