For decades, Owen Elliott-Kugel had to endure cruel rumors about how his mother died.
“Mama” Cass Elliott, singer of the 60s group Mamas and the Papas, died in 1974 after performing to sold-out shows in London. She was 32 years old. For nearly 50 years, it was believed that she had died. She chokes on her ham sandwich.
Elliott-Kugel was only 7 years old when he lost his mother. Now 57, she is determined to set the record straight with her memoir. “Mom, Cass.” Available now in bookstores.
Rumors about the Mamas and the Papas star’s ‘cruel’ death are ‘another terrible joke’, says author: ‘Simply not true’
Owen Elliott-Kugel was seven years old when he lost his famous mother. (Phil Roach/Globe Photo/ZUMAPress.com/Alamy)
“I remember when I was young and going to school,” Elliott-Kugel recalled to Fox News Digital. “Sometimes when I would bring my kids home, parents would say to me, ‘Hey, how did mom really die? Did she choke on a ham sandwich and die?’
Cass Elliott recently went viral on TikTok thanks to her classic hit song “Make Your Own Kind of Music.” (David Redfern/Getty Images)
“They would believe that she died from choking on a ham sandwich,” Elliott-Kugel recalled. “It was announced to the press immediately after her death that she died in her sleep.” Ta. “I didn’t know what was going on for a while, and at first…the paparazzi were just starting. I think it was easier to make up some stupid story that wasn’t true.”
Ms. Elliott-Kugel admitted that the sordid story bothered her.
Owen Elliott-Kugel wants to set the record straight with his memoir, “My Mama, Cass.” (Hachette Books)
“That’s just a terrible rumor,” she recalled. “Even in terms of being overweight, that’s someone who dies from eating. All the implications that went with that rumor were very difficult for us. But I also knew how ridiculous it was. So, I almost felt sorry for the people that went with that rumor. I really believed it, and I was like, “What, do you really believe that?” Mom can’t fix stupidity. Say it. ”
A young Owen Elliott-Kugel is shown here with his family at the funeral of his mother, Cass Elliott, in Los Angeles on August 2, 1974. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Sue Cameron, a longtime Hollywood Reporter columnist and friend of the late songstress, sought to dispel the rumors in her book. “Hollywood Secrets and Scandals”
“As for the ham sandwich, I was the reporter who broke the story,” Cameron previously claimed on Fox News Digital. “When I went in after lunch, the newsroom people told me she had died. I was in shock, but I stopped writing. I called Kath’s apartment in London. , manager Alan Carr was crying as he spoke.”I answered the phone crying too. ”
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After Cass Elliott’s funeral, the media surrounds the car carrying her 7-year-old daughter Owen. (Mark Sullivan/Getty Images)
“I asked him what happened,” Prime Minister David Cameron said. “He said, ‘I have a favor to ask you, and you’re Kath’s friend, so I’ll do it for you. I’m looking at the half-eaten ham sandwich on her nightstand. Write a story about me suffocating myself to death.” “Do you hear me? Let’s write that story right now.”…I wrote the story right away, but I kept quiet about it for years. .
Prime Minister David Cameron claimed Mr Kerr “wanted to protect his reputation”.
“The death report said she died of a heart attack,” Prime Minister David Cameron said. “That’s better for history.”
Cass Elliott died in 1974 at the age of 32. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
In her book, Elliott-Kugel tracked down her mother’s last living best friend. She also connected with Cameron. Although no drugs were detected in Cass’s system at the time of her death, many of her companions had died of drug overdoses. Both Mr. Elliott-Kugel and Mr. Cameron believed that Mr. Carr was concerned that the press would make the same assumption.
New York Times bestselling author Scott G. Shea also attempted to clear up some misconceptions in his 2023 book. “All the leaves are brown: How mom and dad came together and broke up.”
Cass Elliot died of a heart attack. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
“After two weeks of performing and receiving rave reviews, she [singer-songwriter] “She died in her sleep in Harry Nilsson’s apartment,” Shea told Fox News Digital at the time. “It appears that she had decided on her own midnight snack, which was a ham sandwich. It was on the stand. The doctor told the journalist that he might have choked on a ham sandwich. That reporter brought it up.”
