Elvira

She also sang "Monster Rap" and "Haunted House" on the Elvira's Monster Hits album. Her many film roles include:. Elvira has become a symbol of Halloween, and owns the trademark to her wig and costume. She was born in Brooklyn, New York. One of the first successful horror hostesses, Vampira (Maila Nurmi), later sued Peterson over character rights issues. Thelma Ritter (February 14, 1905 - February 4, 1969) was an American character actress of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. Shortly after her marriage to Mark Pierson (now her business manager) in 1981, she created the character Elvira after a successful audition to be a horror movie show host. She was the first such host to be nationally syndicated. Miracle on 34th Street (1947) (uncredited).

Back in the US, she joined the Los Angeles-based improvisational troupe The Groundlings. All About Eve (1950). In Italy, she was the lead singer in a rock band and a chance encounter with Federico Fellini led to a small part in Roma (1972). Titanic (1953). She became a showgirl at The Dunes in Las Vegas at age 17. Rear Window (1954). Born in Manhattan, Kansas, Peterson grew up in Colorado. Daddy Long Legs (1955).

She gained fame wearing dark, gothic, and cleavage-enhancing clothing as host of Elvira's Movie Macabre, a weekly horror movie presentation. Pillow Talk (1959). Elvira, Mistress of the Dark is the screen persona of Cassandra Peterson (born September 17, 1949). The Misfits (1961). Birdman of Alcatraz (1962). How the West Was Won (1962).