"Living Famously - Karen Carpenter" BBC Documentary (Pt 3)

[crazycatlady68]

I'm thinking Richard was a selfish little fucker

[Leelyn05]

National Inquirer and Star magazine...Really!!!!!!

[rockinrex]

If Karen had survived Anorexia, I hoped that she would've made some decisions to give Carpenters a break and venture out on her own and get a band together where she can play on the drums. The videos I am seeing of her on the drums is where she's the most happiest.

[cd72]

@vmuto, why do you have this great fascination with trashing Randy Schmidt? He has a great love for Karen, and the book he created, is beautiful. LITTLE GIRL BLUE has fascinated a lot of people, judging by sales of it. Kudos Randy!

[TheDokaDoka]

I reckon she looked way better when she was "chubbier"

at least younger...

[vmuto1]

The ButterQueen never did any of them. Karen really didn't have the time to put her mind on the sexual aspect of life. She was really someone who would rather stay home on a friday night.

[tmc359]

this highly rated comment above is dead on, this psychologist is so sure of something she has no first hand knowledge, yet is talking like she does and is spot on certain of it. It's not only annoying to listen to, but an insult to this otherwise excellent BBC series.

[mnlght0snt]

Karen being jealous on Richard having a date?!?!? CUTE :)

[vmuto1]

Great Documentary with the exception of seeing the overly "scripted" Randy Schmidt. Randy seems convinced he lived in this time with Karen & Richard.The Facts are, those of us who lived it know more than Rand Schmidt only wishes he knew. I know Randy sickens alot of people. He's like the Biggest Carpenters leetch. Stick to your day job Randy please!

[uconnfan101]

One thing I wonder is if any of the folks trying to get to out from behind the drums ever considered that she had a passion for playing because 1) she was an excellent drummer, and 2) she loved playing them. Why did it have to be because of some psychological condition? Perhaps, because of incredible voice, they just couldn't see just how great she was, and didn't seem to make put her desire to play a priority. She was simply an amazing drummer.

[leofilm]

i have no idea why everyone's so hard on Anna Raeburn. her certitude of tone may be a little jarring, but every single thing she's saying here has been corroborated by the other speakers, by every Carpenters biography, by other documentaries, and even by the TV film, The Karen Carpenter Story, which Richard co-produced.

[yuukikanameflipflap]

"If it now is not acceptable to be a tomboy, and you have to be a real girl: the first thing you do is to attack your waight!"

Pwaa, would not want this woman to explain me to anyone after my death.

[louisa1832]

I thought BBC was highbrow; what are they doing interviewing hacks from the EMQUIRER and STAR?

[Junipergenus]

Just keep your spin going for that molester Richard there jezkn. A lot of us just can't wait until the day comes when everyone knows about all the terrible things he did to Karen (and it is all going to come out). Old Rich can only hope that it doesn't come out while he is still alive. If it did he'd be ruined.

[jezkn]

So what do we do - in our usual sex-obsessed (but actually sex hating) cynical age. We invent a narrative - flood the web with conspiracy theories, take the rip, snigger, rubbish, and seek to embroil them in the zeit-geist of our age. But they'll weather it. And in a hundred years time when all these characters are no more - they'll be remembered for what they were -an incredibly talented, no unique - loving brother and sister with all sorts of hang ups - just like the rest of us.

[jezkn]

Of course she was jealous of Richards girl friends and they had an 'unreal' rleationship. hey had an unreal life.And yes their parents were 'stage-school parents'.Who wouldn't be with talents like that. And yes -Karen had body issues and her catapulting into fame and into being 'front person' just made those spiral out of control. And Yes - she might be here now if the Carpenters had never happened. They were naiive, neither liked partying, she was shy and both seemed to defy 70's promiscuity>

[jezkn]

> sexually flaunted themselves, nobody would have batted an eyelid (these days) and nobody would have made any money out of reading murky goings on into their life (and childhood).

So they are a God Send to the likes of Anna Raeburn et al (& a meal-ticket).

