Tag Archives: mama-cass

Owen Elliot-Kugell was just seven years old when her mother, “Mama” Cass Elliot, died of a heart attack in 1974. Since then, she’s tried to untangle the myth of the hippie icon — especially the insensitive rumor that she died choking on a ham sandwich — and discover who she …

Owen Elliot-Kugell remembers the last time she saw her mom. It was the summer of 1974, and the seven-year-old was on an airplane departing London. Just like that scene in Almost Famous, Elliot-Kugell said goodbye through the window. “She puts my seat belt on and kisses me and says, ‘Look …