My Mama, Cass by Owen Elliot-Kugell

Author:Owen Elliot-Kugell [ELLIOT-KUGELL, OWEN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2024-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

The Don’t Call Me Mama Anymore television special aired on September 28, 1973, to rave reviews. The executives at CBS were pleased, and there were mentions in the trade magazines about the possibility of my mom being brought onboard as a summer replacement for the Sonny and Cher timeslot. The vice president of CBS confirmed in one of the trade magazines that there were talks underway.

All of those rehearsals and subsequent taping of the Don’t Call Me Mama Anymore special had been extensive. She’d had the knee operation only five months before undertaking the rehearsal process. After the two days of taping and a little dancing, she was back to using her cane full time. In an interview with Marilyn Beck of the San Francisco Examiner, she told Marilyn that healing had been a long process due to her weight, but that she’d lost forty-five pounds in the months of bedrest and rehabilitation that followed the surgery. She was exhausted, and now her knee hurt. She checked into the hospital to rest for a few days on the advice of her doctors at the beginning of October.

November found my mother booked into the Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, with her cane in tow. She was obviously still healing, and did the three-day engagement mostly seated while she sang and chatted comfortably with the audience.

On December 7, 1973, she appeared on NBC’s Dean Martin Show for a celebrity roast of actor Carroll O’Connor, television’s faithful grouch Archie Bunker. She was one of the few women among a long cast list of men, including Don Rickles, Gene Kelly, Joey Bishop, Redd Foxx, and Nipsey Russell, and together they roasted O’Connor with pure hilarity. Introducing her, Martin said, “Cass Elliot is truly a great entertainer; I love that gal. I wouldn’t say she’s fat, but from the front she looks like Carroll O’Connor from the back. Only kidding. Ladies and gentlemen, the lovely Cass Elliot.”

Stepping up to the microphone, my mom unleashed her dry wit. Commenting immediately that she was the only woman on the dais, she proceeded to chide O’Connor for his less-than-wonderful treatment of his television wife, the meek but extraordinarily loved Edith Bunker, never even opening a car door for her. Carroll got up to give her a hug and a kiss as she finished her speech. Announcing that he was the recipient of the First Annual Male Chauvinist Pig Award, she bent down and got his award for him, a Golden Pig statue mounted on a wooden base.

The crowd roared with laughter. They loved it. She really knocked it out of the park that night.

December wasn’t over yet, and she was due to perform in Honolulu, Hawaii, at a club called C’est Si Bon. But when she arrived, she felt unwell with flu symptoms and was taken to the hospital there, missing part of her engagement as a result. Because she was hospitalized for six days, the original two-week booking ended up becoming only a three-night gig.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.