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For decades, it has been claimed that Cass Elliott died from choking on a ham sandwich. Her daughter told FOX News Digital that the rumors are not true. (Donaldson Collection/Getty Images)
“A thorough autopsy was conducted,” Shea continued. “They found out it was heart failure from a variety of causes… She took large amounts of LSD and then started taking heroin. Now, at that point in her life, she didn’t have heroin. She wasn’t using it, and that probably made her weak.” She went on a yo-yo diet cycle, losing 100 pounds and then losing it again for show business. All of which caused her heart failure. ”
The Mamas and the Papas performed from 1965 to 1968 and rapidly rose to fame. They reached the top of the Billboard singles chart with their song “Monday, Monday” in 1966 and won a Grammy Award for it in 1967. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
Another rumor that Elliott-Kugel was eager to debunk in her book was the identity of her biological father. With the help of Cass’ former bandmate Michelle Phillips, she learned that he was touring with bassist Charles “Chuck” Day.
“I was 19 years old…and I asked her to help me find my real biological father,” Elliott-Kugel explained to FOX News Digital. “She said she had an assistant or a friend place an ad in the newspaper for her…One of his friends saw the ad in the paper and called the number in the ad. Man. The first thing he said was, “Are you talking about that kid?”
Cass Elliott gave birth to her only child in 1967. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
“Michelle had a plane ticket for me and said, ‘Go and see my biological father,'” she said. “She helped me put an end to a mystery that had been a mystery to me for a long time.”
Day, who died in 2008, was eager to tell her daughter the truth.
Cass Elliott had a one-night stand with touring bassist Charles “Chuck” Day. He passed away in his 2008 year. (Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images)
“We didn’t have to ask many questions,” Elliot Kugel explained. “He was very open and willing with most of the information…I was interested in how they were talking. [knew] each other. In the summer of 1966, it turned out that he was the bass player in the band. That’s how they became friends and I was the product of a one-night stand. Actually, they were together once. ”
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Cass Elliott kept the identity of her child’s father a secret all her life. (ABC Photo Archive/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“If only someone had recorded what was taught in health class… [it] It only takes once,” she laughed.
In 1967, Cass welcomed her only child. The identity of her child’s father was kept secret for the rest of the star’s life.
“When she decided to have children, when she realized that was what she wanted to do, one of the things she said to her friends was [who later told me] That’s…’I don’t need a man. I’m a rock star. I have a lot of money. We have everything you need. You can do all this yourself,” said Elliott Kugel.
From left: Owen Elliott-Kugel, Michelle Phillips, Denny Doherty and John Phillips after the Mamas and the Papas were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Elliott-Kugel attended on behalf of her late mother. (Jon Levy/AFP via Getty Images)
“That was her decision…to have a child. I was born out of her desire to have someone in her life that she couldn’t leave. Although she has had relationships with a series of men… , it wasn’t always like that.” They were there because they loved her, because she was a rock star…That’s why she named me Owen.
Cass Elliott had a successful solo career after performing with the Mamas and the Papas. (GAB Archive/Red Ferns/Getty Images)
Elliott Kugel said he still has vivid dreams about his mother. During the last months of Cass’s life, she remained busy with her performances and travels. It was a triumphant and hopeful time for the singer, Elliott-Kugel said.
“I remember her warmth,” she smiled. “She remembers how devoted she was and how loving she was.”
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Michelle Phillips is the last surviving member of the Mamas and the Papas. (Fraser Harrison/Getty Images)
Now, Elliott-Kugel wants to shed new light on her mother, for both new and longtime fans.
Around 2022, Owen Elliott-Kugel will appear on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with his mother’s star. (Gilbert Flores/Variety, via Getty Images)
“It’s a story about a family that immigrated to the United States, like so many other families,” she says. “A few generations later, [my mother] He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame…it’s the American dream. You can come to this country and live honestly. If you do what you have to do, you can eventually achieve your dreams. ”
