Meet the lighter side of mistress Elvira
By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer
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| Scott Atkinson portrays Dr. Bradley and Elvira (aka Cassandra Peterson) plays herself in "Elvira's Haunted Hills," which will be screened at the Hawai'i Theatre as a fund-raiser for Gregory House.
'Elvira's Haunted Hills' A film written by and starring Cassandra Peterson as Elvira; a benefit for Gregory House HIV/AIDS programs 8 p.m. Thursday Hawai'i Theatre $20 movie only; $75 for pre-show cocktail reception, 6-7:45p.m., including martini bar, appetizers, gift bags, silent auction and VIP seating 592-9022, 528-0506 Also: Richard Chamberlain will appear with Cassandra Peterson |
Cassandra Peterson, the actress portraying Elvira — and yes, it is just an act — is the complete opposite. Strawberry blonde, fair-skinned, little makeup. Definitely a day person.
Both Elvira and Peterson are coming to town next week, when "Elvira's Haunted Hills," a cult horror film starring Peterson, makes its Island debut Thursday at the Hawai'i Theatre. Usually, the movie would be screened at the midnight bewitching hour; Honolulu is not as wild as San Francisco or Chicago, so the curtain rises at a more respectable 8 p.m.
To hear Cassandra tell it, Elvira's life is sort of Halloween Hell, in a good way.
"I started as a local horror host on TV in 1981," said Peterson, then a struggling actress searching for a screen gem. Turns out she had heard about the audition for a horror hostess, but nixed the job offer because she was on her honeymoon with Mark Pierson, her husband and manager. "A couple of weeks later, they hadn't found anyone, so I went in and they hired me."
She looked normal.
They wanted spooky. And a precise look.
So a friend helped design her costume to readily show off her voluptuous, milky-white form, and shaped her Elvira looks, now legendary. She's kind of a walking-talking "Rocky Horror Picture Show" maven.
"The hairdo is from Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes, the makeup is straight from kabuki theater. And they wanted black — black dress, black hair, black mascara," she said.
"I feel very schizoid, with dual personalities," said Peterson. "I am two different people, and my daughter thinks she has two mommies, including a mommy who can scare people."
And no, the "Haunted Hills" in the title of her movie does not refer to her breasts.
"Dirty mind," she giggled. "But everything I do is double-entendre and camp. That's the fun of being Elvira."
The Gothic-horror caper, which she wrote, parodies vintage horror icons such as Vincent Price, Edgar Allen Poe, and Roger Corman, and was shot — appropriately — in Transylvania, Romania, with Richard O'Brien, writer-creator of "Rocky Horror") among her mad players.
Why do people gravitate to horror films?
"I think horror films give you an adrenaline rush you don't get in everyday life," said Peterson. "Horror films are like a roller-coaster ride; you know, in the back of your mind, you're safe. Psychologically, you get this sweeping feeling you don't otherwise get."
But the genre has changed.
"Today, there are slasher-type movies; that's not horror," she said. "True horror is tied up with fantasy; you see something on the screen, you go outside, it can't happen in real life, only in your imagination — you know, vampires, ghosts, that sort of thing. The modern 'horror' films are like the 5 o'clock news — stuff that can happen in real life."
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Everywhere she goes, Peterson makes a public appearance and usually devotes part of the screening proceeds to a charity. Locally, it's Gregory House, a haven for HIV/AIDS victims.
But the Elvira get-up enables Peterson to enjoy a private life.
"The diehard fans who really know me, know my voice, which gives me away," she said. "But 99 percent of the time, I can be completely anonymous. My celebrity friends would give their right arm to be in my position. Frankly, the love and adoration get old quickly; everyone needs privacy. Sure, I'm happy to be promoting my movie or my books, but I want and need my personal moments, too. I think I have the best of both worlds. When my costume and makeup come off, I'm free."
Dubbed the "Mistress of the Dark," Elvira said she used her own money to finance the film because she simply couldn't wait for job offers.
It had been more than a dozen years since she left the tube, but folks still relish what she does, particularly at Halloween.
Aside from the year she gave birth to her daughter, now 7, she has worked Halloween for 21 years.
"My fans are not all normal," she laughed. "I autograph some strange body parts. Rear ends, for instance. And a lot of people come up with an Elvira image tattooed somewhere on their bodies."
