Cassandra 'Elvira' Peterson Recalls 'Sort of a Date' With Elvis Presley

There’s a lot we know about Cassandra Peterson — best known as her character Elvira, Mistress of the Dark — but not everything. Turns out she had a brush music royalty after a chance encounter with Elvis Presley.

“I did [get advice from Elvis]. It was the best advice in the whole world,” Cassandra, 68, gushed exclusively to Closer Weekly at the Funko Hollywood Grand Opening VIP Preview on November 7 in Hollywood.

“I was a showgirl in Las Vegas and Elvis told me to get the heck out of Las Vegas and pursue a singing career and, because he was Elvis, I decided to do that,” she remembered, noting how his suggestion led to her having a totally different life trajectory. “At the time I was the youngest showgirl in Las Vegas; I was 17. If it wasn’t for Elvis, I would now be the oldest [showgirl] in Las Vegas, I’m positive.”

As for what transpired between them, Cassandra teased her “sort of a date” with Elvis but nothing happened because she was underage at the time. That said, the beloved actress was completely smitten with him.

“Oh, God, yeah. I was,” Cassandra reminisced. “I was a fan. I just found a movie, an 8mm movie, of me dancing to “Hound Dog” when I was about 4 or 5 years old. I was a huge fan my whole life.”

After this pivotal moment in time with Elvis, Cassandra went on to marry Mark Pierson from 1981 to 2003 and gave birth to a daughter, Sadie. As for more details about what transpired between her and the King, she teases “you’ll have to read my autobiography to hear the details.” Elvira’s memoir is set for release in 2020.

Cassandra clearly took Elvis’ advice and has amassed an impressive career on her own, with this being the 38th year she has brought Elvira to life.

“I’m still doing as much as ever, so I look forward to the day when I can miss it, to tell you the truth,” Cassandra confessed, also revealing that she “rarely” gets identified as the gothic horror icon — in fact, those moments are some of her favorites.

“I’m thrilled when I don’t get recognized because then I can go have a normal everyday existence and not be on and not have to put on makeup to go to the grocery store, you know?” Cassandra asks. “So, yeah, that’s a really good thing. I’m one of the luckiest celebrities I know.”

In fact, this exact thing just happened during Halloween in New York City when some fans didn’t realize it was actually her in the parade. “Everyone was going, ‘Oh, my God. Your costume is amazing! You look exactly like Elvira,'” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, thank you very much.'”

For more exclusive content, sign up for our Closer Weekly newsletter!

Be sure to check out and subscribe to our Classic TV & Film Podcast for interviews with your favorite stars!