Her name’s Elvira, but you can call her tonight–or Cassandra Peterson, her real name. Peterson, who gained popularity as the busty, double entendre-spitting Elvira, has revealed that there may be life for the character, even after she retires.
In a new interview with Variety, Peterson said, “I think I will retire, but I do not think that Elvira will ever retire. Elvira can completely go on without me even if I die, which I will at some point, I think the character will continue to be around. I think it can kind of be like Santa Claus is to Christmas.”
However, Cassandra Peterson isn’t so sure somebody could physically play Elvira for longer than a short stint. “If I did a biopic or, say, a Broadway production. I think somebody else could definitely play me. But I don’t think that they would permanently become Elvira. Unfortunately, I’d love to have somebody do that, but I don’t think it’ll work.”
Cassandra Peterson’s Elvira character gained popularity on Elvira’s Movie Macabre, in which Peterson played horror host in the, uh, vein of Vampira (portrayed by Maila Nurmi). Her success led to a feature film, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark
In the Variety interview, Cassandra Peterson also picked her top five horror films starring females, selecting Carrie (Sissy Spacek), Dracula’s Daughter (Gloria Holden), Rosemary’s Baby (Mia Farrow), The Exorcist (Linda Blair), and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (Allison Hayes, not Daryl Hannah).
Cassandra Peterson is currently promoting “Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark”, which came out earlier this month. Her latest appearance, on Shudder’s Joe Bob’s Haunted Halloween Hangout, premiered on October 21st. She also had a cameo in Rob Zombie’s version of The Munsters.
What do you think? Could another actress carry on the Elvira character or is it strictly Cassandra Peterson’s? Let us know below!