Difficult to see it coming. Case was dieting to an extreme. Basically fasting for days on end. She died of heart failure brought on by malnutrition same as Karen Carpenter. I hope the news people who made up the sandwich story got a good dose of Karma.
I am seeing Cass through different eyes because I am now 67. I just remember her singing so beautifully. I did not realize that she was so intelligent and well-spoken. What a breath of fresh air.
Cass challenged all the stereotypes. Women should be seen and not hear, she was Obese and not Twiggy, intelligent and well-spoken. her politics would have made her a Reagan / Trump supporter had she lived.
She was uncool and flaunted it. These days she'd have nerd chic, but back then you couldn't always claim nerd status while taking along a huge audience.
Most ppl, are far more intelligent than the media likes to portray them as, the exceptions are those who will constantly tell you how smart they are, generally like Trump these are very stupid ppl.!
@@kilburnhall I think your embellishing your own ego here, she was too smart to be a Republican, they just follow and dutifully obey without conscience any leader that they think is a winner, THAT was not Cass Elliot. You need to learn what a republican in America actually stands for today, YOU are the opposite of anything progressive, You are aggressively repressive and stifling!
"It was 1974 and Cass was ecstatic that she was going to London to play The Palladium. After she had played two nights there, she called crying with joy telling me that she had got a standing ovation both nights and she had sold out both nights, she was just as happy as I'd ever seen her or heard her. The following day, I was having lunch at Warner Brothers and a friend of mine came running out with the terrible news that Cass had died in her sleep of a heart attack, it was just unbelievable that she died on the night that she had called me and been so happy and so fulfilled, it was wonderful for her that she had made that leap from Mama Cass to Cass Elliot, and I do know this one thing-Cass Elliot died a very happy woman."
@@juliehuston8609 well..thanks I just fear for the mental condition of someone who would actually put quotes around a statement and yet fail to id the source.
I’m pretty sure Cass Elliot was no Nixon fan, yet she spoke diplomatically and intelligently with some fair balance included. I wish celebrities could be this classy and thoughtful today.
Oh My - this was Cass Ellot's last TV interview. She died two weeks later on July 29th 1974, in London, suffering a heart attack in her sleep. She was just 32. The post mortem revealed serious heart failure - no doubt the recent fainting episode she brushed off in this interview, was symptomatic of her weak heart. She had no drugs in her system, but had been doing a series of solo shows at the London Palladium, and prior to her death had stayed up attending celebrity parties for 48 hours. She was adorable, and so smart. And she hadn't even reached her prime. Doubly tragic that she left her only child, daughter Owen Vanessa Elliott, just 7 years old. Spooky fact - Legendary 'Who' drummer Keith Moon died in the same room Cass did (in a London flat owned by singer-songwriter Harry Nillson), four years later, also aged 32. What a strange coincidence - truth is stranger than fiction!
@Joe Batters So, i just recently watched an interview with Cass's daughter Owen and she's speaking with John and Michelle's daughter Chynna and they talk about the "ham sandwich" story. They touch on how hurtful and cruel it was and how that affected her growing up with people joking about it but she also tells how the story was initially even created and the story of THAT is the epitome of the quote "The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions" - The story is Cass's manager at the time was very afraid people would assume she had died of an overdose and that it would basically shit all over her legacy (we have to remember the time period and the stigma of drugs BUT he also had wrongly assumed she had overdosed as well) and he didn't want people or her family too think she was a junkie (he was thinking of all the terrible things that were being said oh of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison at the time although today they're remembered fondly) and that she died from drug use and he thought it would be better if they thought she died from a terrible accident, like choking, and so he remembered that while he was in her room after that he had seen a ham sandwich (although it had no bites taken from it) and he came up with the choking story, once again thinking that an accident would be better than a overdose. He didn't think ahead to the implications of telling that story with her being a larger woman and didn't think people would take it and make a cruel joke from it. Had he waited and not said ANYTHING, then they'd just have found out that it wasn't an overdose but a heart attack. So in trying to cover for her and her legacy while also trying to protect her family because he also thought she HAD overdosed, he just made things so much worse and deeply regretted it. So as I said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The interview with her daughter Owen is on Chynna's UA-cam page - California Preaching. If you need the actual link, let me know abd I'll go find it for you.
@@bradenharris8718 Thanks for all that fascinating detail. It's so sad that stupid 'choked on a sandwich' story took off like it did. It must have been very hurtful for her loved ones to know the public was laughing over her death at just 32 - like it was funny or comedic. Horrible! Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense in context because of the stigma of it being a suspected drugs death. But as you say, if her management had only sat tight and awaited the autopsy result, she was in the clear anyway with no drugs in her system. It's got to be significant that in April 1974 just 3 months before she died, she collapsed in a TV studio before her appearance on the Johnny Carson Show. Typically she brushed it off after like it was nothing serious, but it likely indicated the left-sided heart failure that would soon kill her. A great shame she hadn't gone for a full investigation to check her heart, who knows it might just have saved her life. The positive thing to take from her death, is that she was happy at the end. She was the toast of London, doing a successful show at the legendary Palladium, and partying with the most celebrated stars in town including Mick Jagger, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher and Georgia Brown. Her last phone call revealed she'd had some champagne as she was about to turn in for the night, and she felt her career and life were on the up as a solo artist, and that she'd successfully moved on from Mama Cass of 'The Mamas and the Papas' to Cass Elliot. She had a heart attack and died in her sleep, we can only hope feeling no pain. She was far too young, and it's all the more poignant when her new solo career was opening out to her, with all its unfulfilled promise. But as the saying goes 'It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive'.
