Cass Elliot

Cass Elliot ( September 19 , 1941 - July 29 , 1974 ), born Ellen Naomi Cohen , was a noted American singer who performed with The Mamas & the Papas .¹ Born in Baltimore , Maryland , she spent most of her childhood both in Baltimore and Alexandria , Virginia , a suburb of Washington, D.C. Elliot was widely considered the most charismatic member of the Mamas & the Papas due to her sense of humor and optimism, in part because of her large size and weight. She was one of the most beloved members of the group and, because of her distinctive voice, was a large factor in their success. She is best remembered for her vocals on the group's Billboard hits California Dreamin , Monday, Monday , and Words of Love , as well as her first hit as an independent act, Dream a Little Dream . Elliot was in love with fellow Mamas & Papas band member Denny Doherty . His affair with other married band member, Michelle Phillips , was one of the causes of the break-up of the band. Elliot resented Michelle's perceived betrayal of their friendship and helped to support the band's decision to fire Michelle in June 1966, when it became clear that John Phillips could no longer work with her. The band quickly replaced Michelle with Jill Gibson , girlfriend to their producer Lou Adler . However, by late August of 1966, Michelle was let back into the group, while Gibson received a lump sum for her efforts. Jill would later admit to feeling betrayed by the band. She gave birth to a daughter named Owen Vanessa Elliot on April 26 , 1967 without naming the father. Elliot was a close friend and neighbor of coffee heiress Abigail Folger , who was a victim of the Charles Manson murders. She was also close to actress Sharon Tate , writer Wojciech Frykowski , and international hairdresser Jay Sebring , all victims of the Manson madness in the summer of 1969 . Singer and performer, Sammy Davis, Jr. , was also a good friend of Elliot and this group, and Davis has been quoted as saying that they had all been together days before the tragedy, and were it not for he and Elliott each flying off to other gigs that week, they too could have been victims of the Manson Family . After the breakup of The Mamas & the Papas, Elliot went on to have a successful solo career, even headlining briefly in Las Vegas, for the whopping contract at that time of USD$ 40,000 per week. Though her Vegas gig ended badly, she was a regular on TV talk shows and variety shows in the 70s . Her most successful recording during this period was Dream a Little Dream of Me from her solo album of the same name, released by Dunhill records. At the height of her career in 1974 , having just finished performing at the London Palladium theatre, she died of a heart attack . The coroner surmised her heart had weakened to the point of failure due to Elliot's weight and the effects of several crash diets over the years. Elliot was married twice. In 1963 she married James Hendricks ; they divorced in 1968 (Hendricks had been a member of "Cass Elliot and the Big Three," later named "The Mugwumps"). In 1971 she married Baron Donald von Wiedenman , a journalist .²