Cass Elliot didn’t die eating a ham sandwich. But the lasting power of that urban legend speaks to a far darker story. Elliot possessed one of the most influential voices of the 1960s. However, while her big break with The Mamas and The Papas and meteoric career changed the LA music scene forever, it also entrapped Elliot in a cycle of fat-shaming, sending her spiraling into catastrophic weight-loss regimens. In this episode, we’ll talk about the music industry’s complicated relationship with weight, how crash dieting likely led to the untimely death of this music legend, and the true legacy of Elliot in pop culture.
This episode was written and performed by Lexi Pandell, a writer from Oakland, California. Her work has been published by The Atlantic, the New York Times, WIRED, The New Republic, Condé Nast Traveler, GQ, Playboy and many others.
The Hard Hollywood Life of Kim Novak — 10th anniversary restoration
Introducing: Talking Pictures from TCM and Max
Eyes Wide Shut, Part 2, and the Sexiest Man Alive in 1999 (Erotic 90s, Part 21)
Eyes Wide Shut, Part 1 (Erotic 90’s, Part 20)
90s Lolitas Volume 3: Wild Things, Cruel Intentions and Britney Spears (Erotic 90’s, Part 19)
90’s Lolitas Volume 2: Adrian Lyne’s Lolita (Erotic 90’s, Part 18)
The Lynch Family: Boxing Helena & Lost Highway (Erotic 90’s, Part 17)
Crash and David Cronenberg (Erotic 90’s, Part 16)
“Lesbian Chic”: Bound and Anne Heche in Wild Side (Erotic 90’s, Part 15)
Introducing: Glitter & Might
Showgirls, Jade, and the fall of Joe Eszterhas. (Erotic 90’s, Part 14)
The Last Seduction, Disclosure, & Fear of the Female Boss (Erotic 90’s, Part 13)
Sliver and Sharon Stone as Superstar (Erotic 90’s, Part 12)
Indecent Proposal (Erotic 90’s, Part 11)
Sex, Erotica and Body of Evidence (Erotic 90’s, Part 10)
Red Shoe Diaries and sex on TV in the 90s. (Erotic 90’s, Part 9)
90s Lolitas, volume 1: Drew Barrymore, Amy Fisher and Alicia Silverstone (Erotic 90’s, Part 8)
Murphy Brown, Dan Quayle and Damage (Erotic 90’s, Part 7)
Basic Instinct (Erotic 90’s, Part 6)
The Blanks From Hell: Fatal Attraction’s Children (Erotic 90’s, Part 5)
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