@@glamdolly30 yes, I've often thought about if anything could've been done had she taken her fainting episode seriously. As far as I can see, she never got thoroughly checked out to find the cause because if she had, it seems like they would've been able to detect she had some very serious problems with her heart. Also, I can't remember the exact time table but when she was married to the Barron she overdosed on pills. Her recovery was HARD. To the point they hired a 24/7 nurse and she was routinely still having seizures. That only could've been a year or two before her fatal heart attack and along with her extreme dieting, use of diet pills along with other drugs (although not on the night she died), drinking, partying and her non stop work schedule....it all must've collectively played a part. Its all so sad.... Could it of been prevented? I don't know but i wish she had taken the fainting incident more seriously at any rate. Another REALLY fascinating look into Cass is her second husbands(The Barron) essay on her and it tells all about them meeting and about their short lived marriage. It gave me a completely in depth look into Cass and what she was dealing with personally. At the time she was really battling with depression and troubles with John Phillips and his treatment of her. She was having a very hard time in this period of her life so it's so nice to know that her last phone call with Michelle and her last letter to her daughter were filled with happiness and optimism about her future. She was FINALLY Cass Elliot, performer and entertainer and not Mana Cass if the Mamas and Papas. Side note, I LOVE her version of "Didn't want to do it" by the Login Spoonful. What a voice..she sure was a gift and I'm happy it's finally been realized. Thank you for all the information you put into your comments.
@Joe Batters I forgot too answer your second question.. Cass had went on two different "crash" diets in the 3 years preceding her death .. Her first yielded a weight loss of 100 pounds !! That she gained mostly back unfortunately... Viewing her here I'd say she had lost about 75 pounds. I believe both of these crash diets plus her earlier overdose and heavy use of diet pills (basically just amphetamine in those days.) All this contributed to the state of her weakened heart. Those kinds of pills contributed to what happened to Karen Carpenter as well.. Plus HER crash dieting, anorexia and use of laxatives. Two beautiful talented woman gone much too soon.
I saw the Owen interview as well, and it’s interesting that her “ham sandwich story” origin is different than the one ive read on Wikipedia. That explanation was that the responding doctor, having just briefly examined her and seeing a partially eaten sandwich near her bed side, made the offhanded comment that she may have choked. From there the story took flight. Who knows?
Cass had such a high IQ and was well spoken well educated in world issues a great conversationalist. So intelligent. Much more than a beautiful musician. Great post
@Joe Batters I think she was beautiful. Weight didn't take away from that and she had no shortage of lovers so she knew how to please a man. Physical looks fade we all men and women get old grey wrinkles saggy beer belly bald uglier with age. Men lose their use of their organ so judging a woman by weight is superficial. It's what's inside. The heart the mind the personality much more. Those men will end up alone with blue pills, that don't work and and videos, no companion to share their life with
I don't think she had a "high IQ", she definitely knew how to conduct herself in interviews, and handled herself well. But to say she had a "High IQ" is not it, she wasn't a genius like Paul McCartney and or Brian Wilson are.
@@doctorfeinstone6524 Correct ! You get a happy sticker for that 😃 ! Don’t freak. Since his ID was already established its clear who I was referring to. It’s not “personal”.
She was definitely one of a kind, her voice was, and is, like no other. She sang so clear you could understand every word she said. Such a loss, but thrilled we have her on recordings and in our hearts.
So sad that her mother said "im jealous im not living now" back then middle aged women really were expected to be invisible and act like they were not alive any more. Im so grateful to the older women before me who refused to disappear
You can tell she had lost weight from the previous show from 2 yrs ago. They had said she would go on crash diets which was what really hurt her. Such a talented, intelligent and beautiful woman. So greatly missed.
She was talking about tasty cakes here and how they don't travel well so that tells you she was eating crap. We know so much more about inflammatory foods than they did then. They blamed butter and lard and ignored corn syrup and refined starches as the triggers. Same pattern as ralphy mae and john pinette, unhealthy lifestyle, but ironically was losing weight at time of death.
The shock never left until months later when I heard the news that she had passed! I made sure to spread her voice to friends and family that it may never be forgotten
I went to look up when this aired and it was July 15, 1974 according to IMDB. This happened two weeks before she passed away. She was way too young and was such a major loss. May she rest in peace. :(
I LOVE MAMA CASS 😭❤️ I know I’m young, but I love listening to her music with my grandpa on Vinyl and him telling me that he remembers exactly where he was when he first heard her sing. It’s amazing how she’s still influencing people, even now 😭❤️
Damn, she was sharp! She explained the Watergate scenario at the time perfectly. And she was not afraid to go toe to toe with anyone. Of course, she had the singing voice, but clearly she and Mike were good friends and he knew what she brought to the table. Mike had a damn good show, and it was on every afternoon.
There is so much of what I miss about what talk shows used to be packed into this short clip, that it reminds me how lucky I am to have grown up during that time. Every afternoon! Merv always had great guests. And Virginia Graham was on another channel. (Dark Shadows!) Cass Elliott was talented, smart and funny! Her mother raised a great daughter, and you can see Cass in her own. The political discussion was intelligent, reasonable, and respectful! We can be better people. ✌️
This interview is a fascinating glimpse of the past! The intelligent discussion of politics in such a civil manner among such disparate perspectives seems to be a relic of a bygone era.
I always loved Cass. She was smart and she was funny. She had a beautiful voice. I still play her music now and then. She was just coming into her own as a consummate performer when she died suddenly. I loved watching her TV guest spots on "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Julie Andrews Hour". Cass and Julie did a beautifully crafted medley of Simon and Garfunkle songs which was sensational. I have a bootleg DVD and they were tremendous together. Cass had a gift for comedy. Cass, early on, had wanted to be a Broadway performer before drifting into folk singing. Prior to her death, she was offered a featured role in Bob Fosse's "Pippin". The role had been written for a fat woman who advised Pippin about life and love. Pippin was a smash. Cass turned the part down because she was earning high fees in Vegas, club dates around the USA, etc. The part, in Pippin, was re-written as one for an elderly woman> it was played by Irene (Granny) Ryan! Debbie Reynolds was the star who was scheduled to follow Cass at the London Palladium. Todd Fisher, Carrie, and Debbie met Cass at a London party that fateful night and spoke to her.
She looks wonderful in this interview. So sad to know it was her last. She looks the thinnest she ever was and she seems in such good spirits. A beautiful and talented soul gone way too soon. May she rest in peace and fill the heavens with her beautiful voice.
Cass is wonderful here. Very witty, intelligent lady. This show was taped and aired just 2 weeks before she passed away. I knew she passed in July '74 from the time, but when I saw 1974 as part of the title, I had to check the airdate, thinking it further back than that. Amazing woman.
