‘Mama’ Cass’ Daughter Explains Myth of Her Mother’s Choking Death in New Book
by Best Classic Bands Staff
“Mama” Cass Elliot’s life and death, at age 32, is the subject of a new book. My Mama, Cass, a memoir written by her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, arrived May 7, 2024, via Hachette Books, 50 years after the larger-than-life singer died at age 32. The 304-page title is available in the U.S. here and in the U.K. here, where it was published by Omnibus Press.
The publisher’s announcement describes the book as “a long-awaited, myth-busting, and deeply affecting memoir by the daughter of legendary rock star “Mama” Cass Elliot.
In an interview with BBC.com that appeared on May 6, her daughter explained how the long-held myth that Cass had died from choking on a ham sandwich arose. After completing an extensive run of solo performances in London, the singing star celebrated non-stop for 24 hours before returning to the Mayfair home owned by Harry Nilsson where she was staying.
“By the time she got back to her flat, it was evening the following day,” says Elliot-Kugell. “She was hungry, and her dancer made her a sandwich from the only thing that was in the flat, ham, and left it on her bedside table. She never even took a bite.”
Years later, Cass’ daughter was having lunch with journalist Sue Cameron, a friend of her mother’s at the time of her death. “I said, ‘I really just wish I knew where [the ham sandwich] story came from’. She stopped eating, put her knife and fork down, looked me in the eye and said: ‘I did it’.”
Cameron told Elliot-Kugell that when she heard the news, she called Cass’s manager, Allan Carr, to find out the details of the singer’s death.
“So many of her peers had passed away due to drug overdoses,” says Elliot-Kugell, “that Carr really wanted to protect her. And there was a sandwich that was found there.”
The BBC writes: “Carr concocted the choking on a ham sandwich story and asked Cameron to write it up in the Hollywood Reporter to quell speculation until there was more information.”
Says Elliot-Kugell: “Allan Carr wanted to protect his client’s legacy and in a weird way it did. So now I understand, and it makes sense.”
The singer’s autopsy shows the cause of death was a heart attack; there were no drugs in her system. Young Owen was just seven years old.
Joni Mitchell, David Crosby, Owen Elliot, and Eric Clapton, at the home of Cass Elliot, October 1968. (Photo © Henry Diltz; used with permission)
More from the book’s announcement: To the rest of the world, Cass Elliot was a rock star. A charismatic, wisecracking singer from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-inducted band, The Mamas & The Papas. A legend of Laurel Canyon, decked out in her custom-made Muumuus, glittering designer jewelry, blessed with a powerful, instantly identifiable singing voice which helped define the sound of the 1960s counterculture movement. But to Owen Elliot-Kugell, she was just Mom.
In the nearly 50 years since Cass Elliot’s untimely death at the age of 32, rumors and myths have swirled about, shading nearly every aspect of her life. In her long-awaited memoir, Elliot-Kugell shares the groundbreaking story of her mom as only a daughter can tell it.
In My Mama, Cass, the author pulls back the curtains of her mother’s life from the sold-out theaters and behind the closed doors of her infamous California abode. Born Ellen Naomi Cohen, the woman who was known to the world as Cass Elliot was decades ahead of her time: an independently minded, outspoken woman who broke through a male-dominated business, a forward-thinking feminist, and a single parent who embraced motherhood from the moment Owen entered the world. From the closely guarded secret of Owen’s paternity to Cass’s lifelong struggles with self-esteem and weight, to rumors surrounding her mother’s death, Owen illuminates the complex truths of her mother’s life, sharing interviews with the high-profile figures who orbited Cass, as well as never-before-heard tales of her mother and this legendary period of American history.
Featuring intimate family and archival photos as well as interviews and memories from famous friends, fans, and colleagues who loved and respected Cass, this book is both a love story and a mystery, a tale of self-discovery and a daughter’s devotion. At its core, My Mama, Cass is a beautifully crafted testament befitting of Cass Elliot’s enduring cultural impact and legacy, written by the person who knew and loved her best.
Related: Our feature story on the Mamas & the Papas’ autobiographical song, “Creeque Alley”
Mama Cass was born Ellen Naomi Cohen on September 19, 1941. She died on July 29, 1974, at age 32.
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6 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationThe most Angelic voice to ever grace the whole of American pop music EVER. Every time I hear her sing just gives me the chills from that voice. In my over sixty years in the music business, no other female singer can compare to mama Cass’ pipes, period!! God wanted her for Heaven, cause none was better.
When her mother died, Owen was six-years-old. What possible insight could she have other than second-hand stories that people told her about her mother? I think a biography by a neutral party would be a better read.
Why don’t you try actually reading the book before being so judgey?
And Owen was 7 when her mom passed.
never really thought about it, but I would be curious like everyone else who her father is. I hope the book does well, Cass was one of a kind.
Is there a sweeter song than “Dream a Little Dream of Me”?
And was anyone more connected than Mama Cass? I had no idea she invited John Sebastian and Zal Yanovsky to her apartment to watch the Beatles (Ed Sullivan) on February 9, 1964. The day that John met Zal. Magic, indeed.
As for the provenance of the new book . . . if Sean Lennon wanted to write a book about his dad, I assume he would have the currency of heritage to draw in as many sources as he would want or need.
Same with My Mama. Can’t wait to read it.
what a darling! it breaks my heart that she’s not here with us…