Cassandra Peterson

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Cassandra Peterson in front of an Elvira poster

Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1951 in Manhattan , Kansas ) is an American film actress . She is best known for the role of her alter ego , Elvira , who is extremely popular in the USA .

Career

Peterson worked as a dancer at The Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas and made a brief appearance in the James Bond film Diamond Fever . She also worked as a photo model, among other things, she can be seen on the cover of Tom Waits album Small Change .

In the early 1970s she moved to Italy and worked as a singer in the rock band I Latins Ochanats . In Federico Fellini's Roma she was seen as a dancer in a minor supporting role.

Elvira - ruler of darkness

Elvira 2006

Back in the US, she moved through nightclubs and discos with dance numbers and comedy performances. Her breakthrough came when KHJ-TV, Los Angeles, offered her the opportunity to present a program for B - horror movies .

Based on Maila Nurmi's role as Vampira and Morticia Addams , Peterson created the character of Elvira . On September 26, 1981 the first broadcast was broadcast. Dressed in tight black clothes with a lush cleavage, dark make-up and black wig, she presented B-category horror films in the program Movie Macabre (1981–1993) in the simple studio, only on a Victorian sofa. Thanks to her black humor, loose mouth and shrill sex appeal, Elvira suddenly became famous and an icon of subculture , located between punk and gothic . Because of the great resemblance to the older cinematic character Vampira , there was a court case with the allegation of plagiarism, which, however, went in favor of Peterson.

The horror comedy Elvira - Ruler of Darkness (1988), tailored to the character of Elvira and co-produced by Peterson, became a cult success. Numerous appearances in programs and shows on American TV made her permanent presence and an integral part of American television and media culture. In 2011 she won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards in the Favorite Horror Host of 2011 category for Best Horror Presenter.

further activities

Cassandra Peterson hardly had any noteworthy film or television roles. In 1987 she played the supporting role of the evil Queen Sorais in Quatermain II - In Search of the Mysterious City .

Occasionally, Peterson, as Elvira , recorded different songs for her Halloween albums.

Private life

Peterson largely keeps her private life out of the public eye. From 1981 to 2003 she was married to Mark Pierson. She has a daughter.

Filmography (selection)

Film appearances

Television appearances

  • 1981-1993: Movie Macabre
  • 1984: Last of the Great Survivors
  • 1984: A Colt for all cases (4x07: The ghost castle)
  • 1985: Bob Hope Buys NBC?
  • 1986: WrestleMania 2nd
  • 1989: Heavy Metal Heaven
  • 1992: Ring of the Musketeers
  • 1993: Acting on Impulse
  • 2006: The Girls of the Playboy Mansion (The Girls Next Door)
  • 2007: The Search for the Next Elvira
  • 2010: Elvira's Movie Macabre
  • 2011: Last Man Standing
  • 2019: RuPaul's Drag Race (guest judge)

Trivia

  • Elvira was the spokeswoman for Molson Coors Brewing Company in 1988 .
  • In 1988, the Elvira Halloween costume became the best-selling costume for women of all time.
  • In several episodes of the television series The Simpsons appears a parody based on the model of Elvira called Booberella .
  • The slot machine manufacturer Bally / Midway sold a total of two Elvira- based pinball machines called Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989) and Scared Stiff (1996).
  • In 1990 Accolade released a computer game called Elvira: Mistress of the Dark for Amiga , MS-DOS and the Atari ST . In 1991 a version for the Commodore 64 from Flair Software Ltd. followed. In 1991 the successor Elvira II: The Jaws of Cerberus was published.
  • In 1991 Flair Software Ltd. also a computer game called Elvira - The Arcade Game for the Amiga, the Atari ST and the Commodore 64.
  • In 2009 she worked as Elvira in the music video Mistress of the Dark for the music group Ghoultown .

Web links

Commons : Cassandra Peterson  - Collection of Images

swell

  1. ↑ Winners of the 10th Annual Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards Announced . Dread Central. April 3, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2012.
  2. ↑ Entry at filmreference.com
  3. ↑ cf. Elvira and the Party Monsters and Scared Stiff .
personal data
SURNAME Peterson, Cassandra
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Elvira (stage name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION american actress
DATE OF BIRTH 17th September 1951
PLACE OF BIRTH Manhattan , Kansas , United States