Memorable interview. Cass Elliott, Sly Stone and Rodney Allen Rippey. Sly is blessed, so many of his contemps' passed, he's still with us and doing well.
Sly Stone , he and Cass were two of my favorites then. On January 3, 1975 I saw BTO In-Concert , Bob Segar was the warm-up band, great show, unforgettable. Brother Gary
Cass Was A Very Smart LADY She Knew What She Was Talking About I Loved Her Singing Voice And Her Talking Voice She Was And Always Will Be A Very Special Lady Love You Cass❤💔
Soul? GOD did not put a soul in her or you. GOD made Adam a soul, and all the children that follow Adam are the same. Catholic lies are dangerous. Remember to study Scriptures. 8-25-2021
Damn, You always figure someone like Cass has a good head on their shoulders, but this women is very bright. She could literally talk to anyone intelligently. To think she didn't live very long after this, because she died, I believe, right before her 33rd BDay.😒
Love the mama's and the papa's and Cass just made it complete, her voice was so unique so sad when she passed away. I watched her funeral on you tube and it affected me more than I thought it would. Rest in peace mama cass. Gone but never forgotten. I was 14 when she died, she was taken to soon. 😢❤️ Xx
Such a sharp witted, caring, and beautiful talent. She was so unique. I hope she had happiness in her life at times. She’s helped me through some sad times. I wish she could’ve had a longer life.
Sad she never got to see her daughter grow up . She died way to young. There will never be another mama cass. My maiden name was Elliott I spelled mine with two ts and she only spelled hers Elliot. Pretty neat. Rest in peace mama cass
This is from the year I was born! This is the first time seeing this and I really appreciate how respectful he was towards her and how he really seemed interested in what she was saying gave deference to her about various things but also about things she said during the break so she could recount them for the TV audience! I grew up listening to The Mamas & the papas and she played herself in a Scooby-Doo episode as well and possibly a couple of them! I just saw an episode of The Carol Burnett show she had been in recently! She was hilarious too! Great clip here!
It just came to me also that few people know or remember that Cass was responsible for getting John Sebastian and Zal Jablonsky together, who then formed the Lovin' Spoonful. She knew each of them separately, and had invited them to her Greenwich Village apartment in 1964 to watch the Beatles do the Ed Sullivan show on TV (the Ed Sullivan theater was just down the street, too). The two of them hit it off, and the rest is history.
@@tomcoryell... yeah, she was the den mother of Laurel Canyon in the hills above Malibu in the late 60s.. early 70s. So many talented artists and musicians hung out at her house and she introduced many famous collaborators to each other.
@@angelwings7930 Ditto. Everything now is so unspontaneous, the audiences hooting and giving standing ovations over absolutely nothing. Merv and Mike... oh, what we've lost!
@@akrenwinkle Yes for sure. We used to have great TV. I remember how these talk shows like Merv Griffin would have amazing movie actors on and as they accumulated on the couches as the show went on you’d get to listen to fascinating interchanges between them. Often the show turned into a group discussion. I recall one show where even at my young age I could see Debbie Reynolds was insanely jealous of Jill Ireland, she was married to Charles Bronson. Debbie was being extremely catty. It was so interesting - spontaneous discussions and reactions between big names.
@@angelwings7930 I really liked Debbie and I'll confess this: I had (before I donated them) three as-told-too autobios together on a shelf. Debbie's book, Elizabeth Taylor's book, and Eddie Fisher's book in between. I read Merv's book, too, and it was like Merv... chatty, casual, as if he knew you and confided in you. Of course, a major component of his life was omitted, and you know what I mean.
Yes I know what you mean. So he didn’t mention his BF’s ?😂 Well those books sound fascinating. I’ve read a bio of Elizabeth Taylor but not Eddie or Debbie. Or Merv. But I should !
I miss her so very much. She is so beautiful both inside and outside. Cass really brought such great joy too so many people. Funny, articulate, intelligent and what a voice. She passed way before her time, but the time she gave us is in a word..... PRICELESS We miss you Cass and we'll love you for all eternity. May you rest in the Lord Always.🌺✝️🌺 From my heart too yours......Amen KB
Guests are singer Mama Cass Elliot; 5-year-old actor Rodney Allen Rippy; columnist-author Jack Anderson; table tennis champions Stellan Bengtsson and Kjell Johansson; and author Dusko Popov.
What I didn't know at the time was how respected and influential she was in the California music scene. Apparently people with, you know, _human_ problems (as opposed to industry problems) would go to Cass as a first resort. She _was_ the adult in the room....
I bet it was her Mom and daughter that were more devastated than anyone knew. I was a kid when she past, but I was absoutly Appaled by the media and people in general that were around her and the sexist negative talk Constantly she had to deal with about her weight. Orson Welles was very heavy in the same timeframe as Cass,,and rarely did I hear a negative contemptous comment about his weight on any shows he was on, or in the media. He was almost glorified. When sge passed I remember the insulting headlines that shed died eating a sandwhich(i think she died of heart failiure) I cannot imagine the pain these comnents gave her when she was alive, and to her family when she died. She was so intelligent, and so talented.
6:44..Wow..."I'm gonna be 33 years old in September"...well, she never made it😢...what a profound example of how none of us ever really know what tomorrow is going to bring...
....Why, can't we have these type of conversational Talk Show platforms like THIS , anymore!??? ...Where diverse artists like Cass, Sly Stone & Rodney Allen Rippy(!) can thoughtfully talk, converse, and pontificate on current topics, and give us a glimpse into the ACTUAL PERSON!? ...NOT the 'fawn n' mug' stylings of Ellen, Jimmy, etc !? (CONT.) ...This was Cass last interview before she passed, and this showed her intelligence more than any other 'celebrity; I've seen in the last DECADE! ...Thanks, Mike, Merv, Dinah, Bill, etc. .....
There were so many great talk shows back the 60s & 70s......at least we can still look them up and watch them. I loved Phil Donahue's show..... I have also run across Dick Cavett lately. I didn't watch him back in the day, but his shows were great! He had a lot of celebs on his daily show!!
