Elvira Meets Reality, TV! :
An Interview with The Mistress of Darkness
Yes, it is that time of the year again; when guys start looking for skirts, and women try to fit into their Catholic School uniforms. If it weren't for Halloween's annual opportunity to trot out our alter egos, it is likely that we would become one of those things that go bump in the night. Repression, they say, is the mother of violence: “He was a very quiet neighbor, and then…”
For mild-mannered, soft-spoken Cassandra Peterson, there is very little chance of running amok. Having spent the greater part of the last 26 years in the character of Elvira, Mistress of Darkness, she has positioned herself firmly alongside the pumpkin in the American Psyche, where she has a carte blanche to do pretty much whatever she wants.
At the moment, she wants to set up a crew of Elviras to act as her emissaries. FOX REALITY TV was kind enough to help her out. The Search for the Next Elvira will be launching on October 13, a reality show devoted to setting Elvira up with a crew to replicate her and pour out across America's shopping malls to spread Halloween cheer, or fear.
T. Virgil Parker: So, what's been happening lately?
Elvira: I've been working up the whole reinvention process of Elvira. I hired a whole new team of people. Marketing people, PR, and licensing people that I'm really excited about. So we're really kind of reinventing the character and concentrating more on the icon of Elvira because she's become a very iconic kind of symbol, and less on me being Elvira and running around playing Elvira. Kind of the concept of turning Elvira into the Santa Claus of Halloween, which she really has become already but you know?
TVP: You have to be astounded by the longevity of the character.
E: I am. I mean, when the average Hollywood career lasts four to five years, it's pretty amazing to have made a career out of this for twenty-six years now. So that blows me away. And I think the reason for that is because Elvira is so closely associated with the holiday. Where other characters sort of fade into the sunset, Elvira is back every year when Halloween rolls around.
TVP: I think a lot of it has to do with certain, I'm going to have to say, “archetypal” concepts that come to mind.
E: Yes, Elvira is extremely archetypal.
TVP: Such as perseverance, irony, and lust.
E: Oh, there you go! That's a good combination! I usually say Elvira is a combination of sexy, the dark side, and humor, you know comedy, but I'm changing that right now to “perseverance, irony and lust!” That's a good one. But Elvira really is an archetypal character and she's become a real kind of feminist symbol to young girls. That shocked me at first, but now I really get it. She's like a sexy, tough woman who stands up for what she believes in, even if it's really stupid. But she still gets behind it, stands up for what she believes, doesn't take any crap from guys, and if you don't like it she'll kick your ass. No, I'm just kidding, forget that part. But she is strong and sexy at the same time. That's a really good image for young women. Because it doesn't mean that to be strong you have to look like Eleanor Roosevelt. That's kind of acceptable, “oh she's strong and everything,” but you have to look like you've possibly never had sex ever in your whole life.
TVP: Exactly. And that's why power suits were invented.
E: That's true! I was talking to someone about that. Boy, you got that going on, that's exactly it. Make a woman look like a man. You know I mean even Hillary Clinton. Although I love her, but you know, she's not exactly a sexy vixen there, you know what I mean?
TVP: She's been going for the Presidential look, slowly but surely.
E: Yeah, I swear to God, she really is. Also, she reminds me of Eleanor Roosevelt. There's something about her face, it's really bizarre, that looks like Eleanor Roosevelt. But it's acceptable in society for a woman to be strong and powerful if they look like a man, maybe, or as long as they never have any semblance of any kind of cleavage or sexuality showing at all, then they're okay. So anyway, I kind of went off on a tangent there.
TVP: You may be answering a question I was about to ask you about the upcoming reality show.
E: Yeah, well that plays into the whole new reinvention of Elvira and that show, which I'm doing this October, is about looking for a few good Elviras to sort of be Elvira. But not to take my place, that's where people have been getting confused. I've read several little articles that say, “oh, Elvira is retiring and somebody else is taking over her place!” That's not what it's about at all. It's having more Elviras, just like Santa Claus does. You know, Those little helpers who go out and are Santa Claus in the malls and all around at Christmastime. Well, there can be other Elviras that go to shopping malls. So the reality show is to find other Elviras to go out and do my evil bidding, you know?
TVP: So here's the big question about the reality show that everyone mentions as soon as I tell them that you're doing this. Are you going to let drag queens go for it?
E: Absolutely! Some of the best Elviras are men. I have some amazing drag queens. We're inviting every ethnicity, gender; I even had somebody apply who I'm not even sure at all what their gender is. It is so frightening. They are somewhere definitely in the middle. And I'm not talking about your typical tranny (who I welcome), this is something beyond that. Some combination, a human-animal hybrid of some type, I don't know. I've never seen anything like this picture in my life. So we have a little bit of everything, you know? Who's to say there shouldn't be a male Elvira and an African American Elvira and Asian Elvira and Latino Elvira and a Little Person Elvira, and you know, what the heck? Something for everybody.
TVP: I heard recently that Elvira is the longest standing comic book character in print.
