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How did (Mama) Cass Elliot really die...

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions: 2004 Aug - Oct: How did (Mama) Cass Elliot really die? users admin

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Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 6:26 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Anyone know? I was watching Biography on her and fell asleep before it was over. They alluded that she really didn't die by choking on a ham sandwich.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 6:32 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Okay, I found the following out on my own. But I still have one question, how/where did the ham sandwich rumor start? Anyone know that?

~ Debunking the Myths ~ Dispelling the Distressing Rumors ~ 


The facts about Cass Elliot's death have existed since a few days after she
died on July 29, 1974. The pathologist who performed the autopsy, Keith
Simpson, was one of England's leading forensic pathologists.

A competent forensic autopsy showed:

1) A heart problem leading to heart failure;
2) No sandwich or any other item in her throat or trachea; and
3) In fact, she had had very little to eat the day before she died.

Furthermore, the drug screen (a standard part of a forensic autopsy) showed no drugs in her system.

Simpson's conclusion was that Cass died of "heart failure due to fatty
myocardial degeneration due to obesity".  Although this conclusion was
disputed by American pathologists at the time, fatty myocardial degeneration is now recognized as a potentially lethal condition.  The latest (1996) edition of the authoritative "Heart Fascicle" (officially, Tumors of the Heart and Great Vessels) published by the Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology states:  "Rarely, lipomatous [fatty] infiltration ... may cause
sudden death" and cites the following reference:  Voigt J, Agsal N.
Lipomatous infiltration of the heart. An uncommon cause of sudden unexpected death in a young man. Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 1982;106:497-8.

One possible theory is that Cass Elliot had a heart condition of this sort
for a long time. This would be consistent with the various times she is
reported to have passed out during the 1963-74 time period. In a young
woman, fainting is usually due to heat, onset of flu, pregnancy, or some
other innocuous cause, but if it continues to happen, it warrants
investigation. A "cardiac conduction defect" creating a disturbance of heart
rhythm just might be caused by a fatty myocardium and could explain a great deal. Failure of the fibers of the heart that should conduct the impulses that cause the heartbeat to do so is a known cause of sudden death.

With special thanks to Rhonda D. Wright, M.D.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 6:34 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
If anyone saw Biography, what did they say about her death? Thanks!

Pamy
Member

01-02-2002

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 6:35 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
That was interesting, I always thought it was the sandwich story.

Ocean_islands
Member

09-07-2000

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 7:48 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
If she had choked on food, there is no shame in that. Getting something caught in your windpipe can be fatal. Unfortunately there is always someone who wants to make jokes about overweight people.

Jan
Member

08-01-2000

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 10:29 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I think OI is right. I think, because she was overweight, someone "laughingly" suggested she died while eating and the story took off from there.

Marysafan
Member

08-07-2000

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 3:27 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Ummm...Julieboo...I am sorry to report that I am one who joined you on the snooze patrol. I made it to the part where they met the Beatles before conking out. Sorry.

Julieboo
Member

02-05-2002

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 4:01 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I think it was just a poorly made episode, cuz I usually am able to stay awake...

Marysafan
Member

08-07-2000

Saturday, August 21, 2004 - 4:08 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I was really enjoying it...it was just a bit past my bedtime. I had watched the one on David Crosby earlier...I really liked it.

I thought that Denny Dougherty was really telling the story well. Having read a couple of books about them including the infamous kiss and tell all by Papa John...I was wondering just how much they were going to tell! lol!

Starshine40
Member

07-30-2002

Thursday, August 26, 2004 - 3:07 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
Back in the early 60's I worked in a nightclub in VA. BEACH, VA (hubby was in Navy so we lived there for 3 yrs). While working I saw Cass Elliot along with the rest of the Mamas and the Papas perform. She was overweight even back then.

Zeno39
Member

11-09-2002

Monday, September 06, 2004 - 7:20 pm   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post    
I wonder if the story is true that before they hit it big that Mama Cass was in a restaurant or somewhere, and Barbra Streisand snubbed her. Then when they became famous, Cass said to heck with Barbra. (she didn't say "heck" as you can imagine) I have never liked Barbra Streisand because of her mightier-than-thou attitude. I do admit that her voice is great, but as a person, I can't stand her!