Michelle Phillips, 78, Reunites With Wilson Phillips To Honor ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot With Hollywood Star

Nearly 50 years aft “Mama” Cass Elliot’s death, the vocalist – who helped signifier the people stone question of the 1960s arsenic portion of The Mamas & The Papas – received a prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame connected Monday (Oct. 3). Helping to observe was Michelle Phillips, who sang alongside “Mama” Cass, Denny Doherty, and John Phillips in the iconic group. The ceremonial was a household affair, arsenic Michelle, 78, joined girl Chynna Philips, Carnie Wilson, and Wendy Wilson – aka Wilson Philips – arsenic good arsenic different surviving legends.

Chynna Phillips, Bijou Phillips, Owen Elliot-Kugell, Mackenzie Phillips, and Michelle Phillips. Cass Elliot was honored with prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Shutterstock)

Bijou Phillips and Mackenzie Phillips, daughters of the precocious John Philips, were on-hand, arsenic good arsenic Cass’ kid Owen Elliot-Kugell, Mickey Dolenz, John Sebastian, Stephen Stills, Beverly D’Angelo, and Cass’ sister Leah Kunkell. The icons watched arsenic Cass’s prima was unveiled connected the agelong of Hollywood Boulevard betwixt Sycamore and LaBrea. Her prima is alongside the stars of Sidney Poitier and Tyne Daly, according to Variety.

In the precocious 1980s, the bequest of The Mamas & The Papas continued with the enactment of Wilson Philips. The group, featuring Carnie, 54, Wendy, 52 (the daughters of Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys and Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford), and Chynna (the kid of Michelle and John Philips) recovered occurrence with their vivid vocal harmonies. In 1990, Wilson Phillips won the Billboard Music Award for Hot 100 Single of the Year for “Hold On.”

Michelle Phillips of the folk-rock radical The Mamas & The Papas poses alongside a representation of her precocious bandmate “Mama” Cass Elliot earlier a ceremonial to grant Cass Elliot a posthumous prima connected the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Shutterstock)

Cass Elliot died successful a London level successful 1974 astatine the property of 32. “I can’t archer you the fig of radical implicit the years who person told maine however overmuch my mother’s euphony and who she was affected them, and made a large quality successful their lives,” Owen Elliot-Kugell told Variety. He was 7 erstwhile she passed away. “The puerility memories I person are not numerous, but they are vivid,” helium said. “I bash person a treasure trove of written and video interviews, including 1 from The Dinah Shore Show, erstwhile she brought maine along. Getting to spot our enactment was incredibly meaningful for me. … When I find retired these things, I tin consciousness them connected a cellular level that they’re true. I tin conscionable archer instinctually. I’ve had to larn astir her, and I’m perpetually seeking retired much information.”

The Mamas & The Papas (Shutterstock)

Though Cass passed distant successful her sleep, an municipality fable roseate aft her death, claiming she died by choking connected a ham sandwich. Writer Lexi Pandell explained connected You Must Remember This that Cass’s decease was bosom failure, apt brought connected by her past of clang dieting.

“[Elliot’s] authoritative origin of decease was labeled arsenic ‘fatty myocardial degeneration owed to obesity—but that would inactive beryllium a shocking origin of decease for specified a young pistillate and has mostly been refuted,” Pandell told Vogue in 2021. “From the probe I’ve done and the doctors I spoke to, it seems the astir apt origin of decease was utmost dieting successful operation with semipermanent substance abuse.” Pandell said that present-day fatphobia continues to obfuscate Cass’s death, due to the fact that “confronting the anticipation that Cass whitethorn person died owed to utmost dieting challenges our idealization of fare culture.”