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July 24, 2005
Actress Cassandra Peterson has become known all across the country for her
role as "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark." She's the costumed vamp who introduces
the horror classics on television, but at one time in Cassandra's career she was
a Las Vegas showgirl. It was during this period she met Elvis.
"I had been patterning my whole life after Ann Margaret in Viva Las
Vegas. So, Yeah, luckily, really, I met Elvis, and it was kind of my dream come
true because by the time I went to Vegas, and I did meet Elvis, it was like, 'Oh
my God, it's coming true! The whole movie's coming true, you know!' And, so, I
did hang out with Elvis for a while, and he was wonderful and charming and nice,
very down home, very sweet, innocent kind of person. He was so different than
what anybody would ever think. Not like Mr. Show Biz Time, just a nice, really
charming, wonderful guy, very funny sense of humor."
Cassandra Peterson created her Elvira persona in 1981, but back in 1969 she
was just a 17 year old, struggling showgirl, when a friend of Cassandra's
managed to get them both invited to a party at Elvis' penthouse suite. Elvis
liked to be around showgirls, and on this night he took an interest in
Cassandra.
"Elvis singled me out. I sat at the piano and he played songs for me. We
were singing together and he said, 'Oh, you have a good voice. Why don't you go
take some singing lessons, learn how to sing, and get out of here?' He said,
'Because this is a real short-lived career, being a showgirl.' So, next day, I
mean, really, the next day, I went out and I signed up for singing lessons, and
within just a few months I got a singing part in the show. It really was the
thing I needed to kind of get me out of there."
Later, in a more private setting, they talked all night, and a variety of
subjects were broached. Elvis told her he was very spiritual and discussed
numerology. He showed her a jewel-encrusted belt buckle -- a present from
President Richard Nixon.
"It was the biggest, gaudiest things I had ever seen, and he was just so
thrilled with it, like he was a little kid."
She told him she smoked marijuana and that she was a virgin and both
revelations had an effect on Elvis. He lectured her on the evils of pot, and
marveled that there was actually a showgirl virgin in Las Vegas. After a while,
she came to a realization.
"It was clear that he was not going to, like, hit on me. I could kick myself
now for telling him. It would have been great to have him as my first lover.
If it's got to be somebody, it might as well be Elvis."
How's that for an understatement?
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