October | 2019 | Cavalcade of Awesome

Archive for October, 2019

AWESOME-tober-fest 2019: Elvira Busts Out

Posted in Fangoria, Halloween, holiday, magazine, movies with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2019, Elvira, Fangoria, Halloween, movies on October 3, 2019 by Paxton

In Fall 1988, Elvira was getting ready to release her first movie, Elvira Mistress of the Dark. And, of course, she got some coverage in the September 1988 issue of Fangoria (issue #77).

I’m honestly surprised she didn’t get a full cover for her first movie. She always had a great relationship with Fangoria. But if you are going to get bumped, Freddy Krueger in a new movie is the news that’s going to bump you. *Especially* in 1988. And *especially* if the magazine has available to them a pic of Freddy with a baby arm coming out of his head for the cover.

This article is an interview with Cassandra Peterson about making the movie Elvira Mistress of the Dark. She talks about having the longest bit of dialogue to do on the first day and that no one really explained to her how to play the character on the big screen. Sometimes she was playing it too big, sometimes she played it too small. It took several days to work it out and get comfortable. She also makes sure to play up the humor in the movie. She wants people to know it’s not a horror movie per se, it’s a comedy. And she hopes that people understand that when they go see it.

It’s a pretty good article, but it always is with Cassandra Peterson. She’s always funny. Unfortunately for this movie, New World Pictures went bankrupt the day the movie was released and instead of opening on 2500 screens, it opened on 600 screens. Even though it tanked at the box office, it has since picked up a big cult following on the home video market.

I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I love Elvira and I have since the mid to late 80s. As you see, I bought her appearances in magazines, I loved it when she was the Coors Light “spookswoman”, and when she had bizarre cameos in movies like Stroker Ace. We even covered her 1986 MTV Halloween Special on the Nerd Lunch 2017 Halloween Special. But for some reason, I never got around to watching either of the Elvira movies.

So tomorrow, for Fangoria Movie Friday, I’m going to take a look at her first movie, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, from 1988. Should be fun, I can’t wait.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2019: AKA Elvira

Posted in AWESOME-tober-fest, Blog Series, Fangoria, Halloween, holiday, magazine with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2019, Elvira, Fangoria, Halloween on October 2, 2019 by Paxton

This week I’m looking at Elvira’s Fangoria appearances. Yesterday I took a look at her debut in Fangoria #22. Next up is an interview that was in Fangoria #45 from 1985 (below left). While Fango #45 was the original issue the interview appeared in, I know this interview best from one of the yearly compilation “Bloody Best of” issues. Specifically, Volume 5 from 1986. The cover for that is on the right.

Here’s the article.

This is an interview with Cassandra Peterson about being Elvira. It’s been three years since Fangoria featured her in the last article. It covers some of the ground the previous article covered. Her moving to Vegas, becoming a showgirl, meeting Elvis who advised her to get singing lessons and get out of Vegas. Her moving to Italy and becoming an actress. Upon her return to the states she answered a casting call to be the new Vampira, a former horror host played by Maila Nurmi. I discussed some of this in my first article this week about Maila Nurmi, who played Vampira. As was stated in that previous article, negotiations for the Vampira name broke down with Ms Nurmi and instead of reviving the Vampira character Cassandra and the studio created a brand new character. Elvira.

Not only is the breakdown with Nurmi mentioned, the interviewer actually asks Cassandra about the poem she wrote in to Fangoria that was published in the letters column about Nurmi in response to Nurmi’s less than favorable comments in issue #30. Cassandra confirms that she did indeed write that poem, and then gives her version of the story. That the station offered her money to lease the name. She asked for ten times the amount. The station couldn’t pay it so they went in a different direction. Cassandra said she feels bad for her but Nurmi turned down guaranteed money and missed out on a revival of the character and now bad mouths Cassandra about it.

Of course, along with this interview, there was a pin-up. It’s one of my favorites and I brought it up on the last Fangoria AWESOME-tober-fest. But I’m going to show it to you again, because it’s awesome.

Also, check out the blog Countdown to Halloween for more Halloween-y, bloggy AWESOMEness.

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AWESOME-tober-fest 2019: Introducing Elvira!

Posted in Fangoria, Halloween, holiday, magazine with tags AWESOME-tober-fest, AWESOME-tober-fest 2019, Elvira, Fangoria, Halloween on October 1, 2019 by Paxton

For this first week of AWESOME-tober-fest I want to talk about Fangoria. Yesterday, I started off by talking about one of Elvira’s predecessors, Vampira. Including a little controversy where the actress that played Vampira was not happy with Cassandra Peterson or her portrayal of Elvira. But with that cattiness aside, let’s move on to Elvira herself for the rest of the week!

I love Elvira, I have for years. I still do, actually. And she shows up in Fangoria A LOT. So let’s start off by taking a look back at her very first appearance, in Fangoria #22 from 1982.

This first article on Elvira, appropriately titled Introducing Elvira!, was the second in a series of “horror host” profiles where Fangoria was interviewing past and present TV “horror hosts”. The first profile in the previous issue (Fango #21) was for horror host pioneer John Zacherle who hosted movies on Shock Theater in Philadelphia and New York in the 50s and 60s. Here for the second article in the series, we are introduced to the new girl on the block, Elvira.

Intro Elvira! 1 Intro Elvira! 2

Like I said, this is from 1982, which is within the first year of Elvira’s existence. I love this early publicity shot of Elvira. She hasn’t even acquired the trademark bee hive hairdo just yet.

Intro Elvira! 2

In the article we learn a bit about the person behind Elvira, Cassandra Peterson. How she had worked as a Vegas showgirl, actress, and secretary before she got the Elvira gig. Cassandra even dated Elvis Presley for a while! But the article is mainly going over how quickly Elvira has become a national sensation broadcasting out of a small LA TV station. She’d become so popular in Southern California, that for a 3-D broadcast of Vincent Price’s The Mad Magician, the station partnered with 7-11 stores and sold over 2.5 million red/blue 3-D glasses.

Intro Elvira! 3

Cassandra Peterson says at the end of the article that they are in negotiations for an Elvira movie as well as another movie appearance for Cassandra as herself.

As Fangoria is want to do, they place a color Elvira pin-up at the end of the article. And here it is in all of its glory. And in this pin-up, she does have the bee hive.