Cass Elliot Cass Elliot Cass Elliot (born Ellen Naomi Cohen; September 19, 1941 – July 29, 1974), also known as Mama Cass, was an American singer and actress, best known as a member of the Mamas & the Papas. After the group broke up, she released five solo albums. In 1998 she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her work with the Mamas & the Papas. Ellen Naomi Cohen was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the daughter of Philip Cohen (d: 1962) and his wife Bess (née Levine, 1915–1994). Both her parents were the children of Jewish
The Mamas & the Papas to the stage, making a disastrous start in John Phillips' "Man on the Moon" (1975). In 1977, he returned to his birthplace, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and started playing legitimate roles, including Shakespeare, at the Neptune Theatre under the tutelage of John Neville. This led to television work, beginning with a variety program, "Denny's Sho*", which ran for one season in 1978. He went on to host and voice parts in the children's program, "Theodore Tugboat", and to act in various series, including twenty-two episodes of the drama "Pit Pony". Doherty also performed with the New Mamas and the Papas (see