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==History==
[[File:Elvira waving.jpg|thumb|Peterson dressed as Elvira at the 2006 San Francisco Gay Pride parade]]
In the late spring of 1981, six years after the death of [[Larry Vincent]] (who starred as host Sinister Seymour of a local [[Los Angeles]] weekend horror show called ''[[Fright Night (TV series)|Fright Night]]''), show producers began the task of bringing the show back. Deciding to use a female host, producers asked 1950s [[horror host]]ess, [[Maila Nurmi]], to revive ''[[The Vampira Show]]''. Nurmi worked on the project, helping recreate the sets as they were and long foggy passageway, even created scripts in the flavor of those of her 1950's show, and agreed to her creative intellectual property being used. However, she knew
The day of the first taping, producers were still using the name Vampira. Nurmi got word about what they were up to from a friend that worked at the studio and had the producers and Peterson delivered a [[cease and desist]] letter from Nurmi about mid-day. They broke early for a long lunch and basically the only thing they changed before coming back from lunch break was the name of the character / show. The sets (similar to Vampira's 1950s originals), show format, even the scripts stayed nearly exactly the same. Rumors persist producers rejected a suggestion from Peterson to change the character to look look like [[Sharon Tate]] in ''[[The Fearless Vampire Killers]]'' but no credible proof has ever been shown to bolster this. Except for the omission of Vampira's pet spider Rollo, yet another holdover from the original
The Elvira character rapidly gained notoriety with her tight-fitting, low-cut black gown which showed ample cleavage (after all, Vampira had only been broadcast locally back in the day and Elvira was syndicated much wider. The movies featured on ''Elvira's Movie Macabre'' were always B-grade ([[Z movie|or lower]]). Elvira reclined on a red Victorian couch, introducing and often interrupting the movie to lampoon the actors, the script, and the editing. Adopting the flippant tone of a California "[[Valley girl]]", she brought a satirical, sarcastic edge to her commentary. She reveled in dropping risqué double entendres and making frequent jokes about her display of cleavage, which was after all most of a not very bright bimbo's personality. In an ''AOL Entertainment News'' interview, Peterson said, "I figured out that Elvira is me when I was a teenager. She's a spastic girl. I just say what I feel and people seem to enjoy it." Her campy humor, sex appeal, and good-natured self-mockery made her popular with late-night movie viewers, and her popularity soared.
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