But the give away is in the detail isn't it? Of course they were close - they lived and breathed each other - that's how they produced this incredible music. yes she was shy-she hid behind the drums at first before 'coming out'. >

[jezkn]

There's a lot of people who made (and are still making) a lot of money about speculating about the Carpenters including psychotherapists.The reason for sexualising it is because that's what we do (infact its all we do) these days. Nothing is innocent - nothing is childlike - nothing is 'simple' or 'face-value'. Everything is frought with a dark Freudian agenda and a sinister, deviant sexual angle. The irony is that -had the Carpenters indulged in multiple affairs, a hedonistic lifestyle and >

[dumont1957]

Only a moron, like that dickhead from the Enquirer, would formulate an "incest" angle to the Carpenters. Richard and Karen were probably too emotionally dependent on each other, but that's IT, And that woman "therapist" is a histrionic, fame-hag horror.

[MsTrumpetplayer]

@dumont1957 Your 100% WRONG. 

[jezkn]

@MsTrumpetplayer How do you know? What do you know that the rest of us don't? Please share.

[felsner1]

The Butter Queen, indeed... ;-)

[uncoverbrother]

dang, they were really fucked up!  who knew?!

[IdaRuda]

Why couldn't people please just have let her play drums. Beautiful woman.

[basiacomeout]

No stupid therapist! Karen liked being behind the drums because CLEARLY it was her PASSION. Can you say PASSION?? She started dying the minute they took her out from behind the drums. And BTW I never liked Richard. I thought he had too much control over Karen..

[basiacomeout]

yes well that therapist can kiss my ass. talk about "savage" she savages Karen when she's not around to defend herself.

[MrSteveUtah]

I think that Pych is more fucked up than the patience she sees ,What an arogant bitch she is.. I HATE Professionals

[lesterclaypool1]

@MrSteveUtah

I dislike any "professional" who attempts to diagnose someone that they've never treated. This is very frowned upon in the medical community, especially in matters of mental health.

[tyffy]

I didn't know people thought the Carpenters had some kind of incest going on. To me, it just seems like they only knew each other due to being so busy & not having that free time to be around others. So it makes sense to me that they would move in together. They worked together; spent all that time together; it would just be second nature to have that close contact whenever something comes up. As for the love songs, they were working partners. Who else would they sing with, you know?

[lesterclaypool1]

@tyffy

There were horrible rumours about the Carpenter's, likely because A&M did present them with a squeaky clean image. If you watch Todd Hayne's Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story he alludes to a lot of the rumours eg. Richard was a homosexual, incest, abuse at the hands of their parents. In one, supposed, "man on the street" type interview in the film the lady being interviewed expresses that the Carpenter had something dark and untrustworthy about them because they were so wholesome.

[TashaRichardsonFan]

Stupid people who called her*Chubby* and that destroy her:(

[TashaRichardsonFan]

Stupid therapist.

[trschaefer]

Oh my... This therapist is really awful.

[mathproof]

I'm so glad that you said so. That therapist shows why psychologist learn their trade on the stupid side of campus.

[RLviddy]

The therapist isn't technically 'off,' but she really seems emotionally invested, there.  Jeeez.

[iwusinger]

Anorexia is not usually actually all about the weight. A lot of times it is about the control. Maybe it was the one thing she felt she could control (food) in her life and she took charge.

Its a shame, she died too young. No matter what the psychological reasons for her disorder... its too bad that the awareness wasn't as prevalent as it is now.

[zellyscool]

Karen will be missed for years to come

[abbakc]

oh god I hate maria....

[sockenekel]

that therapist needs therapy she s fuckin nuts

[blachubear]

Dam Mike Walker is a creepy pervert.

[Janvierireland]

whoever said she was chubby or needed to lose weight is partly responsible for karens death and to say what they said is a sin.

[SoftRazor12]

I hate Anna Raeburn, she is so certain in her interpretation of Karen's behaviour but as a therapist she never had the carpenters as clients so she is just making sweaping stereotypical assumptions.

[Janvierireland]

in general its mainly the mother who is blamed when a child has problems especially when a daughter gets an eating disorder(I notice),usually when someone is controlled as a child- its by the father.I think that maybe their mother was just too fussy and too overprotective. This isespecially in reference to what the psychologist said in part1.

