I started on this path talking about the movie "My Dinner with Jimi"
The movie featured a look a like actor portraying Cass Elliot ( the Mamas and Papas ).. The actress who played Cass Elliot wasn't a good fit. It reminded me of a high school play sort of caliber at that point. Luckily there were other scenes and actors to pull the movie out of the nosedive.
Cass Elliot's real name was Ellen Naomi Cohen. Contrary to legend, she did not choke on a sandwich or hamburger. She did die of an apparent heart attack in London, England while on tour there. The interesting part is that she died in the London apartment of singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson. Cass Elliot was 32 when she died on July 24, 1974.
The wild and crazy drummer for the Who, Keith Moon died in exactly the same apartment, four years later on September 7, 1978. Keith Moon was also 32 years old when he took his turn at dying in Harry Nilsson house.
Keith had been out for dinner with Paul McCartney on the eve of Sept 6. He went home and accidentally or purposely overdosed on doctor prescribed medication. Likely poor Keith couldn't bear the thought of another evening with Paul McCartney, so he just cashed in his chips right then and there.
The wild man Keith Moon is credited with giving the band Led Zeppelin their name.
Harry Nilsson was a singer/songwriter of exceptional talent. He wrote many big selling hits for other artists and had fantastic success himself. His biggest downfall as a pop musician was his huge dislike for touring and live performances.
Harry became friends with John Lennon, and the two went down some very strange, booze and drug fueled paths together. This included getting tossed out of the Troubador club for heckling the Smothers Brothers, and Nilsson throwing a bottle through a 30 foot high hotel window.
Harry Nilsson died of a heart attack in 1994 at age 52. One of his songs that is rarely attributed to him is "Put the Lime in the Coconut"
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