E: Yeah! We just found that out. I broke the record of Bob Hope and Jerry Lewis. That was the last time that a comic book was done on a living human being and that was a while ago. The Elvira comic book this month will be the 167th issue, which will be my last issue with Claypool Comics, who did a fantastic job. It's the last issue and it set a record for the longest living human being as a comic book.
TVP: The next frontier would be Elvira cereal.
E: Yeah. Elvira cereal, you mean the kind you eat?
TVP: Yes.
E: I was thinking, “do you mean serial like the old movies?” But, yeah, Elvira cereal. They're boob-a-licious!
TVP: Just think about all the free toys inside.
E: Oh God, wow! I don't think we should think about the free toys inside. Could be interesting!
TVP: Could you talk to me briefly about Elvira's Box of Horror?
E: Yeah, the Elvira Box of Horror was with Time Life, that's pretty much come and gone. But I have a new DVD series that came out last Halloween from Shout Factory. It went over so well. We did seven of them, I believe. And they're making thirty more for this Halloween because they sold like hot cakes. So we're doing it again, only with more movies. And that is actually my television series, my original TV series, Movie Macabre, which was local here in LA market, and also syndicated across the country. These DVDs are of the original show. And hopefully we'll put some extra added bonus stuff on it this time. The first time was kind of a test. They just did six or seven, threw them out there to see how they'd do, and they really did great. So now we're going beef them up a little bit.
TVP: A lot of actors are turning to indie films for artistic fulfillment.
E: Yeah...
TVP: Certainly that's about the only kind of fulfillment you can expect.
E: That's for damn sure. I have my indie film, it ain't paying my rent. [Elvira's Haunted Hills]
TVP: And now you're starting to work on some others?
E: No. Are they like Tomoko's Kitchen or something like that?
TVP: Yes.
E: No, those are just a couple of little acting gigs I did for a friend. I just did these really brief acting things as myself. One of them might have been Elvira. I was paying back favors; that's what I was doing. To be in somebody's independent film when they ask you, it was like “aw, okay.” I have a very very small parts. So those were favors. Something out there.
TVP: When you think about iconography in acting, PeeWee Herman immediately springs to mind. Have you every thought of a vehicle for Elvira and PeeWee?
E: We joke about it sometimes. I see PeeWee fairly frequently these days, we go out together. Actually, we love going to parties and stuff together because we love to scare and shock people when we tell them who we are. So it's sort of a double whammy when its him and me together, we get a kick out of that. But we haven't really ever talked about a project, I don't think that would work. I think PeeWee and Elvira would be fighting too much. The only time it worked was in Big Adventure when I got to beat him up and threaten to kill him. Then it worked great. But I have a feeling that PeeWee would drive Elvira insane and she would have to kill him. I always say that I was in PeeWee's Big Adventure getting to play the role that every woman in America dreamed off: killing PeeWee. Always beating him up. He rubs people that way and Elvira wouldn't put up with his crap for two minutes.
TVP: I agree, nor should she.
TVP: There's a strong crossover in California between the entertainment industry and politics. When are you going to throw your hat into the ring?
E: I'm throwing my bra into the ring! I thought Elvira really should run for president. I've always said that they've got two boobs in office now, why not mine? I think Elvira would be very good, well, anyone would make a better president than what you've got now, anyone.
TVP: I think the office needs to abolished at this point.
E: Yeah, it's almost getting to that point isn't it? I think it is being abolished, I think we have a king now, not a president.
TVP: It's already been achieved.
E: Don't talk about it too loud, it already happened.
TVP: It looks like somebody's coming for me now.
E: Oh my God, they're ransacking your office and taking your computer!
TVP: You're continuing to champion PETA?
E: Yeah. I've been involved with them for a long time, though I'm not as involved with them now. I love and adore them and what they do. But right at the moment I'm so involved in this Elvira thing that I don't have a lot of time to devote charities, but I hope the end result is that I will have a lot more time and money to make a bigger impact when Elvira is more visible.
TVP: I have to tell you, I got a call from the CEO of Sea Monkeys. He had seen my last interview of you on the website.
E: Sea Monkeys?
TVP: Yes, Sea Monkeys.
E: The little things that you put in the little jar and they come alive?
TVP: Yes, he's a scream. But in any case, we had been talking and he said, “I wonder if she would be a good sponsor for Sea Monkeys?” I thought that was the most mind-blowing idea.
E: Wow. It is. I've done wacky products in my life but I think that would be about up there with the wackiest. Wow, a sponsor for Sea Monkeys. I don't know, does that involve animal abuse?
TVP: That's what I was wondering. You should really set the Sea Monkeys free, shouldn't you?
E: Yes, I'm going to be the first person to save the Sea Monkeys. My new Save the Sea Monkey campaign.
TVP: So that will be your foundation.
E: That's right. When I make all these gazillions of dollars I'm setting up the Save the Sea Monkeys foundation. That's going to be my priority. Thank you for that, your residual check will be in the mail.
