Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson
(Format used for this read: Audiobook)
On Good Friday in 1953, at only 18 months old, 25 miles from the nearest hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, Cassandra Peterson reached for a pot on the stove and doused herself in boiling water. Third-degree burns covered 35 percent of her body, and the prognosis wasn’t good. But she survived. Burned and scarred, the impact stayed with her and became an obstacle she was determined to overcome. Feeling like a misfit led to her love of horror. While her sisters played with Barbie dolls, Cassandra played with model kits of Frankenstein and Dracula and idolized Vincent Price.
Due to a complicated relationship with her mother, Cassandra left home at 14, and by age 17 she was performing at the famed Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas. Run-ins with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Tom Jones helped her grow up fast. Then a chance encounter with her idol Elvis Presley changed the course of her life forever and led her to Europe, where she worked in film and traveled Italy as lead singer of an Italian pop band. She eventually made her way to Los Angeles, where she joined the famed comedy improv troupe The Groundlings and worked alongside Phil Hartman and Paul “Pee-wee” Reubens, honing her comedic skills.
Nearing age 30, a struggling actress considered past her prime, she auditioned at local LA channel KHJ as hostess for the late-night vintage horror movies. Cassandra improvised, made the role her own, and got the job on the spot. Yours Cruelly, Elvira is an unforgettably wild memoir. Cassandra doesn’t shy away from revealing exactly who she is and how she overcame seemingly insurmountable odds. Always original and sometimes outrageous, her story is loaded with twists, travails, revelry, and downright shocking experiences. It is the candid, often funny, and sometimes heartbreaking tale of a Midwest farm girl’s long, strange trip to become the world’s sexiest, sassiest Halloween icon.
I love any and all things CAMPY.
Plus I love Halloween.
And what better combination of Halloween AND camp then ELVIRA?!?
When I saw this memoir’s summary, I just KNEW I had to read it and I just KNEW it would be SUCCCHH a good read.
Yes my dears, it absolutely WAS!
When I tell yall this woman has lived a HELLA interesting life…that is an UNDERSTATEMENT.
Holy moley does she have some STORIES.
And man, did she work HARD AF to get the fame and success she now has.
You can see just by the summary glimmers of her very unique career path…it began at the young age of 17 when she became a Vegas show girl, lived abroad in Europe, starred in a nude revue at the Playboy club in Miami…and THEN moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.
AND OMG…Elvira was in the famous improv troupe, THE GROUNDLINGS?!? That was such a fun revelation for me to hear.
I always enjoy autobiographies, especially when they are honest and direct and also talk about their ENTIRE lives, not just the times in their lives they are best known for.
Cassandra talks about her childhood, her family and all the struggles and lessons she went thru to become who she is today.
I was surprised at how comfortable she was with her body and being “sexy” at such a young age. She loved her womanly body when it began to develop and always felt comfortable showing it off and moving it the way she wanted to….I envy that self comfort and confidence!
She was a go go dancer at 14 and as weird as it sounds, it wasn’t in a creepy way….it was empowering to her.
She also had quite a time in her teens as a band groupie…she even made out with Jimi Hendrix once!
His wasn’t the only name that dropped in this book….she tells about the time she partied with Siegfried and Roy on her 18th birthday during her Vegas days, spent the night with Elvis (sex free) who gave her invaluable career advice, and had an unfortunate naive sexual encounter with Tom Jones.
Unfortunately, she had quite a few sexual assault and violence incidences over the years as a young (and even not so young) woman, and she speaks firmly out against it and advocates strongly for the #metoo movement.
Speaking of, she is also a HUGE activist for gay rights, HIV & AIDS awareness and animal rights, and has been involved in many campaigns to fundraise and educate the public.
I was surprised to learn ALL these things about her, as well as learn that she was a later in life lesbian….more power to her!!
I actually have SEVERAL friends/loved ones in my own life who had a similar awakening in their later years, and I think their journeys are similar to Cassandra’s.
She speaks in later chapters about becoming more open minded in this area of life, releasing some long held firm definitions of what sexuality is and isn’t and should and shouldn’t be…..just letting herself let go and live in the grey instead of the black and white. I think that is really lovely and something everyone should strive to do.
This book was an entertaining and wild ride full of all kinds of crazy stories, humor, and emotion filled memories.
Hearing about all her Hollywood years made me want to go watch some of her old TV shows/movies, so I’m definitely going to have to pop on YouTube for that!
Cassandra as Elvira is a campy, over the top, fun, strong, sexually confident female force.
And Cassandra as Cassandra is all of those things too, just without the wig!
She does read this audiobook yall, so I highly recommend giving it a listen! Just gives it that extra bit of Elvira-ness…and who doesn’t need THAT in their life???