Cass Elliot’s Death Spawned a Horrible Myth. She Deserves Better.

Key Facts

Critic’s Notebook The Mamas & the Papas singer was known for her wit, her voice and her skill as a connector.
Credit...Michael Putland/Getty Images * May 9, 2024 Onstage with her group the Mamas & the Papas at the Monterey International Pop Festival in June 1967, Cass Elliot, the grand doyenne of the Laurel Canyon scene, bantered with the timing of a vaudeville comedian.
The unspoken punchline — if you could call it that — was that she had already given birth to a daughter six weeks earlier.
“One of the things that appeals to so many people about my mom is that there’s a certain level of triumph over adversity,” that daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, said over lunch at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles on a recent afternoon.