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Karen
Carpenter
Karen and Richard Carpenter at the White House on August 1,
1972.
1972.
information
2, 1950
New Haven,
Connecticut,
USA
California,
USA
4, 1983 (aged 32)
Downey, California,
USA
Carpenters
Richard
Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an
American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard,
formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters.
Her
drumming skills were considerable, but it is for her vocal performances
that she
is best remembered.[1]
She suffered from anorexia nervosa,
a little known disease at
the time, and died at the age of 32 from heart failure,
later attributed to complications
related to her illness.[2]
After death
Carpenter's death brought lasting media attention to anorexia nervosabulimia. In
the years after Carpenter's death, there were a number of celebrities
who
decided to go public about their eating disorders, among them actress Tracey
Gold, the Olsen Twins,
and Diana,
Princess of Wales. Medical
centers and hospitals began receiving increased contacts from people
with these
disorders. The general public had little knowledge of anorexia nervosa
and
bulimia prior to Carpenter's death, making the condition difficult to
identify
and treat.[19] and
also to
Her family started the "Karen A. Carpenter Memorial Foundation,"
which raised
money for research on anorexia nervosa and eating disorders. Today the
name of
the organization has been changed to the "Carpenter Family Foundation."
In
addition to eating disorders, the foundation now funds the arts,
entertainment
and education.
Carpenters' star at the Hollywood Walk
of
Fame.
On October 12, 1983, the Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood
Walk of Fame. It is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd., a few yards
from the Kodak
Theater.[20] Richard, Harold
and Agnes Carpenter attended the inauguration, as did many fans.
In 1987, movie director Todd
Haynes used songs by Richard and Karen in his movie Superstar:
The Karen Carpenter
Story. In the movie, Haynes portrayed the Carpenters with Barbie dolls, rather than live actors. The
movie was later pulled from distribution after Richard Carpenter won a
court
case involving song royalties;
Haynes had not obtained legal permission to use The Carpenters'
recordings.
On January 1, 1989, the similarly-titled made-for-TV movie The
Karen Carpenter Story aired on CBS with Cynthia Gibb in the
title role. Gibb lip-synced the songs to Carpenter's recorded voice.
Both films
use the song "This Masquerade" in the background while showing Karen's
marriage
to Burris.
