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"A
Kind of Hush" was
released.
During this time, John Bettis, long time friend and songwriter for the
Carpenters began to notice the games Karen played when it came to eating. Such
as a time when she would make sure everyone noticed she was having shrimp and
the time it took her to butter her dinner roll only to eat less than a bite of
it. Rituals such as those are very common in
patients with Anorexia.
Newsletter,
February: Karen has made a full recovery from her recent
illness and is her old vivacious self again.
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The Carpenters Very First Television Special
The Carpenters and the ABC network cut a
deal for their first TV special which aired on December 8,
1976. The show had special guests
John Denver and Victor Borge. It placed No.6 for the week.
Concert 1976
 In
the photo of Karen and Richard singing "We've Only Just Begun"
shocked many people with holding hands for a split second.
They both have noted that they weren't brought up as a "touching
and kissing family." But they felt it was ridiculous
that they did not touch each other so they put it in.Joe Layton,
a Broadway producer was brought in to give a make-over to the Carpenters
show. He brought in a designer to design clothes for Karen.
Tighter fitting clothes were suggested and this greatly worried
her. As with many anorexics, layered clothing was a way to
hide their skeletal bodies.
During fittings with Karen, she mentioned her concerns with the
size of her hips. Richard was quoted as saying,
"Can we do something to hide those hips?" This
was taken the wrong way Richard explains at a later time. His
concern was not the size of her hips, but that her pelvic bones
were visible as seen in this photo.
Late
'76 Karen
moved into her condo in Century City at 2222 Avenue
of the Stars. This was a big move toward her independence. One
that Agnes did not care for. Karen never really
bought into living like a big star, but many of her friends
wanted to help her into the Beverly Hills lifestyle.
She went to favorite spots of the stars around Los Angles and began
shopping for herself at places such as Gucci. Down deep though,
she was still the down to earth girl from Downey, Ca. Richard
and her mother and father felt Karen was going against who she
really was. Karen still stayed close to her family
roots by visiting her parents and staying the night often. |
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Fanclub Newsletter January 1977: After
many disappointing delays, Karen has finally moved into her
condominium. I've had no opportunity to see it yet, but have
been told it's a beauty. Workers still go in and out making
adjustments, adding final touches here and there and making
last minute installations. Karen tries to work around them,
placing beautiful gifts she's received and items she purchased
on shelves or in drawers. Friends stop by to greet her and
take the grand tour. Deliveries by various delivery men are
numerous. The first ring of the doorbell each day ushers
in instant bedlam, but Karen loves every minute of this new
kind of excitement and even took time to bake some Christmas
cookies in her new kitchen.
The photo's below are taken of Karen's condo
at 222 Avenue of the Stars after her passing.
 
TV Appearances
Dorothy Hamill Special
The Midnight Special
Carpenters Very First TV Special
Live in Osaka Japan
A World of Music (UK, New London Theatre)
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