The ham sandwich lore behind Cass Elliot’s death has been firmly shut down (Picture: Getty)
For decades, singer Cass Elliot’s legacy has been defined by the hearsay that she choked to death on a ham sandwich – but the notorious story is simply not true.
Cass Elliot, real name Ellen Naomi Cohen, rose to prominence as part of the folk-rock group The Mamas and The Papas with mid-60s hits such as California Dreamin’.
She launched her hugely successful solo career around the 70s where she wasdubbed Mama Cass (a nickname she reportedly hated). But her stratospheric rise in the music industry came to an abrupt and tragic end in July 1974, aged 32.
Five decades later she is survived by her only daughter Owen Elliot-Kugell who is finally challenging the ham sandwich showbiz rumours with her upcoming biography titled: My Mama, Cass: A Memoir.
Cass died of a heart attack after a two-week run at the London Palladium, with Owen only seven and still in LA when she heard the devastating news. But the story of her choking on a ham sandwich spread like wildfire instead.
‘There was a ham sandwich, but she didn’t eat it and she didn’t choke on it. So enough with the jokes,’ Owen, 57, said in a new interview.
Cass Elliot as part of The Mamas & the Papas (Picture: Redferns)
That’s right, the tragic story which catapulted itself into cultural fold never even happened. But the moment has been referenced several times over the years from an Austin Powers gag to a nod in Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing.
Labelling the story ‘beyond frustrating’ she explained that even as a child going on playdates one of the parents would ask her whether the rumour was really true.
‘It bothered me because it was such a horrible story, and I knew that it wasn’t true. And it just felt so cruel to have a rumour like that perpetuated. It tortured me,’ Owen told the BBC.
Owen with her mum Cass (Picture: Hachette Books)
According to Owen, the Baby I’m Yours hitmaker stayed up 36 hours prior to her death where she attended Mick Jagger’s party followed by brunch and an afternoon tea.
By the time she returned to her flat someone had left out a ham sandwich which crucially, ‘she never even took a bite’. Upon her death there were no drugs in her system.
How did the ham sandwich story even come about then? After a mini investigation, Owen found out from the horse’s mouth.
While getting lunch with her mum’s friend, journalist Sue Cameron, she admitted she is the one who planted it while working at Hollywood Reporter all those years ago.
Sue explained that she rang Cass’ agent Allan Carr who fabricated the bizarre tale.
Cass singing live on television (Picture: Redferns/Getty)
‘So many of her peers had passed away due to drug overdoses that Carr really wanted to protect her. And there was a sandwich that was found there,’ Owen said for how it was justified.
‘Allan wanted to protect his client’s legacy and in a weird way it did. So now I understand, and it makes sense.’
Even though the story was planted to protect her, due to Cass’ size the lie holds even more offence for Owen who reflected on the stigma surrounding her due to her career.
But is heartened that she laid ‘the groundwork’ for future young artists of ‘heavier stature’.
‘She paved the way for these other young ladies nowadays who are of a heavier stature to break through in the music business and be accepted for who they are,’ she concluded.
The Dream a Little Dream of Me singer released five solo albums between 1968 and 1973 and became a defining influence on the folk-rock genre during the era.
Cass was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of The Mamas and The Papas in 1998.
Mama, Cass: A Memoir by Own Elliot comes out on May 7, 2024 in the US and May 2 in the UK.
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