Karen Carpenter

Karen has been moved.  Updated March 04 in RED

June 2001:  By the prompting of my pal Gary, from "Seeing Stars" on the links page, I had to do a bit more research on Karen.  He told me that he heard Karen didn't die the way I mentioned before, and he's right!  I sent a plea out to my pal Ted at Celebrity Collectables, also on the links page, and he sent me Karen's autopsy report.  Gary was right, I was wrong.  Here is the correct version, integrated with my older information.  This was one of my original, very bland stories.  I figured it was time to give Karen the true Findadeath.com treatment.

I swapped some autograph or another, to obtain the one above.  It's signed by both Richard and Karen, to Jerry.  Jerry is Jerry Maren, one of the munchkins from the Wizard of Oz.  He was the guy that handed over the lollipop to Dorothy. Kewl.  A double celeb whammy.  Anyway...

Karen and Richard Carpenter were probably the most successful brother and sister singing duo in music history. The Carpenters had 23 hit singles including "Top of the World", and "We've Only Just Begun", and sold over 80 million albums. Personally, "Goodbye to Love," is my favorite.  What an awesome, awesome record.  I understand that the Carpenters got a lot of hate mail, because they supposedly sold out to "hard rock" with the guitar solo at the end.  God, how conservative can you get?  Oh those Carpenters!  They are on the edge!  Anyway, with the duo's first big money, they invested in apartment buildings across from one another in Downey, California, where they went to school.  They decided to name the buildings by their first big hits,  "Only Just Begun" and "Close To You".  I don't know if Richard still owns them, but they still have those names on them.  I would love to live there. Such a happy place...  Until that day in February of 1983.

At the time, Karen was living in a condominium in LA at 2222 Avenue of the Stars.  Here are the buildings, though I don't know which one she lived in. Richard was living in Downey, on a street called Lubec, near his parent's house (thanks Vicky). Richard and Karen spent some of their money building a house for their parents, in Downey, where they had lived since 1964.  Here is the  house.  How do I know this?  Because here I am, on the front porch. And what did I do?  I stole a rock.

Karen's last meal was with her parents, at the local Bob's Big Boy, in Downey.  She had a Caesar salad.  It's closed down now, but I'd love to know what's there now, so I can eat there, next time I go.  And there will be a next time.

On the evening of February 3rd, 1983, Karen spent the night in her parents house, in her old bedroom on the second floor of her parents home .  Sometime the next morning, Karen got up, and donned a red jogging suit with a vial of Ativan in the pocket.  She went down to the kitchen around quarter to 9 in the morning.  At 8:50, her mother (immortalized by Louise Fletcher in the film, The Karen Carpenter Story) ((Honestly, if Louise Fletcher is in ANY film, it's gonna be good.)) entered the kitchen, and found Karen unconscious on the floor.  Paramedics were called, took her in an ambulance, tried CPR and the lot, and got her to the Downey Community Hospital where she was finally pronounced dead at 9:51am.  Cardiac arrest.  She was only 32, and weighed 108 pounds.  If anyone has been living in a hole for the last 20 years, Karen suffered from Anorexia Nervosa, the eating disorder.  It had finally taken its toll.  Just when Karen was supposedly recovering, the toll on her heart was too much.

She was given an autopsy later that day, and the findings were:  She wore clear nail polish on her toes. The jogging suit was given to Evelyn Wallace, the Carpenters secretary.  That's the woman I met when I rang the doorbell of the house.  Nice lady.  She gave us Karen and Richard literature to take away, and she spoke to us for about 20 minutes.  I got to peek in the house, and saw an old drum trophy that Karen won in band, and the piano that Richard used to play.  Very cool experience, but I took my pal Sheila there once, and Karen's mom Agnes came to the door.  She was nice and polite, but as we know from Louise Fletcher's Oscar worthy portrayal, she had difficulty displaying warmth.  

The next morning at 9:10am, Karen was taken to the Utter McKinley funeral home, to prepare for the funeral.  There was a closed casket (it was cream colored) visitation at the local branch of Forest Lawn, on the following Sunday the 6th.  Richard had set up a photograph of Karen on top.  The next Tuesday, there was a ceremony at the United Methodist Church, also in Downey.  1000 mourners attended, 600 were invited.  The service was broadcast outside, so the fans could hear.  The service was preceded by an instrumental rendering of a Carpenters medley including Rainy Days and Mondays, Close To You, and We've Only Just Begun.  Pallbearers were Herb Alpert, Steven Alpert,  John Bettis, Warren Wolfen, Gary Sims, Eddie Sulzer, David Alley and Ed Lefler.  You would think she was heavier than 108.  Honorary pallbearers were Olivia Newton John, Burt Bacharach, Dorothy Hamill and Cubby O'Brien, the Mousketeer and Carpenters drummer.  Kewl.

Findadeath.com friend Keenan crashed the service, and managed to scan the program for us.  Here is page one, page two and page three.

Karen is buried in Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress, California. Her crypt is located in the Ascension Mausoleum, Sanctuary of Compassion, and it reads, "A Star On Earth-A Star In Heaven."  Since then, Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter have died too, and they are buried with Karen.

I've been to the grave many times. It's one of the more pleasant celebrity graves I've ever visited.  One time there were flowers left for the father and Karen.  I choose to believe that Richard sent them.  Here is the card.  Yeah, I took it.  So what.  Forest Lawn was just going to dump it anyway.  I'm tired of apologizing for my most interesting (well, to me anyway) hobby.

