Mama Cass's daughter reveals 'torture' over THAT ham sandwich rumor

• The Mamas & The Papas’ Cass Elliot tragically passed away in 1974 at age 32
• Afterwards, a claim that she had died from choking on a ham sandwich spread
• Now, her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, 57, spoke to DailyMail.com about it 

Mama Cass’s daughter has opened up about her years of ‘torture’ over a ham sandwich rumor that surrounded her mother’s death – and revealed why she considered suing the people who made ‘cruel jokes’ about it.

When The Mamas & The Papas singer Cass Elliot tragically passed away in 1974 suddenly aged 32, a strange claim that she had died from choking on a ham sandwich spread around the media.

The bizarre myth – which was untrue, as she actually died from a heart attack – became infamous, and has been the butt of numerous jokes in the decades since.

Now, the late musician’s daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, 57, has spoken exclusively to DailyMail.com about how her mom’s manager accidentally created the fallacy.

Mama Cass’s daughter has explained how that ham sandwich rumor really started – and revealed why she considered suing the people who made ‘cruel jokes’ about it

When The Mamas & The Papas singer Cass Elliot (seen in 1966) tragically passed away in 1974 at age 32, a strange claim that she had died from choking on a ham sandwich spread

The bizarre myth – which was untrue, as she actually died from a heart attack – became infamous, and has been the butt of numerous jokes. Cass is seen with her bandmates in 1967

Now, the late musician’s daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell (seen in 2022), 57, has spoken exclusively to DailyMail.com about how her mom’s manager accidentally created the fallacy

She also opened up about why the misconception plagued her for decades – driving her to even consider hiring a lawyer to put an end to it once and for all.

‘The rumor was started by my mom’s manager Allan Carr, who was a well-known movie producer,’ Owen explained.

‘He came to her apartment after they got the phone call that she had passed away and there was a [half-eaten] ham sandwich [on her nightstand].

‘It had been made for my mother by one of the dancers [the night before]. The sandwich was still sitting there – when Alan walked in he saw the sandwich.’

Owen said that Allan was worried people would assume that she died of a drug overdose due to the suddenness of her passing and her young age – so he decided to tell people that she passed away while eating in the hopes that it would dispel the speculation.

‘I think he had some trepidations, people in those days were dropping like flies as a result of drugs,’ she continued.

‘I really believe Alan wanted to cut it off from the start and not have people go down that direction.’

Owen admitted to DailyMail.com that she was immensely bothered by the hoards of people who used the ham sandwich rumor for content.

She also opened up about why the misconception plagued her for decades – driving her to even consider hiring a lawyer to put an end to it. She’s seen as a baby with her mom

Owen said that her mom’s manager Allan Carr (seen) was worried people would assume that she died of a drug overdose due – so he decided to tell people she passed away while eating

It was featured in lyrics to a slew of famous songs – including Frank Zappa’s We’re Turning Again, TISM’s (He’ll Never Be An) Ol’ Man River, and Foetus’ The Throne of Agony.

It was also mentioned in the Mike Myers-lead comedy movie Austin Powers, and was used in Weird Al Yankovic’s track Close but No Cigar.

‘There were a lot of people who have made cruel jokes about it, comedians,’ Owen stated. ‘I used to get really upset and want to hire a lawyer.’

But eventually, she said she began to embrace it because she realized it was ‘keeping her mom in the pop culture life.’

‘I realized at a certain point, there’s no [such thing as] bad publicity,’ she added. ‘[The jokes mean] people are thinking about her.

‘She’s still in people’s consciousness and that is a great thing. I learned to be grateful for stuff in the past I felt was not right.

‘Now I have realized, someone’s still thinking about her. That’s what she would [have wanted].’

Owen wrote about the now-infamous ham sandwich rumor in her new memoir, entitled My Mama, Cass, and she described it as ‘beyond frustrating and almost immeasurable’ in the tome.

It was mentioned in the Mike Myers-lead comedy movie Austin Powers (seen), and was used in Weird Al Yankovic’s track Close but No Cigar

Owen wrote about the now-infamous ham sandwich rumor in her new memoir, entitled My Mama, Cass, and she described it as ‘beyond frustrating and almost immeasurable’

‘Even as a little girl, when I was hanging out with my friends at school, they didn’t know who my mom 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?”‘ she recalled.

‘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 rumor like that perpetuated. It tortured me.’

While chatting with DailyMail.com, Owen, who was only seven when her mom passed, also recalled the harrowing moment that she learned that her mother had died. She’s seen as a kid

While chatting with DailyMail.com, Owen, who was only seven when her mom passed, also recalled the harrowing moment that she learned that her mother had died.

‘She had traveled to London to perform and had arranged for me to go and stay with her mom, my grandmother, in Baltimore,’ explained the writer.

‘I was in summer camp, and I was approached by one of the counselors who said, “You’re gonna go home early today I’m gonna give you a ride.”

‘I went back to my grandmother’s apartment and she told me my mom wasn’t gonna be coming home and that she had died.

‘I didn’t really understand or believe her because I had so much experience with my mom traveling for work and she always came back.

‘That had been my experience [in the past], so I felt like, “You guys don’t really know. I know she’ll be back.”

‘I think that speaks to the inability to really understand the finality of death. It’s a really complex and intense subject for a child.’

She recalled ‘hoards of paparazzi’ bombarding her and her family at the funeral, even going as far as to push their cameras into their open car windows.

‘You can imagine how oppressive and awful that must have been for us as a family. You can see how hugely traumatized we all were [in the photos]. It was insane,’ she shared. ‘It was a pretty traumatic day for me.’

‘I didn’t really understand or believe her because I had so much experience with my mom traveling for work and she always came back,’ Owen (seen honoring her mom in 2022) said

She recalled ‘hoards of paparazzi’ bombarding her and her family at the funeral. She’s seen at the funeral with sister Leah and her husband, Russ, in 1974

While the star admitted that reliving her mom’s passing while writing the book was ‘hard,’ she said it made her feel ‘closer’ to her late mother in the end. She’s seen with Chynna Phillips

While reflecting on her childhood and what it was like to grow up with a famous mother, Owen explained that she didn’t fully ‘understand’ that her mom was a celebrity until that moment at the funeral.

She said she had learned to accept that ‘her mom’s work’ meant there would usually be people around who ‘admired her and wanted to talk to her’ whenever they were out in public, but that it just felt ‘normal’ to her.

‘I remember being taken to the airport to meet her one time when she was flying in. I was standing with my nanny on the curb outside of LAX and I saw her coming out the door 50-100 feet away,’ she recalled.

‘I started to run towards her – she was throwing her arms open, but someone stepped in between us to ask for her autograph.

‘That moment, I feel like, was a moment where I had to understand that my mom’s work entailed that she had people who really liked her and admired her and wanted to talk to her when she was out in the public, and that was part of what her job was.

‘I had to wait my turn, and I’d get my chance eventually but I learned to wait. It was kind of sad but it was what I knew to be normal.’

While the star admitted that reliving her mom’s passing while writing the book was ‘hard,’ she said it made her feel ‘closer’ to her late mother in the end.

She said she went to visit her grave after she finished writing it, and when she talked to her, she realized she felt ‘lighthearted’ in ‘a way she had never experienced.’

‘It’s always sort of an uncomfortable thing, [visiting her grave], I never know what to say or do,’ she explained. ‘It’s a grave site, it’s a weird place.

‘[But when I talked to her] it was very lighthearted in a way I’ve never experienced. I realized I felt closer to her, that was a hugely magical experience.’

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