Sadly, the reason is that everything is so tightly controlled now - so slick and all for the sale of whatever the celeb is involved with in the moment. They (the powers that be at the networks) don't want to risk a moment like Lily Tomlin walking off set when Chad Everett referred to his "three horses and three dogs and a wife" as things he "owns." ua-cam.com/video/Pu89uzk9D54/v-deo.html
Such an intelligent, articulate, ebullient woman and such a great singing and speaking voice. What a treat to have been able to just sit and talk with her... no wonder everyone flocked around her.
Cass Elliot, what a singer, what a personality, what a loss, to the world. No telling what she could have achieved. But she achieved plenty, in her few years.
Iwas14 yrs. old, when this came on TV, in t he afternoom ,and sometimes I did watchi t.Cass Elliot Had a wonderul voice, and a keen Intelect. She died too soon.
I miss the Mike Douglas show, always a gentleman who treated his guest with respect and kept his politics to himself, if anyone ever had a problem with Mike it had to be their fault.
Cass was such a talent and intelligent person. It was also cool seeing Sly Stone and 5 year old Rodney Allen Rippy from the Jack in the Box ads. That kid sold a lot of Jumbo Jacks at the time! lol
You could tell she was really bright. She probably wasnt necessarily religiously Jewish, but her concern for ideas and her engagement w the world hint that she was informed heavily by her cultural ecology. She was extraordinary and the world lost a great person when she left at 32. G-d bless her
So sad she said "I'll be 33 years old in September"... She didn't make it.
It really is a shame she died, she would have been 400 pounds by 1980...
@@pulsarlights2825 She actually had lost a lot of weight in the months before before she died.
4 years and 2 months later, Keith Moon died in the exact same room.
@@pulsarlights2825 Not sure if you hate her because she was fat or because she was Jewish or both.
@@chouloudemusilin Why do you bring that up? Interesting....Who said I hated her? "An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance"
She died of a heart attack less then 2 weeks after this show. This show aired on July 15th 1974 and she died on July 29th 1974.
You can hear and see that she struggle to take her breath during the interview.
Difficult to see it coming. Case was dieting to an extreme. Basically fasting for days on end. She died of heart failure brought on by malnutrition same as Karen Carpenter. I hope the news people who made up the sandwich story got a good dose of Karma.
Cass carried the Mamas and the Pappas. It was her voice that was the best. Love her.
They were all essential players
Yes ,she was heading places on her own.
Not true.
It's complicated...
I am seeing Cass through different eyes because I am now 67. I just remember her singing so beautifully. I did not realize that she was so intelligent and well-spoken. What a breath of fresh air.
My thoughts exactly!
Cass challenged all the stereotypes. Women should be seen and not hear, she was Obese and not Twiggy, intelligent and well-spoken. her politics would have made her a Reagan / Trump supporter had she lived.
She was uncool and flaunted it. These days she'd have nerd chic, but back then you couldn't always claim nerd status while taking along a huge audience.
Most ppl, are far more intelligent than the media likes to portray them as, the exceptions are those who will constantly tell you how smart they are, generally like Trump these are very stupid ppl.!
@@kilburnhall I think your embellishing your own ego here, she was too smart to be a Republican, they just follow and dutifully obey without conscience any leader that they think is a winner, THAT was not Cass Elliot.
You need to learn what a republican in America actually stands for today, YOU are the opposite of anything progressive, You are aggressively repressive and stifling!
"It was 1974 and Cass was ecstatic that she was going to London to play The Palladium. After she had played two nights there, she called crying with joy telling me that she had got a standing ovation both nights and she had sold out both nights, she was just as happy as I'd ever seen her or heard her. The following day, I was having lunch at Warner Brothers and a friend of mine came running out with the terrible news that Cass had died in her sleep of a heart attack, it was just unbelievable that she died on the night that she had called me and been so happy and so fulfilled, it was wonderful for her
that she had made that leap from Mama Cass to Cass Elliot, and I do know this one thing-Cass Elliot died a very happy woman."
She fainted bc she had not eating anything, trying to l o se weight. I did that, did not eat but never actually fainted.
So someone said this but you think its reasonable to not tell us who....
Ridiculous
@@AMEER-114- Michelle Phillips said it.
@@juliehuston8609 well..thanks
I just fear for the mental condition of someone who would actually put quotes around a statement and yet fail to id the source.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful memory 🙏 She was such a vibrant & unbelievable raw talent
I’m pretty sure Cass Elliot was no Nixon fan, yet she spoke diplomatically and intelligently with some fair balance included. I wish celebrities could be this classy and thoughtful today.
Different sources claim her IQ was between 160 - 165.
She was a big supporter of McGovern. She cared about human rights a great deal.
Such an intelligent woman and such a radiant voice. She gave so much joy. A great loss. :(
Oh she passed?
@@elsizzle2000 , yes, sadly she died at the very young age of 32.
@@laurathomsonmusicart9146 ugh I wish I was around then and knew her. She seemed special soul
@@elsizzle2000 you must be young. You need to listen to her single, she was very special
the world lost a Gem when she died
She was intelligent, articulate and very conscious and present for the conversation.
Without Cass, the world would have never heard of the Mamas & the Papas. She made them.
Oh My - this was Cass Ellot's last TV interview. She died two weeks later on July 29th 1974, in London, suffering a heart attack in her sleep. She was just 32.
The post mortem revealed serious heart failure - no doubt the recent fainting episode she brushed off in this interview, was symptomatic of her weak heart. She had no drugs in her system, but had been doing a series of solo shows at the London Palladium, and prior to her death had stayed up attending celebrity parties for 48 hours.
She was adorable, and so smart. And she hadn't even reached her prime. Doubly tragic that she left her only child, daughter Owen Vanessa Elliott, just 7 years old.
Spooky fact - Legendary 'Who' drummer Keith Moon died in the same room Cass did (in a London flat owned by singer-songwriter Harry Nillson), four years later, also aged 32. What a strange coincidence - truth is stranger than fiction!
