Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/07/24/elviras-public-appearances-c.html
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Awesome entertainer, and an equally wonderful person.
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I grew up (after a fashion) on Movie Macabre! I hope that not performing as Elvira allow her to enjoy more variety. Although the ageism/sexism is unfortunate - I think she’s gotten only more beautiful through the years. Being fun goes far deeper and is worth much more than superficial beauty.
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I’ve never actually seen her without the Elvira steez until clicking through to the article. She may be making a wise move to go out on a high note, but she looks amazing for her age either way!
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Not sure ageism and sexism has anything to do with it. Honestly, I am surprised she was portraying the character this long. I guess the article though is unclear if she is performing as the character, or just attending an event as the character.
If it is promoting her book or just meeting fans and signing autographs, I’d want her autograph or to meet her in just regular attire, she doesn’t need to get all fancied up.
Same thing though as when meeting any actor or actress. I don’t expect Jeremy Bulloch to be dressed as Boba Fett, or Michael Nichols in a Star Trek uniform, or Pam Grier in some mini skirt.
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I suspect, based on this very reason, that even if we’ve seen the last of Elvira we most definitely haven’t seen the last of Cassandra Peterson. To my knowledge, Lucy Lawless hasn’t appeared as Xena in a while but she sure as hell hasn’t stopped being Lucy Lawless.
Now that I think of it, I suppose voice actors are the most fortunate in preserving their pop-culture identities. If I live to see the day Billy West dies, I’ll be wearing black that day and spending the next week rotating my avatar between the eight gajillion characters he’s played over the years.
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It’s OK, as long as Cassandra Peterson is still hanging out and being awesome. Elvira has lasted longer than most impossible fictional characters, she’s earned the right to retire if she wants!
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Dang, but she looks great! If she enjoys it, she should go on!
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But what sticks out the most is a memory of her first Comic-Con, where she was one of the only women in attendance. “When I was there, I was really the ‘odd man out,’ being a woman,” she says. “And now, I am positive that it’s at least 50 percent women [here] that are interested in the whole genre, whether it’s horror, fantasy, sci fi. And I’ve seen that, in my 35 years, just completely change." She adds, "I was one of those geek girls who was into that stuff when I was a kid, so to see it catch on, for me, is pretty thrilling.”
That’s so awesome to hear 
and 1981 was not that long ago!!
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Elvira will never wear out her welcome but if she wants to retire all I’ll say is: thank you for playing such a wonderful character for so many years.
And I love the “children’s” book Bad Dog Andy, co-written by Peterson. I also wish she’d been included in the documentary American Scary about horror hosts, although with her long and varied career she could be a subject for a documentary by herself.
ETA:
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It’s probably to her good fortune that her character is makekup and costume intensive. All of that has contributed to keeping the character as a sex symbol for a really really long time.
But even if she were immortal that character isn’t renewing itself in the public consciousness in a way that is going to keep her relevant to people younger than someone like me (mid 40’s).
I suspect that a lot of the interactions are along the lines of “This is Elvira!” “Who is Elvira?” “She is the Mistress of the Dark!” “Is that Marvel or DC?” Which I’m sure is a real blast for her to sit at her table and observe fifty times a day.
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Any vampire can attest that the most important tip for maintaining youthful skin is “stay out of the sun.”
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She does have a nice car to ride off in
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The character is the performance, so she means both.
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I guess you had to be there…
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I’ve always imagined Elvira as great character for the Dread Pirate Roberts treatment. Not a reboot, but that out there somewhere someone has a similar enough look, the acting chops, and the desire to keep the character alive forever.
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There was a reality show, which Elvira hosted, in which they attempted to find the next Elvira. There was a winner, but despite the show’s alleged goal, she failed to take over the mantle.
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Huh. What happened to the winner of this “next Elvira” contest?
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I remember a clone of Elvira’s show in Honolulu in the mid-sixties, called “Vampira’s Shock Theater.” I don’t know if it was licensed or what. But it did introduce me to the wonderful Universal monster movies at an early impressionable age. Thank you, Elvira, for showing the way!
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