Editing Cass Elliot (section)

=== 1968–1973: Solo career===
After the breakup of the Mamas and the Papas, Elliot embarked on a solo singing career. Her most successful recording during this period was 1968's "[[Dream a Little Dream of Me]]" from [[Dream a Little Dream (Cass Elliot album)|her solo album of the same name]], released by [[Dunhill Records]], though it had originally been released earlier that year on the album ''[[The Papas & The Mamas]]''.

'''Las Vegas show'''

[[File:Cass Elliot Johnny Cash 1969.JPG|thumb|left|Elliot with [[Johnny Cash]] in 1969]]
In October 1968, Elliot made her live solo debut headlining in [[Las Vegas]] at [[Caesars Palace]], scheduled for a three-week engagement at $40,000 per week with two shows per night.<ref name="Sink Along With Mama Cass">{{cite news |title=Sink Along With Mama Cass |url=http://www.casselliot.com/esquire.htm |publisher=Esquire |date=June 1969 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213064703/http://casselliot.com/esquire.htm |archive-date=December 13, 2010 }}</ref> According to Elliot, she went on a six-month crash diet before the show, losing 100 of her 300 pounds. However, she attributed a stomach ulcer and throat problems to her severe regimen, which she treated by drinking milk and cream—rapidly regaining 50 pounds in the process.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mama Cass In Training for Night Club Re-Entry |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1356&dat=19721215&id=AGdRAAAAIBAJ&pg=5061,3404963 |publisher=Ocala Star Banner |date=December 15, 1972}}</ref>

She was confined to her bed for three weeks before the first performance while the musical director, band, and production supervisor attempted to put together a show in her absence. She was scheduled to rehearse for a full three days before the show opened, but she managed to get through only part of one run-through with the band before saying that she was losing her voice. She skipped the remainder of rehearsals and drank tea and lemon, hoping to recover and pull herself together for opening night.<ref name="Fiegel">{{cite book |last=Fiegel |first=Eddi |title=Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of Cass Elliot |publisher=Chicago Review Press |date=September 28, 2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dreamlittledream00fieg/page/265 265–267] |isbn=978-1-55652-588-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/dreamlittledream00fieg/page/265}}</ref>

An audience of 950 people filled the Circus Maximus theater at Caesar's Palace on the evening of Wednesday, October 16, including [[Sammy Davis Jr.]], [[Peter Lawford]], [[Jimi Hendrix]], [[Joan Baez]], [[Liza Minnelli]], and [[Mia Farrow]], who had sent flowers to Elliot's dressing room, but backstage she had developed a raging fever. Friends urged her manager to cancel the show, but she felt that it was too important and insisted on performing. Sick and having barely rehearsed, she began to fall apart during the course of her first performance; her voice was weak and barely audible, and the large crowd was unsympathetic, despite the celebrity well-wishers. At the end of the show, Elliot returned to the stage to apologize to the audience; "This is the first night, and it will get better", she said. She then sang "Dream a Little Dream of Me" and left the stage as the audience applauded half-heartedly. She returned later that night to perform the second show, but her voice was worse, and many of the audience noisily walked out.<ref name="Fiegel2">{{cite book |last=Fiegel |first=Eddi |title=Dream a Little Dream of Me: The Life of Cass Elliot |publisher=Chicago Review Press |date=September 28, 2005 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dreamlittledream00fieg/page/267 267–8] |isbn=978-1-55652-588-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/dreamlittledream00fieg/page/267}}</ref>

Reviews were harsh. ''Esquire'' magazine called the show "Sink Along with Cass" and "a disaster" that was "heroic in proportion, epic in scope".<ref name="Sink Along With Mama Cass"/> The ''Los Angeles Free Press'' called it "an embarrassing drag", while ''Newsweek'' compared it to the [[Sinking of the RMS Titanic|''Titanic'' disaster]]: "Like some great ocean liner embarking on an ill-fated maiden voyage, Mama Cass slid down the waves and sank to the bottom". The show closed after only one night, and Elliot flew back to Los Angeles for what was described as "a tonsillectomy".<ref name="Fiegel"/>

Within hours of the end of Elliot's Las Vegas concert, rumors began to spread that she had been taking drugs during the weeks leading up to it. Eddi Fiegel wrote in the biography ''Dream a Little Dream of Me'' that Elliot later admitted to a boyfriend that she had injected [[heroin]] immediately before going on stage. Embarrassed by the debacle, Elliot plunged into a deep depression.<ref name="Fiegel"/>