@Joe Batters So, i just recently watched an interview with Cass's daughter Owen and she's speaking with John and Michelle's daughter Chynna and they talk about the "ham sandwich" story. They touch on how hurtful and cruel it was and how that affected her growing up with people joking about it but she also tells how the story was initially even created and the story of THAT is the epitome of the quote "The Road to Hell is paved with good intentions" -
The story is Cass's manager at the time was very afraid people would assume she had died of an overdose and that it would basically shit all over her legacy (we have to remember the time period and the stigma of drugs BUT he also had wrongly assumed she had overdosed as well) and he didn't want people or her family too think she was a junkie (he was thinking of all the terrible things that were being said oh of Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison at the time although today they're remembered fondly) and that she died from drug use and he thought it would be better if they thought she died from a terrible accident, like choking, and so he remembered that while he was in her room after that he had seen a ham sandwich (although it had no bites taken from it) and he came up with the choking story, once again thinking that an accident would be better than a overdose.
He didn't think ahead to the implications of telling that story with her being a larger woman and didn't think people would take it and make a cruel joke from it. Had he waited and not said ANYTHING, then they'd just have found out that it wasn't an overdose but a heart attack.
So in trying to cover for her and her legacy while also trying to protect her family because he also thought she HAD overdosed, he just made things so much worse and deeply regretted it. So as I said, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
The interview with her daughter Owen is on Chynna's UA-cam page - California Preaching. If you need the actual link, let me know abd I'll go find it for you.
@@bradenharris8718 Thanks for all that fascinating detail. It's so sad that stupid 'choked on a sandwich' story took off like it did. It must have been very hurtful for her loved ones to know the public was laughing over her death at just 32 - like it was funny or comedic. Horrible!
Thanks for the explanation, it makes sense in context because of the stigma of it being a suspected drugs death. But as you say, if her management had only sat tight and awaited the autopsy result, she was in the clear anyway with no drugs in her system.
It's got to be significant that in April 1974 just 3 months before she died, she collapsed in a TV studio before her appearance on the Johnny Carson Show. Typically she brushed it off after like it was nothing serious, but it likely indicated the left-sided heart failure that would soon kill her. A great shame she hadn't gone for a full investigation to check her heart, who knows it might just have saved her life.
The positive thing to take from her death, is that she was happy at the end. She was the toast of London, doing a successful show at the legendary Palladium, and partying with the most celebrated stars in town including Mick Jagger, Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher and Georgia Brown. Her last phone call revealed she'd had some champagne as she was about to turn in for the night, and she felt her career and life were on the up as a solo artist, and that she'd successfully moved on from Mama Cass of 'The Mamas and the Papas' to Cass Elliot.
She had a heart attack and died in her sleep, we can only hope feeling no pain. She was far too young, and it's all the more poignant when her new solo career was opening out to her, with all its unfulfilled promise. But as the saying goes 'It's better to travel hopefully than to arrive'.
@@glamdolly30 yes, I've often thought about if anything could've been done had she taken her fainting episode seriously. As far as I can see, she never got thoroughly checked out to find the cause because if she had, it seems like they would've been able to detect she had some very serious problems with her heart.
Also, I can't remember the exact time table but when she was married to the Barron she overdosed on pills. Her recovery was HARD. To the point they hired a 24/7 nurse and she was routinely still having seizures. That only could've been a year or two before her fatal heart attack and along with her extreme dieting, use of diet pills along with other drugs (although not on the night she died), drinking, partying and her non stop work schedule....it all must've collectively played a part. Its all so sad.... Could it of been prevented? I don't know but i wish she had taken the fainting incident more seriously at any rate.
Another REALLY fascinating look into Cass is her second husbands(The Barron) essay on her and it tells all about them meeting and about their short lived marriage. It gave me a completely in depth look into Cass and what she was dealing with personally. At the time she was really battling with depression and troubles with John Phillips and his treatment of her. She was having a very hard time in this period of her life so it's so nice to know that her last phone call with Michelle and her last letter to her daughter were filled with happiness and optimism about her future.
She was FINALLY Cass Elliot, performer and entertainer and not Mana Cass if the Mamas and Papas.
Side note, I LOVE her version of "Didn't want to do it" by the Login Spoonful. What a voice..she sure was a gift and I'm happy it's finally been realized.
Thank you for all the information you put into your comments.
@Joe Batters I forgot too answer your second question.. Cass had went on two different "crash" diets in the 3 years preceding her death .. Her first yielded a weight loss of 100 pounds !! That she gained mostly back unfortunately... Viewing her here I'd say she had lost about 75 pounds. I believe both of these crash diets plus her earlier overdose and heavy use of diet pills (basically just amphetamine in those days.) All this contributed to the state of her weakened heart. Those kinds of pills contributed to what happened to Karen Carpenter as well.. Plus HER crash dieting, anorexia and use of laxatives. Two beautiful talented woman gone much too soon.
I saw the Owen interview as well, and it’s interesting that her “ham sandwich story” origin is different than the one ive read on Wikipedia. That explanation was that the responding doctor, having just briefly examined her and seeing a partially eaten sandwich near her bed side, made the offhanded comment that she may have choked. From there the story took flight. Who knows?
Cass had such a high IQ and was well spoken well educated in world issues a great conversationalist. So intelligent. Much more than a beautiful musician. Great post
@Joe Batters I think she was beautiful. Weight didn't take away from that and she had no shortage of lovers so she knew how to please a man. Physical looks fade we all men and women get old grey wrinkles saggy beer belly bald uglier with age. Men lose their use of their organ so judging a woman by weight is superficial. It's what's inside. The heart the mind the personality much more. Those men will end up alone with blue pills, that don't work and and videos, no companion to share their life with
I don't think she had a "high IQ", she definitely knew how to conduct herself in interviews, and handled herself well. But to say she had a "High IQ" is not it, she wasn't a genius like Paul McCartney and or Brian Wilson are.
@@marlonrando9272 You don’t have to be f-ing FAUL or the other dude to be high IQ.
@@angelwings7930 did you seriously refer to Brian Wilson as "the other dude"
@@doctorfeinstone6524 Correct ! You get a happy sticker for that 😃 ! Don’t freak. Since his ID was already established its clear who I was referring to. It’s not “personal”.
