Cass Elliot(1941-1974)

Regularly drove approximately 40 miles from her home on Woodrow Wilson Drive in the Laurel Canyon section of the Hollywood Hills to the Malibu home of Julia Phillips so they could play the card game canasta during the early 1970s. Phillips, who resided with her husband on Nicholas Beach Road in the Trancas Highlands section of Malibu during that era, later devoted four pages to the singer in the bestselling book "You'll Never Eat Lunch in This Town Again". Phillips also claimed the singer hated the IRS and paid an outstanding debt of $10,000 to this government agency with a truckload of pennies that she arranged to leave outside its office near the 405 freeway in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. Phillips continued the story on page 154 of the book: "It was a costly joke -- finding the pennies and the truck large enough to do it cost her another three grand, not to mention being cited by the government for contempt and having to collect the pennies and remove them. All in all she came out about even. That was how it was with Cass. If she broke even, she was having fun.".

When you're on stage, you gotta do it. People pay to see you, and they deserve to be entertained and you should go out there and really give it your best shot. And that's quite a challenge. You have a new audience for every show. Even though you do the same thing all the time, you gotta keep it fresh for yourself and you gotta keep it good and interesting and something you want to do. I'm anxious to have a really terrific act. Whatever it takes it takes.