The Ham What Am/Not

October 11, 2008 5:20 PM

The myth persisted over the years until it became real even though the truth was known. Now thanks to wonder of the net, we find out that Mama Cass did not die from eating a Ham Sandwich. NSFW
posted by Xurando (27 comments total)

I didn't think it was news; it is one of those cryogenically-preserved-Walt-Disney-calibre rumours that doesn't stand up to much scrutiny.

On the other hand, I find it exceedingly odd that the room where Cass cashed in was the same room where Keith Moon would go to glory four years later (insert joke about Harry Nillsson and housesittters here).
posted by ricochet biscuit at 5:39 PM on October 11, 2008

And I was just getting my timing perfect to that Mama Cass/Karen Carpenter joke.
posted by hal9k at 5:49 PM on October 11, 2008

cass elliot truly had a great voice.
posted by brandz at 6:03 PM on October 11, 2008

THE OFFICIAL CASS ELLIOT WEBSITE
posted by lee at 6:03 PM on October 11, 2008

That kills off one of my great theories: that if Mama Cass had only given that ham sandwich to Karen carpenter, they'd both be alive today.
posted by jonmc at 6:06 PM on October 11, 2008 [7 favorites]

Mama Cass was awesome. Watch her with Sammy Davis Jr.
posted by grounded at 6:32 PM on October 11, 2008

The "hit on the head with a pipe" story is bullshit, too.
posted by yhbc at 6:32 PM on October 11, 2008

I hear that Rob Schneider likes to pick up day laborers from Home Depot and pay them to choke him in the shower.
posted by stavrogin at 6:33 PM on October 11, 2008 [7 favorites]

Cass Elliot was brilliantly talented, and left this world too soon.
posted by mewithoutyou at 6:37 PM on October 11, 2008

If I Die, Please Finish This Sandwich
posted by twoleftfeet at 7:25 PM on October 11, 2008

Geez, you ruined that joke. If Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter would have shared that sandwich...
posted by fixedgear at 7:26 PM on October 11, 2008

wow that Pufnstuf video brought back some very odd memories of my youth.......and was that Mickey Dolenz carousing in that photo with Harry and Ringo? Thanks for the post Xurando!
posted by HappyHippo at 8:06 PM on October 11, 2008

Man she could wail, huh? California Dreamin'*, she had a real strong spirit about her, a lot of soul, brave as hell to look like she did and get out there and do what she did. She deserved way better than that stupid urban legend. "It's not country music, it's the music of our country.""I don't think it's so important who you vote for, you vote for who you believe in, but the important thing is to vote, because it's our way and it's the best way..." I love Cass Elliot.

*Dammit, that is such a good song!
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:57 PM on October 11, 2008

And now, just for a bonus and nothing to do with nothing, because I've fallen down a youtube hole, here is the motherfuckin killer, Jerry Lee, putting his strong thing down on Me and Bobby McGee.
posted by Divine_Wino at 9:23 PM on October 11, 2008

Cass Elliot died of not eating a ham sandwich -- it was dieting that killed her. Keith Moon died of not drinking -- he overdosed on pills to fight alcohol withdrawal. What did Harry Nilsson die of not doing?
posted by pracowity at 11:05 PM on October 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

Not hearing a word they're sayin'?
posted by lumensimus at 11:20 PM on October 11, 2008 [3 favorites]

So she died of eating lots of ham sandwiches then?
posted by srboisvert at 4:40 AM on October 12, 2008

I was awake at ass-thirty one night, watching Cartoon Network (like you do), and caught the Scooby-Doo episode on which she was a guest star. Every joke with or about her was a diet joke. It was ghastly.
posted by Countess Elena at 5:27 AM on October 12, 2008

HURF DURF SANDWICH NOT-EATER

You know that when the Mamas and the Papas first started, she wasn't a mama either? I also heard that their so-called "California dreamin'" was really just idle conjecture on the topic of Oregon. And it's an open secret in the industry that John Phillips was France's Marshal Ney.
posted by No-sword at 5:34 AM on October 12, 2008

That kills off one of my great theories: that if Mama Cass had only given that ham sandwich to Karen carpenter, they'd both be alive today.

Sorry to be a literal-minded joke killer, but the death of Mama Cass and Karen Carpenter's deaths were similar, because they both died from the strain on their heart caused by crash dieting. Extreme yo-yo dieting can be deadly regardless of whether you're overweight or underweight.
posted by jonp72 at 7:22 AM on October 12, 2008

What did Harry Nilsson die of not doing?

I heard an urban legend that Harry Nilsson died of a heart attack after hearing Mariah Carey's version of "Without You," but Wikipedia contradicts me on this point (Carey's version wasn't released until a week after Nilsson died).
posted by jonp72 at 7:30 AM on October 12, 2008

That kills off one of my great theories: that if Mama Cass had only given that ham sandwich to Karen carpenter, they'd both be alive today.

That's a hilarious anorexia joke, jonmc, but Karen Carpenter actually died from being force-fed in a rehab center.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:46 PM on October 12, 2008

I drank the slab that Bon Scott drunk;
I injected some of Hendrix's junk;
I booked a seat on Lynyrd Skynyrd's plane;
Mama Cass's sandwich? Ate the same.
posted by Jimbob at 4:38 PM on October 12, 2008

This is new information? Next you'll be telling me what a Mars Bar party is. And I'll have a flashback to Year 7.
posted by mippy at 5:25 AM on October 13, 2008

Next you'll be telling me what a Mars Bar party is.

I hear it's soon to replace the mudshark in your mythology.
posted by Spatch at 6:23 AM on October 13, 2008 [2 favorites]

Was wondering what was so NSFW until I saw the bare boobies in the Keith Moon pics. Given Moon's penchant for physical destruction, even as much as I love the Who, I think that it's fair to say that Keith Moon is the biggest tit in those photos by far.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:34 AM on October 13, 2008

Why is this nsfw?
posted by tehloki at 5:07 PM on October 13, 2008