Mama Cass Elliot Was 'Unhappy' and 'Pursued Her Love of Opiates,' Author Claims — Before Taking Steps to Kick the Habit
Cass Elliot was a member of The Mamas & the Papas.
July 28 2026, Published 7:20 p.m. ET
Mama Cass Elliot seemingly took steps to stop using drugs before her tragic death in 1974, but according to a resurfaced book, there was a time when her "love of opiates" crossed over into her intimate life, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Decades after her passing, author Barney Hoskins pulled back the curtain on darker aspects of Elliot's life in his 2006 tell-all, Hotel California: The True-Life Adventures of Crosby, Stills, Nash, Young, Mitchell, Taylor, Browne, Ronstadt, Geffen, the Eagles, and Their Many Friends.
Cass Elliot Was 'Unhappy,' Author Claims
The Mamas & the Papas rose to fame in the 1960s.
The U.K. born singer was a member of a '60s folk group called The Mamas & the Papas. They were known for several hits, including California Dreamin', Monday, Monday, Dream a Little Dream of Me, and Dedicated to the One I Love.
While the band briefly rose to fame before splitting up in 1968, Elliot reportedly struggled in her personal life.
"Cass was unhappy. She pursued her love of opiates, including heroin," Hoskyns wrote in a resurfaced excerpt of his book.
"There were a couple of good-looking guys who were (having s--) with Cass," he claimed. "They were basically there for her drugs. She got her taste of s-- and they got their dope."
Cass Elliot Died at 32
Cass Elliot died in her sleep.
Elliot died in her sleep on July 29, 1974. She was only 32 years old and left behind a young daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugell, who she'd welcomed with guitarist Charles Wayne Day.
Her cause of death was later determined to be "heart failure due to fatty myocardial degeneration due to obesity."
Although she had used illicit substances in the past, she reportedly stopped using hard drugs in 1973. Her autopsy additionally confirmed she had no illegal drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of her death.
Cass Elliot's Daughter Debunks Wild Death Rumor
Cass Elliot's daughter firmly denied her mother died from choking on a sandwich.
Following her passing, gossip swirled that Elliot had supposedly choked to death on a sandwich. Her daughter claimed the rampant rumor haunted her throughout her childhood.
"There was a ham sandwich, but she didn't eat it and she didn't choke on it. So enough with the jokes," Elliot-Kugell, 59, said in a past interview, per BBC.
"It's beyond frustrating, almost immeasurable," she continued. "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?'"
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Cass Elliot's daughter said the rumors about her mom's death were 'horrible.'
Elliot-Kugell explained it "bothered" her for years because it was a "horrible" story that was not true.
"And it just felt so cruel to have a rumor like that perpetuated," she added at the time. "It tortured me."
Explaining the origins of the rumor, she shared that her mother had been extremely busy in the days leading up to her passing.
"She was hungry, and her dancer made her a sandwich from the only thing that was in the flat, ham, and left it on her bedside table," Elliot-Kuggel noted. "She never even took a bite."
