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Cass Elliot
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== Early life and education == Ellen Naomi Cohen was born on September 19, 1941, in [[Baltimore, Maryland]], the daughter of Philip (died 1962) and Bess Cohen (nΓ©e Levine; 1915β1994).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Rasmussen|first1=Fred|title=Bess Cohen, was mother of Mama Cass|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/04/02/bess-cohen-was-mother-of-mama-cass/|access-date=March 27, 2018|work=The Baltimore Sun|date=April 2, 1994}}</ref> All four of her grandparents were [[Russian-Jewish]] immigrants. Her family was subject to significant financial stresses and uncertainties during her childhood years. Her father, involved in several business ventures, ultimately succeeded through the development of a lunch wagon in Baltimore that provided meals to construction workers.<ref>[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel Eddi Fiegel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021413/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel |date=April 9, 2017 }}, ''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel/dream-a-little-dream-of-me Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliott]'' ([[Sidgwick & Jackson]], 2005; [[Pan Macmillan]], 2006), pp. 26β27.</ref> Her mother was a trained nurse.<ref name="Haaretz.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/features/this-day-in-jewish-history/.premium-1.607677|title=This Day in Jewish History: Singer Cass Elliot Dies|first=David B.|last=Green|date=July 29, 2014|access-date=May 21, 2017|work=Haaretz}}</ref> Elliot had a brother, Joseph, and a younger sister, [[Leah Kunkel|Leah]], who also became a singer and recording artist. Elliot's early life was spent with her family in [[Alexandria, Virginia]], and when she was 15, the family moved back to Baltimore, where they had briefly lived at the time of Elliot's birth.<ref>[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel Eddi Fiegel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021413/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel |date=April 9, 2017 }}, ''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel/dream-a-little-dream-of-me Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliott]'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005; Pan Macmillan, 2006), pp. 19, 26β27.</ref> Elliot adopted the name "Cass" in high school. Her later stage name came about in part from her father calling his spirited daughter "the mad [[Cassandra]]".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-13 |title=Cass Elliot's Death Spawned a Horrible Myth. She Deserves Better. - The New York Times |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/arts/music/cass-elliot-mamas-and-the-papas-death.html |access-date=2025-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250213054704/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/09/arts/music/cass-elliot-mamas-and-the-papas-death.html |archive-date=February 13, 2025 |last1=Zoladz |first1=Lindsay }}</ref> She assumed the surname "Elliot" some time later, in memory of a friend who had died. While in Alexandria, she attended [[George Washington Middle School (Virginia)|George Washington High School]].<ref>[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel Eddi Fiegel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021413/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel |date=April 9, 2017 }}, ''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel/dream-a-little-dream-of-me Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliott]'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005; Pan Macmillan, 2006), p. 19.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering the Lizard King: Classmates Remember the Jim Morrison They Knew|url=http://archives.waiting-forthe-sun.net/Pages/Articles/lizard_king_remembered.html|website=Waiting-forthe-sun.net|access-date=February 6, 2016}}</ref> When Elliot's family returned to Baltimore, she attended [[Forest Park High School (Maryland)|Forest Park High School]] in [[Dorchester, Baltimore|Dorchester]].<ref>[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel Eddi Fiegel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021413/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel |date=April 9, 2017 }}, ''[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel/dream-a-little-dream-of-me Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliott]'' (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005; Pan Macmillan, 2006), pp. 21β28.</ref> While attending Forest Park High School, Elliot became interested in acting. She won a small part in the play ''[[The Boy Friend (musical)|The Boy Friend]]'', a [[summer stock]] production at the [[Parkway Theatre (Baltimore)|Hilltop Theatre]] in Owings Mills, Maryland<ref>[https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel Eddi Fiegel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409021413/https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel |date=April 9, 2017 }}, [https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/eddi-fiegel/dream-a-little-dream-of-me ''Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of 'Mama' Cass Elliott''] (Sidgwick & Jackson, 2005; Pan Macmillan, 2006), p. 35.</ref> in 1959 under the name Ellen Cohen.<ref>{{Cite news |date=August 23, 1959 |title='Boy Friend' Held Over |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/375155515/ |work=The Baltimore Sun |pages=45}}</ref> She left high school shortly before graduation and moved to New York City to further her acting career (as recounted in the lyrics to "[[Creeque Alley]]").
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