She was definitely one of a kind, her voice was, and is, like no other. She sang so clear you could understand every word she said. Such a loss, but thrilled we have her on recordings and in our hearts.
I was 5 years old how old were you?👋
So sad that her mother said "im jealous im not living now" back then middle aged women really were expected to be invisible and act like they were not alive any more. Im so grateful to the older women before me who refused to disappear
Good point!
She had more energy than her own body could handle or sustain. Brilliant mind too. One of a kind.
Cass was absolutely radiant at her mother's response! What a wonderful moment.
She was so smart and funny in addition to having a gorgeous voice ❤
She had such a great voice, singing or speaking. So charismatic too.
And super bright Swarthmore educated
You can tell she had lost weight from the previous show from 2 yrs ago. They had said she would go on crash diets which was what really hurt her. Such a talented, intelligent and beautiful woman. So greatly missed.
Both the weight and any unhealthy diet. The fundamental problem was her weight.
@@angelwings7930 Very true.
She was talking about tasty cakes here and how they don't travel well so that tells you she was eating crap. We know so much more about inflammatory foods than they did then. They blamed butter and lard and ignored corn syrup and refined starches as the triggers. Same pattern as ralphy mae and john pinette, unhealthy lifestyle, but ironically was losing weight at time of death.
I just cannot believe this women passed away not long after this interview? Unbelievably talented women.RIP
Her talking about passing out sounded concerning, maybe a warning sign?
The shock never left until months later when I heard the news that she had passed! I made sure to spread her voice to friends and family that it may never be forgotten
She was the best!
She had 14 days to live after this interview. Two weeks. I'm still in shock 48 years later.
Wow, this Woman was ahead of her time!
You can tell that Cass is a mom and isn’t bothered by Rodney’s chatter.
Kid should have left after his interview,
Rodney was a spoiled brat......annoying!! the brat should left after his interview
I went to look up when this aired and it was July 15, 1974 according to IMDB. This happened two weeks before she passed away. She was way too young and was such a major loss. May she rest in peace. :(
I agree, I would have love to see her reach her full potential, maybe 350-400 pounds...
It’s sad that a lot of people think she died by choking on a ham sandwich, but died from a heart attack.
@@markusantonio4866 Ham sandwiches are a gateway drug to obesity...
@@markusantonio4866 I know. I thought that for several years until I finally looked it up and discovered the truth. She was way too young.
Hebrews 9:27 !!
I LOVE MAMA CASS 😭❤️ I know I’m young, but I love listening to her music with my grandpa on Vinyl and him telling me that he remembers exactly where he was when he first heard her sing. It’s amazing how she’s still influencing people, even now 😭❤️
You've great taste Taylor, and an open mind to listen to all kinds of music. Your grandad sounds like a very cool guy.
Damn, she was sharp! She explained the Watergate scenario at the time perfectly.
And she was not afraid to go toe to toe with anyone. Of course, she had the singing voice, but clearly she and Mike were good friends and he knew what she brought to the table.
Mike had a damn good show, and it was on every afternoon.
Cass Elliott was a phenomenal
Singer!
There is so much of what I miss about what talk shows used to be packed into this short clip, that it reminds me how lucky I am to have grown up during that time. Every afternoon! Merv always had great guests. And Virginia Graham was on another channel. (Dark Shadows!)
Cass Elliott was talented, smart and funny! Her mother raised a great daughter, and you can see Cass in her own. The political discussion was intelligent, reasonable, and respectful!
We can be better people. ✌️
She had so much " Fun Auntie " energy! Its so sad we don't still have her around.
Fr. I feel like she would be a great old lady
That’s a great description! Yes, she’s sassy but still classy. Probably fun to joke around with.
Not just an aunty; she was also a mom!
She was a gift ❤
God, she had a wonderful voice. Nice there's two legends here. Mama Cass and Sly Stone.
Her "blood sugar drop" may have been warning signs of the impending heart attack.
I'm only 56 years old but I still love her music her music was wonderful
What a beautiful lady and her voice, WOW!! RIP Cass!!🤗💕💕 Mike Douglas was a nice interviewer.👍💕
This interview is a fascinating glimpse of the past! The intelligent discussion of politics in such a civil manner among such disparate perspectives seems to be a relic of a bygone era.
LOVE this!!!!❤ Mama Cass, Sly Stone and Rodney Allen Rippy?! Wow! Mike Douglas was a class act!
Thanks, I was wondering!
I always loved Cass. She was smart and she was funny. She had a beautiful voice. I still play her music now and then. She was just coming into her own as a consummate performer when she died suddenly. I loved watching her TV guest spots on "The Carol Burnett Show" and "The Julie Andrews Hour". Cass and Julie did a beautifully crafted medley of Simon and Garfunkle songs which was sensational. I have a bootleg DVD and they were tremendous together. Cass had a gift for comedy. Cass, early on, had wanted to be a Broadway performer before drifting into folk singing. Prior to her death, she was offered a featured role in Bob Fosse's "Pippin". The role had been written for a fat woman who advised Pippin about life and love. Pippin was a smash. Cass turned the part down because she was earning high fees in Vegas, club dates around the USA, etc. The part, in Pippin, was re-written as one for an elderly woman> it was played by Irene (Granny) Ryan! Debbie Reynolds was the star who was scheduled to follow Cass at the London Palladium. Todd Fisher, Carrie, and Debbie met Cass at a London party that fateful night and spoke to her.
She looks wonderful in this interview. So sad to know it was her last. She looks the thinnest she ever was and she seems in such good spirits. A beautiful and talented soul gone way too soon. May she rest in peace and fill the heavens with her beautiful voice.
Looks like she's lost some weight, she's so intelligent and beautiful, she's radiant and soectacular.
Cass is wonderful here. Very witty, intelligent lady. This show was taped and aired just 2 weeks before she passed away. I knew she passed in July '74 from the time, but when I saw 1974 as part of the title, I had to check the airdate, thinking it further back than that. Amazing woman.
So sad. 2 weeks later gone on July 29, 1974. Sad seeing her Mom here too.