A long time ago, when Richard was in rehab (Those pills aren't drugs.  They are prescription medicine!), Karen decided to cut a solo album.  Richard freaked.  Big time.  He made her feel so shitty about it, that she shelved the project, and it never saw the light of day, until a few years ago, well after Karen was dead. Richard supplied the liner notes which say, "Due to scheduling conflicts, (the album) was not delivered until early 1980. Upon completion of the playback, the reaction of A&M execs and others, including me, was, to say the least, ambiguous. The result was that on May 5, 1980, Karen decided to shelve the album. 

"As time passes and events unfold, one's perspective on certain matters can change, as has mine regarding this album. Karen was with us precious little time. She was a great artist. This album represents a certain period and change of approach in her career.

"As such, it deserves to be heard, in its entirety, as originally delivered."

Just seems to say, "I thought it was crap then, and still do now. But anyway, here."  I don't know if I like him.

Keenan also sent me this terrific picture of Richard talking to an older woman, and he appears to be flipping her off.  Funny picture.

Trivia: A star on Hollywood's Walk Of Fame was awarded to the Carpenters on October 12, 1983. Eight months after Karen's death.

Trivia:  When I was a kid, I played clarinet in band.  My very first solo of all time was "Top of the World."  Since I never ever throw anything away, I sent the sheet music to Richard a few years ago, for him to sign.  He did, and here it is.

Trivia:  When Louise Fletcher was asked what is was like to portray Mrs. Carpenter, her reply was, "Very Bizarre.  We actually shot in the Carpenter's house - using the same ambulance and drivers that had picked Karen up the day she died."  Weird huh?  Richard produced this flick, and it is amazing.  They used Karen's real clothes and everything.  Enter Twilight Zone music.

Thank you Keenan, Gary, and especially Ted at www.CelebrityCollectables.com .  Go there.  Buy something.

July 2001,  Findadeath.com friend Sharon sends us this testament about living in Downey:

"Hi. My name is Sharon and I grew up in Downey, Ca the home of the Carpenters. I am 33. A few friend's parents & aunts/uncles went to school at Downey High with Richard & Karen and they all have stories.

Richard Carpenter and his family have just sold their home in Downey for a newly built place in Thousand Oaks, Ca.

March 04: 

Gajillions of people have emailed me about this:

My pal Steve Goldstein scooped this back in July or so 2003, that Karen Carpenter was going to be moved.  Shipped up north coz her brother bought a new house.  I for one seriously doubted it, and Steve had the last laugh, because it happened.  On December 11, 2003, Richard had Karen and their parents exhumed, and re interred in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, CA. Karen remained in her original casket, white with pink daisy's. Her casket was entombed at 12:30 in the afternoon, her brother and his wife were present. Richard seemed very happy to be that close to his sister once again. (thank you Steven)

Odd thing is that the new mausoleum isn't nearly as nice as the old one.  I liked the cozy feel of Karen's original grave.  This one isn't that attractive, and although it does say Carpenter on the outside, there are no names on the inside.  But Karen's epitaph has been reproduced.  Nice view of it on the hill tho.

I know that there is a lot more to the Carpenters story, but growing up in Downey, everybody was very secretive about them. Growing up in Downey was weird in itself. It has changed now, but it was a real "white" living in the 1950's attitude, Republican haven. You kept to your own problems and there was always a "what would the neighbors think" attitude. When I went to Cerritos College in neighboring Norwalk, CA, I had a music professor who was a past teacher of Richard and Karen. He would always touch on the subject of them and he always said that there was a lot more going on in that family than people knew. He always would cut short by saying that Karen is dead and that past secrets should die with her. grr...

I have run into Richard a few times from when I was a little kid thru just a few years ago. He always gave me this really creepy feel. I was the ice cream girl at the local Savon Drugs Store in high school in 1983/1984. He would come in now and then. I believe that the Carpenter family still owns the apartment complexes. They also owned a small mini mall on Florence Avenue @ Tecum Road. I'm not sure if they own that - it was rumored to be a real "dog" of an investment at one time.

The Bob's Big Boy in Downey was a great place to eat. In high school, a group of us actually stole the Big Boy statue outside. It was just held in place by a lock and a slide rod device. It is now a chain restaurant called Carrows . It is OK food, a lot of old people, including my parent's eat there. It is on Florence Avenue at Tweedy Lane.  Just FYI, I ate there yesterday (August 13, 2007) and asked.  Karen preferred booth 25, and enjoyed bean broth.

I have heard that the Carpenter family did not like the work they did on Karen. That has been reported a number of places. It is now some Asian mortuary. For a number of years after Utter McKinley went out of business, it was an abandoned building - the for sale sign was out there for the longest time and the place looked like crap.

Thanks for the viewpoint of Carpenterland.  Very interesting.  Much appreciation.

Findadeath.com friend Bob Kline adds:  Read your "update" on Karen Carpenter, nice job. I also read an entry in your Guestbook about Karen Carpenter and she said that there weren't any problems in the Karen Carpenter case. I stand by what my sister told me as it is also common industry knowledge that Forest Lawn had to redo much of what had been previously done at the original funeral home.

The lady making the comment said she knew the original Funeral Director in charge and did not know of any problems at the time.

Thanks Bob!

This just in, January 2003, from Findadeath Daniel Hogerty:

 Sign a petition to get the group recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here:

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