Cass Elliot and the Ham Sandwich
Celebrity demises are always a rich source of urban legends and myths, whatever how dismal they may be. For instance, did you know that Mama Cass, a.k.a. Cass Elliot, who was a member of the Mamas & the Papas at the time of her passing, choked to death on a ham sandwich? Well, it's not accurate, but the rumor has persisted ever since her tragic death on July 29, 1974, in London.
It's unclear exactly who came up with this concept. Some accuse a negligent Met cop who spoke to the media of being at fault. Others contend that the first doctor on the scene was at fault since he, too, spoke to the media when he shouldn't have and suggested that the presence of a half-eaten ham sandwich close to the body may have been related to the cause of death. This was all that some dishonest journalists needed to create a horrible but dramatic end for the singer, as Cass Elliot's weight had long been the target of media jokes.
Elliot's manager, Allan Carr, who knowingly spread the notion but with better motives, was a third potential source for the information. In addition to being overweight, Cass Elliot also had a significant drug addiction, so when Carr learned that she had passed very unexpectedly, he immediately concluded that she had overdosed and decided that the ham sandwich explanation would be less embarrassing.
After conducting the autopsy, British pathologist Keith Simpson determined that a heart attack was the cause of death. Elliot had neither ham sandwiches nor narcotics in his system at the time, but the rumor had already been confirmed.
