"Enough with the jokes" says the daughter of 'Mama' Cass Elliot.
The legendary singer died in her sleep on July 28, 1974. Not only did her young daughter have to face the loss of her mother at just eight years old, she then spent a lifetime hearing that enduring, apocryphal story involving a ham sandwich.
50 years later, Owen Elliot-Kugell is ready to set the story straight with a new book detailing how she finally, accidentally stumbled onto the real truth of that tragic night and the surrounding misleading stories.
It is true that when Cass was found in the London flat loaned to her by friend and fellow star Harry Nilsson there was that infamous sandwich by the bedside.
Owen says: ""There was a ham sandwich, but she didn't eat it and she didn't choke on it. So enough with the jokes."
The new book My Mama, Cass is out next week . "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." The official post-mortem gave the cause of death as a heart attack, and there were no traces of food found in her system.
Cass had just finished an exhausting two-week residency at the London Palladium, and had been desperate to rest. However, she was expected at a party thrown by Mick Jagger which lasted the entire night. From there she had to go to a brunch since it was thrown in her honour and then a press event all afternoon.
At all these events it was noted that the star seemed exhausted and, at times, unsteady. When she finally made it home, a backing singer made her a ham sandwich and she went to bed.
Throughout her life and career, Cass had battled with her weight and was the constant runt of public jokes,