Memorable interview. Cass Elliott, Sly Stone and Rodney Allen Rippey. Sly is blessed, so many of his contemps' passed, he's still with us and doing well.
Sly is doing well?? I thought he is mentally burnt out.
@@barbarawebb7185 Collected the big monies owed to him and very much alive and astute.
@@jesincere8589 I hope he is doing well. Why do we not hear from him in the media?
@@barbarawebb7185 Maybe because he's high AF and happy? 😁
I thought that was Sly! Mike Douglas was the consummate talk show host. So personable but kept it all about his guests.
She was amazing, She walks in and takes over.
She had a commanding presence. Forceful personality, but very likable.
I absolutely adored Mama Cass and still do. God rest her gorgeous soul. Love ❤ ❤ ❤
I wonder what the rest of her career would have been if she hadn’t left so soon. She was a brilliant woman and an outstanding performer.
🥀Amazing things about Cass she's so pure and straight to the point of what she was talking about. I really loved their music 🥀
Sly Stone , he and Cass were two of my favorites then. On January 3, 1975 I saw BTO In-Concert , Bob Segar was the warm-up band, great show, unforgettable.
Brother Gary
“Don’t step on his Suede shoes Michael“ Such an icon! One of the smartest entertainers of all time
I loved The Mike Douglas Show!!! He was just a nice guy!
Loved you Cass!! Was so sad the day you left us. What a wonderful voice
Mike Douglas was the best ever!!❤️
Yes, great, kind. Good interviewer.
Merv Griffin too. 👍
@@angelwings7930 And Dick Cavett
@@kenhoyer8601 Yes. He was great.
Those 1970s talk show hosts are way better than the talk show hosts we got now.
Cass Was A Very Smart LADY She Knew What She Was Talking About I Loved Her Singing Voice And Her Talking Voice She Was And Always Will Be A Very Special Lady Love You Cass❤💔
Soul? GOD did not put a soul in her or you. GOD made Adam a soul, and all the children that follow Adam are the same. Catholic lies are dangerous. Remember to study Scriptures.
8-25-2021
@@timothyball7502 🙏
We were robbed of Mama Cass.
Rest easy mama🤙🏼
Damn, You always figure someone like Cass has a good head on their shoulders, but this women is very bright. She could literally talk to anyone intelligently.
To think she didn't live very long after this, because she died, I believe, right before her 33rd BDay.😒
Loved her shoutout to TastyKake!!!! Such a great peek into a 1974 time capsule.
Hi Heft
🎶 🎵 Nobody bakes a cake 🎂 as tasty 👅 as a Tastykake🎶🎵
Love the mama's and the papa's and Cass just made it complete, her voice was so unique so sad when she passed away. I watched her funeral on you tube and it affected me more than I thought it would. Rest in peace mama cass.
Gone but never forgotten. I was 14 when she died, she was taken to soon. 😢❤️ Xx
Hi Margaret
They should outlaw ham sandwiches. She would still be with us if not for ham sandwiches. Guns are cool though. 👍
@@bradking6126 It was stated by her daughter that a ham sandwich wasn't the cause of her death, she actually had a heart attack.
RIP to a beautiful lady, I cannot believe it has been 50 years since you went to sleep.
Ps....i LOVED MIKE DOUGLAS Bring back KINDNESS .
Such a sharp witted, caring, and beautiful talent. She was so unique. I hope she had happiness in her life at times. She’s helped me through some sad times. I wish she could’ve had a longer life.
Cass Elliott was a class act.
I miss the '70's.
Sad she never got to see her daughter grow up . She died way to young. There will never be another mama cass. My maiden name was Elliott I spelled mine with two ts and she only spelled hers Elliot. Pretty neat. Rest in peace mama cass
A great talent.
Gone too soon.
❤
Love her laugh, such strengh she held and gosh just so darn gorgeous
She looks so lovely here🌹❤️🌹
What a beautiful lady both inside and out. And yes a great voice.
So sad.
So young.
My brother at 33 years old.
Gone far too soon.
❤
So intelligent and articulate and immensely talented. Died too young! 😢
Mama Cass had such an ahhh-mazing singing voice!
Cass Elliot ..... beautiful lady with a beautiful soul and a beautiful voice. Oh how I wish she was still here. Thank you for sharing this clip!
I was just 8 months old when she died so l have no memory of her. I learned about her much later in life. Her. voice is amazing 🤩 ❤️
I have vague memories of her when I was a kid here in California and I’m glad I have that.
She was sooo well spoken and so intelligent with a voice that sang truth ❤🙏🏼🥹
This is from the year I was born! This is the first time seeing this and I really appreciate how respectful he was towards her and how he really seemed interested in what she was saying gave deference to her about various things but also about things she said during the break so she could recount them for the TV audience! I grew up listening to The Mamas & the papas and she played herself in a Scooby-Doo episode as well and possibly a couple of them! I just saw an episode of The Carol Burnett show she had been in recently! She was hilarious too! Great clip here!
It just came to me also that few people know or remember that Cass was responsible for getting John Sebastian and Zal Jablonsky together, who then formed the Lovin' Spoonful. She knew each of them separately, and had invited them to her Greenwich Village apartment in 1964 to watch the Beatles do the Ed Sullivan show on TV (the Ed Sullivan theater was just down the street, too). The two of them hit it off, and the rest is history.
Crosby and Nash met at Cass’s house if am not mistaken.
@@tomcoryell... yeah, she was the den mother of Laurel Canyon in the hills above Malibu in the late 60s.. early 70s. So many talented artists and musicians hung out at her house and she introduced many famous collaborators to each other.
I loved her hair. Beautiful.
What a great mix of people on that panel. And real conversations too. Not like these horrid pre-scripted "talk" shows we have today.
Exactly. I just posted essentially the same thing you said. I grew up in the 70’s and the talk shows were amazing. Merv Griffin was really good.
@@angelwings7930 Ditto. Everything now is so unspontaneous, the audiences hooting and giving standing ovations over absolutely nothing. Merv and Mike... oh, what we've lost!
