Carpenters

: This article is about a musical group. If you are looking for information about the skilled trade, see carpenter.

1980s

Richard sought treatment for his addiction at a Topeka, Kansas, facility in early 1979. Karen, meanwhile, decided to pursue a solo album project with renowned producer Phil Ramone in New York. Her choice of more adult-oriented and disco/dance-tempo material represented an effort to retool their image. The resulting product, however, met a tepid response from Richard and A&M executives in early 1980, and Karen wavered in her dedication to the project. Ultimately, she abandoned the solo effort in favor of launching a new LP with her brother, now fully recovered from his addiction. (Her solo LP, Karen Carpenter, remained unreleased until October 1996.) Their LP Made in America, released in 1981, spawned a final top 20 hit single, "Touch Me When We're Dancing."

Related Topics:
1979 - Phil Ramone - 1980 - 1996 - 1981

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Personal troubles, however, dimmed the prospects of this modest return to the charts, as Karen suffered from a failed 1980 marriage to real estate developer Thomas J. Burris (the couple separated one year after their fairy tale-like wedding) and the ongoing effects of her anorexia nervosa. In 1982, Karen sought therapy with noted psychotherapist Steven Levenkron in New York City for her disorder and returned to California later that year determined to regain her professional career. She quickly gained 10 lb (5 kg) in one week, but the sudden weight gain further damaged her heart, which was already damaged from years of dieting and abuse (especially - as is rumored - abuse of ipecac, which directly damages heart muscle when taken repeatedly). On February 4, 1983, Karen suffered cardiac arrest at her parents' home in Downey and was pronounced dead at Downey Memorial Hospital at the age of only 32. A funeral service was held later. Karen Carpenter, dressed in pink, laid in an open casket, and through an afternoon rain a thousand mourners passed through to say goodbye. Among the people were her best friends, Dorothy Hamill, Olivia Newton John, Petula Clark, Cristina Ferrare and Dionne Warwick. "I saw her at the Grammy's photo session and she was so proud of the way she looked", said Warwick.

Related Topics:
Thomas J. Burris - Fairy tale - Anorexia nervosa - 1982 - New York City - Ipecac - 1983 - Cardiac arrest - Dorothy Hamill - Olivia Newton John - Petula Clark - Cristina Ferrare - Dionne Warwick - Grammy

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