[epsilontic]

@SoftRazor12 That is a very good summary, I fully agree. But then, most psychiatrist have a bracket world, where they desperately try to squeeze you in. It never occurs to them that the human psyche is a little more complicated than what they learned during their education.

[HoshiChun]

@SoftRazor12 she is so annoying...omg. just shot me if I have to watch her think she knows what they were like. she played drums in a dress...did she not see that?

[Googaify]

@SoftRazor12 yeah! she didn't even know her!!!

[xonicolenarox]

i feel badly how much they tear into Agnes...I can only imagine what they must have thought when they heard all of this.

maria has some nerve....

[earcandy2008]

the butterqueen...Karen was probably also one of the coolest. If only the public knew what she was really like they wouldn't have f*cked with her and she would still be alive today...sigh..

[hj351]

when they took karen out from behind the drums "her passion" it was the beginning of the end for her; those jerks ran her life and just wouldn't let a tom boy be a tom boy.

[kboyzrock]

I thought Karen looked great, even before she went on those horrendous weight loss episodes, well maybe I being man, from my perspective a woman who is a little pear-shaped isn't a bad thing, not at all. In fact to me Karen looked simply wonderful, pear shaped or not. You accept a person for who he or she is, not how they look physically.

[Janvierireland]

except that being underweght or overweight is just unhealthy.Health and not looks should come first when it comes to weight,size shape etc

[HoshiChun]

@kboyzrock omg where have you been all my life? are you single?

[ahoystella]

I don't understand how this therapist can be saying that Karen Carpenter was a tomboy who wanted to wear jeans and sweatshirts and at the same time was obsessed with her figure. Are tomboys obsessed with some kind of feminine perfection? I wish they'd show some kind of interview with Karen Carpenter because so far, I haven't got any idea of what she has to say - it's everybody talking about her. I don't know anything about the Carpenters, so this is my first introduction.

[calliopezhang11]

Even if it begins with dieting in pursuit of a "feminine" ideal, anorexia, once it gets going, doesn't have much to do with looking good or feminine. It's an anxiety disorder that expresses itself through obsessive weight loss. It happens to tomboys, it happens to feminists, it happens to all sorts of down-to-earth smart people.

[stuffupthecracks]

Great drumming!!

[bsbncandey]

I wonder what she would think if she were here now seeing how women are happy with what shape they are. You know taking the Karen Carpenter out of 1975 and putting her in 2008 how would she feel? It's sad that when she wanted help it was too late, if only she knew what she was doing to herself...

[mka800]

I don't like this dark-haired therapist person. She assumes way too much. Only Karen truly knew Karen.

[sisterlead02]

Really, Lovely '70s.

[babsaloops]

that last comment was stupid..."she starved herself to get her backside small enough",what she on about...?????stupid lady

[RxTechRN2b]

From all that I've read about Karen, and from what her mother and Richard have reported, Karen was acutely aware of the size of her hips. She had unusually large hips which were inherited from her mother's side of the family. Unfortunatly, the bone structure could not be changed and she just became obsessed with wanting to become smaller and smaller.

[babsaloops]

i know that ...she was pearshaped and like alot of woman she didnt like her shape....but that wasnt the reason for her decline into that desease...and i think that ladies phrasing of to get her backside smaller was disrespectful of her disease and ignorant

[bsbncandey]

I agree, but I think what she was trying to say is for Karen to have a big butt was bad because it meant you wre fat, I remember years ago, women were obsessed with having flat butts because they wanted this pancake model stick look, I think it's ridiculous, and she was right, Karen did have a Jennifer Lopez figure, I saw her in a bikini I think back in the early 70s and her butt was huge! She had a great figure, it's just sad she couldn't love herself.

[Janvierireland]

her butt was never big,she was just pear shaped.

[MrJacksonvill]

I saw a picture of her where she looked voluptuous

[Janvierireland]

@MrJacksonvill ,yes she did look healthy for a short while at the age of 24 but was never overweight or really big in any way,the problem was mainly in her own self-perception more than likely.