''' Later work ''' 
[[File:Cass Elliot 1973 television special.JPG|thumb|upright|right|Elliot in a publicity photograph for ''Don't Call Me Mama Anymore'' (1973)]]
Elliot appeared in two television variety specials: ''The Mama Cass Television Program'' (ABC, 1969) and ''Don't Call Me Mama Anymore'' (CBS, 1973). She was a regular guest on TV talk shows and variety shows in the early 1970s, including ''[[The Mike Douglas Show]]'', ''[[The Andy Williams Show]]'', ''[[Hollywood Squares]]'', ''[[The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)|The Johnny Cash Show]]'', ''The [[Ray Stevens]] Show'', ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'', and ''[[The Carol Burnett Show]]'', and was a guest panelist for a week on the game show ''[[Match Game|Match Game '73]]''. She guest-hosted for [[Johnny Carson]] on ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' and appeared as a guest on the show 13 other times. She also appeared on and co-hosted ''[[The Music Scene (TV series)|The Music Scene]]'' on ABC and was featured on the first ''[[The Midnight Special (TV series)|The Midnight Special]]'' on NBC.

Elliot performed the title song "The Good Times Are Comin{{'"}} during the opening sequence of the 1970 film ''[[Monte Walsh (1970 film)|Monte Walsh]]'', starring [[Lee Marvin]] and [[Jack Palance]]. In 1970, Elliot was signed to [[RCA Records]]; her first album for RCA, ''[[Cass Elliot (album)|Cass Elliot]]'', was issued in January, 1972. Also in 1972, she made three appearances on the variety series ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]''. Her final appearance on the show was the Christmas installment that aired on Wednesday, December 20, 1972. In December 1978, four years after Elliot's death, the episode was rebroadcast on syndicated stations as a Christmas special titled ''Merry Christmas with Love, Julie''. However, all of Elliot's solos were deleted from the syndicated edit. In 2009, a complete videotape of ''The Julie Andrews Hour Christmas Show'' was donated to [[The Paley Center For Media]] in New York, with all of Elliot's numbers intact.

[[File:Cass Elliot Diahann Carroll Jack Lemmon Jack Lemmon Special 1973.jpg|thumb|upright|left|From left to right: Elliot, [[Diahann Carroll]] and [[Jack Lemmon]] in 1973]]
In 1973, Elliot performed in ''Saga of Sonora'', a TV music-comedy-Western special with [[Jill St. John]], [[Vince Edwards]], [[Zero Mostel]], and [[Lesley Ann Warren]]. She also sang the jingle "Hurry on down to Hardee's, where the burgers are charco-broiled" for [[Hardee's]] advertisements.<ref>{{cite news |date=April 23, 1997 |title=Hardee's looking at return to char-broiled burgers |url=http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/04/23/biz_207185.shtml#.WMctReTatnw |newspaper=Augusta Chronicle |access-date=March 13, 2017 |archive-date=December 4, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204114607/http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/1997/04/23/biz_207185.shtml#.WMctReTatnw |url-status=dead }}</ref> Throughout the early 1970s, Elliot continued her acting career, as well. She had a featured role in the movie ''[[Pufnstuf (film)|Pufnstuf]]'' (1970) and made guest appearances on TV's ''[[The New Scooby-Doo Movies]]''; ''[[Young Dr. Kildare (TV series)|Young Dr. Kildare]]''; ''[[Love, American Style]]''; and ''[[The Red Skelton Show]]''; among others.

In 1973, Elliot hired as her manager [[Allan Carr]], who was also managing the careers of [[Tony Curtis]], [[Ann-Margret]], and [[Peter Sellers]]. Carr felt Elliot needed to leave pop and rock music and head into the cabaret circuit, so a show was put together comprising old standards along with a few new songs written for her by friends. The act included Elliot and two male singers who served as backup singers and sidekicks during the musical numbers. The title of the show was ''Don't Call Me Mama Anymore'', named after one of the songs written by Elliot's friend Earle Brown. The song was born out of Elliot's frustration with being identified as "Mama Cass". The show debuted in Pittsburgh on February 9, 1973. Elliot felt ready to tackle Las Vegas once again and premiered at the [[Flamingo Las Vegas|Flamingo]]. This time, she received rave reviews. ''The Las Vegas Sun'' wrote, "Cass Elliot, making a strong point that she is no longer Mama Cass, has a good act serving notice that she is here to stay. The audience was with her all the way&nbsp;... no empty seats anywhere." She then took her act to higher-echelon casinos and swankier nightclubs in cities throughout the country.

Elliot provided the voice for her appearance on the 1973 episode of ''[[The New Scooby-Doo Movies]]'', "The Haunted Candy Factory". She also appeared on ''[[Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated]]'' in the episodes "The Secret Serum", "Pawn of Shadows", and "Dance of the Undead" as a Crystal Cove citizen.

The city of Baltimore dedicated August 15, 1973, as "Cass Elliot Day" in her honor for her homecoming.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://retrobaltimore.tumblr.com/post/93234625979/baltimore-shows-its-love-for-mama-cass-elliot |title=Baltimore shows its love for Mama Cass Elliot |newspaper=Tumblr |access-date=December 19, 2017}}</ref>