Mama Cass 'didn't choke to death' on ham sandwich

The daughter of The Mamas and The Papas singer Cass Elliot has spoken to dispel the "horrible" myth that her mother choked to death on a ham sandwich.

In her new memoir ahead of the 50th anniversary of her mother's death on July 29, Owen Elliot-Kugell has written a book called My Mama, Cass: A Memoir.

The book debunks the widely circulated story regarding the circumstances of Elliot's death.

Ms Elliot-Kugell said: "There was a ham sandwich, but she didn't eat it and she didn't choke on it. So enough with the jokes."

Elliot, nicknamed Mama, sang 60s hits including California Dreamin', Monday Monday and Dream a Little Dream.

Formerly a member of The Mamas and The Papas, she went solo in 1974. She died aged 32 in Mayfair, London, following a two-week run of performances at the London Palladium.

Her autopsy stated that her cause of death was a heart attack and that there were no drugs in her system.

Ms Elliot-Kugell, who was seven at the time and based in the US, told BBC: "It's beyond frustrating, almost immeasurable. 

"Even as a little girl, when I was hanging out with my friends at school, they didn't know who my mum was, but I would go home to have playdates with some of these kids and it was kind of frequent that one of their parents would make a comment to me like, 'Hey, did your mom really die choking on a ham sandwich?'

"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."

Ms Elliot-Kugell has investigated the days leading up to her mum's death which included playing her final show at the Palladium before "staying up for 36 hours".

She said: "By the time she got back to her flat, it was evening the following day. 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."

Ms Elliot-Kugell says the ham sandwich related myth feeds into Elliot's battles with her weight during her life.

The book also reveals the origin of the ham sandwich myth which came to light during a lunch with her mum's friend Sue Cameron, a journalist.

Ms Elliot-Kugell said: "I said, 'I really just wish I knew where that story came from'. She stopped eating, put her knife and fork down, looked me in the eye and said: 'I did it'."

Ms Cameron said that upon hearing the news in 1974, she called Elliot's manager in London to find out what had happened. 

The manager allegedly made up the ham sandwich story and asked Cameron to write it up in the Hollywood Reporter to stop speculation about the circumstances of the death.

Ms Elliot-Kugell said: "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.

"Allan Carr wanted to protect his client's legacy and in a weird way it did. So now I understand, and it makes sense."

My Mama, Cass: A Memoir by Owen Elliot-Kugell is released on May 9.

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