Seriously? OMG! WTF?

Bookshop.org

If you asked someone how Mama Cass from the Mamas and Papas died, they would tell you she died choking on a ham sandwich. But is that how the 32-year-old met her fate in 1974?

Her daughter, Owen Elliot-Kugel, who was 7 at the time, wrote a memoir, and in My Mama Cass, she answers that question. Elliot-Kugel says she spoke to former Hollywood Reporter columnist Sue Cameron, who had called to check in on her mother on that dreadful day. She did, Cass’ manager, Alann Carr, picked up the phone. “He was crying and upset and he said, ‘There’s a half-eaten ham sandwich on the nightstand,’” recalls Cameron. In a panic, he told her, “You have to do this. Just say she died choking on the sandwich.”

Why would he lie? In the years leading up to her death, several other musicians like Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, and Janis Joplin passed away from drug overdoses, and he was trying to protect Mama Cass in one final act for his client.

That lie haunted her daughter when she was growing up. But she tells People, “I really believe they were protecting her legacy. And they were trying to protect me. And in a weird way, I’m grateful for that crazy story. As much as it caused me grief, and people made jokes, I now realize it kept her relevant and ready to shine again.”

Even though there were drugs in Cass’ system, the singer’s cause of death was a heart attack.

My Mama Cass will be available to pre-order on May 7th at Bookshop.org.

We have all pictured Simon Cowell doing a lot of things, and I don’t think any of us imagined him as an author of children’s books. Come spring of 2021, that will be on his resume.

The television mogul announced today that he and his son Eric are releasing a 7-book series called Wishfits with Hachette Children’s Group. The Wishfits are a combination of two animals like the DAT (dog/cat) the COG (cat/dog), the SNOG (snail/dog – the enthusiasm of a dog at the speed of a snail), the PEEP (pig/sheep) the CHUG (cheetah/slug – the slowest cat in the world), the HIPPOROO (hippo/kangaroo), the CHIMPANPOO (chimpanzee/poodle), the POLARBAT (polar bear/bat), the CROCOPUSS (crocodile/cat), the SHIGER (sheep/tiger – the most nervous cat in the world), the SPIKEY (spider/donkey) and many, many more.

The father and son have been working on this concept for three years, or half of Eric’s life.

Part of the proceeds of the books will be donated to Shooting Star Children’s Hospices and Together For Short Lives. Who knew the King of Mean was such a big softie?

The best part of the press release is the 6-year-old’s bio, “Eric’s favourite things to do are reading stories, he loves going to school and playing with his friends. Eric also loves animals, swimming, go-karting and jet ski-ing together with his dad Simon amongst other adventures. Eric’s dad is Simon Cowell, his mum is Lauren Silverman and Eric also has an older brother Adam Silverman (14).” His bio is more impressive at 6 than mine is now.

Back to the papa bear, does he believe that hybrid animals exist? He wrote, “My gut feeling is that some of these WISHFITS actually exist…somewhere!” Every time our dog humped our cats, we really thought that one day we were going to have a dat or cog. There was only one problem, they were all males, so no puttens or kippies for us. At least not in the real world.

(photo from WireImage)

Henderson, now 77, recounts in her upcoming memoir that she was cheating on her husband during the 1960s, and gave in to her better judgment when her married and unattractive friend put the moves on her over drinks at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
“I was lonely. I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. So, what did I do? I did it,” she writes in “Life is Not a Stage,” set for publication in September.
Henderson went home later that night, and awoke to a grisly surprise the next day as she saw “little black things” crawling over her bed and body.
An urgent call to a doctor took care of the problem, known medically as pubic lice, and Lindsay sent her flowers and a note of apology.
“Guess I learned the hard way that crabs do not discriminate but cross over all socioeconomic strata,” Henderson writes. “He must have had quite the active life. What a way to put the kibosh on a relationship.”

I have to admit that story got me wanting to read the book until I the article added that only one chapter in the book is dedicated to the show that made her household name. That is all I care about when it comes to her.
BTW her TV daughter Susan Olsen aka Cindy Brady to Twitter to defend her TV mom, she said “SOOO sick of the vapid media. Give them a good book to read and all they get is a case of crabs.”

« Previous entries