@@akrenwinkle Yes for sure. We used to have great TV. I remember how these talk shows like Merv Griffin would have amazing movie actors on and as they accumulated on the couches as the show went on you’d get to listen to fascinating interchanges between them. Often the show turned into a group discussion. I recall one show where even at my young age I could see Debbie Reynolds was insanely jealous of Jill Ireland, she was married to Charles Bronson. Debbie was being extremely catty. It was so interesting - spontaneous discussions and reactions between big names.
@@angelwings7930 I really liked Debbie and I'll confess this: I had (before I donated them) three as-told-too autobios together on a shelf. Debbie's book, Elizabeth Taylor's book, and Eddie Fisher's book in between. I read Merv's book, too, and it was like Merv... chatty, casual, as if he knew you and confided in you. Of course, a major component of his life was omitted, and you know what I mean.
Yes I know what you mean. So he didn’t mention his BF’s ?😂 Well those books sound fascinating. I’ve read a bio of Elizabeth Taylor but not Eddie or Debbie. Or Merv. But I should !
I miss her so very much. She is so beautiful both inside and outside. Cass really brought such great joy too so many people. Funny, articulate, intelligent and what a voice. She passed way before her time, but the time she gave us is in a word.....
PRICELESS
We miss you Cass and we'll love you for all eternity. May you rest in the Lord Always.🌺✝️🌺
From my heart too yours......Amen
KB
Thankyou Reese, these are amazing videos of Cass Elliott. I'm learning more about this special woman.
She was magical
So missed
😞💔
Guests are singer Mama Cass Elliot; 5-year-old actor Rodney Allen Rippy; columnist-author Jack Anderson; table tennis champions Stellan Bengtsson and Kjell Johansson; and author Dusko Popov.
and Sly Stone
so sad when she said when i get to my 33rd birthday but she never made it!! Amazing the way she spoke!!
What I didn't know at the time was how respected and influential she was in the California music scene. Apparently people with, you know, _human_ problems (as opposed to industry problems) would go to Cass as a first resort. She _was_ the adult in the room....
I also didn't know that Russ Kunkel, who I thought of as James Taylor's drummer, was married to Cass' sister and raised Owen after her mother's death.
I bet it was her Mom and daughter that were more devastated than anyone knew. I was a kid when she past, but I was absoutly Appaled by the media and people in general that were around her and the sexist negative talk Constantly she had to deal with about her weight. Orson Welles was very heavy in the same timeframe as Cass,,and rarely did I hear a negative contemptous comment about his weight on any shows he was on, or in the media. He was almost glorified. When sge passed I remember the insulting headlines that shed died eating a sandwhich(i think she died of heart failiure) I cannot imagine the pain these comnents gave her when she was alive, and to her family when she died. She was so intelligent, and so talented.
6:44..Wow..."I'm gonna be 33 years old in September"...well, she never made it😢...what a profound example of how none of us ever really know what tomorrow is going to bring...
....Why, can't we have these type of conversational Talk Show platforms like THIS , anymore!??? ...Where diverse artists like Cass, Sly Stone & Rodney Allen Rippy(!) can thoughtfully talk, converse, and pontificate on current topics, and give us a glimpse into the ACTUAL PERSON!? ...NOT the 'fawn n' mug' stylings of Ellen, Jimmy, etc !? (CONT.)
...This was Cass last interview before she passed, and this showed her intelligence more than any other 'celebrity; I've seen in the last DECADE! ...Thanks, Mike, Merv, Dinah, Bill, etc. .....
There were so many great talk shows back the 60s & 70s......at least we can still look them up and watch them. I loved Phil Donahue's show..... I have also run across Dick Cavett lately. I didn't watch him back in the day, but his shows were great! He had a lot of celebs on his daily show!!
Sadly, the reason is that everything is so tightly controlled now - so slick and all for the sale of whatever the celeb is involved with in the moment. They (the powers that be at the networks) don't want to risk a moment like Lily Tomlin walking off set when Chad Everett referred to his "three horses and three dogs and a wife" as things he "owns." ua-cam.com/video/Pu89uzk9D54/v-deo.html
Miss you so much Cass Elliot and you're heavenly voice. RIP BEAUTIFUL LADY.
thank you for the beautiful music you left behind cass
Listening to Cass talking about Watergate, I think she would've made an excellent political journalist, or even an actual politician.
Cass has the intelligence to do whatever she wants, an extremely gifted and talented person.
She was so amazing, what a beautiful voice.....she was way to young to die, so sad.💗
Hi Linda
Such an intelligent, articulate, ebullient woman and such a great singing and speaking voice. What a treat to have been able to just sit and talk with her... no wonder everyone flocked around her.
Her intelligence is something. Her vocal skills are frosting on the cake.
How great this was... Had Cass lived, she might have been the first US woman president.
Wow she was so carismatic and beautiful, i love her voice RIP Cass Elliot
Cass Elliot, what a singer, what a personality, what a loss, to the world. No telling what she could have achieved. But she achieved plenty, in her few years.
Iwas14 yrs. old, when this came on TV, in t he afternoom ,and sometimes I did watchi t.Cass Elliot Had a wonderul voice, and a keen Intelect. She died too soon.
I miss the Mike Douglas show, always a gentleman who treated his guest with respect and kept his politics to himself, if anyone ever had a problem with Mike it had to be their fault.
Cass was such a lovely lady.....shame she didn't make it to 33 and beyond
This was her last tv appearance on American television
I loved her voice
She was then and is still very understated in light of her vast contributions pertaining to the most popular t elements of American 60's pop culture .
I watched thi when it aired. She was so llikable.
I miss Cass beautiful voice and very smart !🕊️🙏💞
Cass was such a talent and intelligent person. It was also cool seeing Sly Stone and 5 year old Rodney Allen Rippy from the Jack in the Box ads. That kid sold a lot of Jumbo Jacks at the time! lol
You could tell she was really bright. She probably wasnt necessarily religiously Jewish, but her concern for ideas and her engagement w the world hint that she was informed heavily by her cultural ecology. She was extraordinary and the world lost a great person when she left at 32. G-d bless her
Cass was such a wonderful person! Her sister Leah is just as kind, talented, and wonderful too!!