Tuesday, October 30, 2012

My thoughts on Karen Carpenter's untimely demise...


When I was a little girl, my dad would play cassettes in the car.  My dad and I have a very complicated relationship, but one thing we have in common is a great love of music.  We're also both singers, though my dad can't sing anymore because his voice was ruined by a tracheotomy and prolonged time on a respirator.  When I was little, he would play music by Jim Croce, Olivia Newton-John, Patsy Cline, and yes, the Carpenters.  As I got older, his tastes turned to Muzak, which I hate with a passion.

Anyway, it was my dad who first introduced me to the Carpenters' music.  I don't remember liking them that much when I was very young.  I was more into Olivia Newton-John.  But as I got older, I started listening to Karen's voice and determined that she had a very unique sound.  Herb Alpert described it as "phonogenic"-- it was as if she were in the room singing to you and only you, even if you were listening to a recording.  I'm not sure if I would describe it that way.  There's something very personal, unusual, and moving about her voice, though.  She had a way of sounding like she'd lived some of the lyrics of her more melancholy songs.  She and Richard also did some very cheesy songs, though, that showed a lighter side.

Karen Carpenter died on February 4, 1983.  She was about a month away from turning 33 years old and had suffered from anorexia nervosa since at least 1976.  She had endured exhausting schedules, a starvation diet, laxative abuse, ipecac abuse, and thyroid medication abuse.  According to Ray Coleman's book, The Carpenters: The Untold Story, Karen was taking about ten times the recommended dose of thyroid medication in an attempt to rev up her metabolism and lose more weight.

Things finally came to a head in the early 1980s and Karen sought help from Steven Levenkron, a New York City based psychotherapist who, in 1978, had written a best selling novel called The Best Little Girl In The World.  Levenkron's novel had helped introduce the American public to anorexia nervosa at a time when doctors didn't know that much about it or how to treat it.  Anorexia nervosa has been identified as a disorder for centuries, but it's only been within the last 30 years or so that people have known much about it.

Anyway, the book made Levenkron famous and in 1981, Aaron Spelling produced a made for TV film based on the book.  If you want to talk about television dramatizations, The Best Little Girl In The World made for TV film is a pretty good example of one.  The TV film doesn't bear that much resemblance to the book.  The lead character's name was changed, as was her family and the circumstances surrounding the way she got sick with anorexia nervosa.  I was curious about it for years because I missed it when it originally aired.  I finally saw it-- mad props to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who had the starring role, though it's definitely an Aaron Spelling creation!  Here's a link to the first part.



Karen read the book and decided Steven Levenkron was the only person who could help her, even though her friend Cherry Boone O'Neill had been successfully treated by Dr. Raymond Vath in Washington State.  According to Ray Coleman, Karen originally told Levenkron that she wasn't anorexic; she just had some sort of intestinal disorder.  He didn't believe her.  He had seen her on TV, though he wasn't a particular fan of her music.  But he took her at her word and wished her well.  Then when one of her agents tried and failed to get an appointment for Karen on her behalf, Karen called Levenkron herself and proposed that he treat her for a year.  She would come to New York and have several sessions with him every week.  Levenkron initially resisted, but finally agreed to treat Karen.  She moved to New York.



According to Coleman's book, Karen and "Steve" got along very well.  He had a very parental style that she seemed to respond to.  She even needlepointed a sign for him that said "You win.  I gain."

Regarding Richard's disdain for Steven Levenkron... I guess I can understand why Richard would dislike him.  Richard and Karen were unusually close and had come from a very close-knit family system.  I got the sense that maybe Richard resented the way Steven Levenkron learned so many personal things about their family.  Levenkron sought to upset the apple cart by teaching Karen how to be assertive and take care of herself.  I think people close to Karen mostly just wanted her to be physically healthy so she could keep making music.  I don't know that they wanted her to change the way she related to them.

Although Richard is a brilliant musician, it was Karen who was the face of the Carpenters.  When she died, his career went downhill.  He has released a couple of solo albums using different vocalists, but none have the chemistry that he had with Karen.  So I can't blame him for being bitter about her death-- not just because he lost a beloved sister, but also because when she died, his livelihood was threatened.    

On the other hand, he did get married after she died (to his cousin by adoption) and has five kids.  And he's made a career out of repackaging Carpenters' albums and greatest hits collections. According to Ray Coleman's book, Karen wasn't above sabotaging his relationships with women.  In fact, she and Agnes supposedly would work together to alienate the women in Richard's life.

I have read most if not all of Steven Levenkron's books.  I used to admire him a lot because he seemed very insightful and caring.  But as I've gotten older and had my own experiences with a therapist and in getting social work training myself, I started to see him as condescending and egotistical.  I have no doubt that he's helped many people with eating disorders, but I no longer see him as a "guru".  Maybe Richard was turned off of him because he saw the same things in him that I see.

As to whether or not Karen got substandard care from Levenkron, I would guess she didn't.  I think there's a good reason why Levenkron is so successful.  In fact, Karen had set a goal to "kick" anorexia in a year.  Levenkron reportedly told her that it would be impossible to do that, even if she got therapy every day.  Karen went back to L.A. after a year in New York anyway.  Even if she hadn't done that, I doubt Levenkron would have been responsible.  She died of medical issues-- she didn't purposely take her own life.  And even if she had committed suicide, any therapist will tell you that a person who really wants to kill themselves will find a way to do it eventually.  

I don't think it's Steven Levenkron's fault that Karen died.  He was working against a lot of things with a client who was used to getting her own way.  And he was not in charge of the medical side of her treatment.

There is another book about Karen's life called Little Girl Blue.  It was published in 2010 and was written by Randy L. Schmidt.  It updates a lot of Coleman's book, which was published in the 1990s.  Unfortunately, having read both books, I noticed that Schmidt borrowed a lot from Coleman's work to the point of including paragraphs that were in Coleman's book.  It's worth reading though, since Coleman's book is now out of print.

Here's a song that I think is pretty poignant, given Karen's situation...


Gotta love the late Tony Peluso's fuzz guitar in this gem, "Love Me For What I Am".

14 comments:

  1. Those are some very interesting family dynamics by the time Karen and Agnes are interfering with Richard's love life and everyone is conspiring to prop Karen up so she can perform and record despite what it may have been doing to her. I think I would tend to side with the therapist in this dispute.

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  2. I don't think the Carpenters put a lot of stock in psychology. Or, at least that was the impression I got. That scene in "The Karen Carpenter Story" where Harold and Agnes presented Karen with her own room when she was 24 years old actually happened, at least according to Ray Coleman's book. And he apparently had the Carpenters' blessings to write a book about them.

    But yeah, Karen would apparently try to mess with Richard's love life. He had several serious girlfriends that Karen interfered with-- Richard even dated her hairdresser for awhile and Karen got in the middle.

    No wonder he married his cousin.

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  3. Great writeup here, Knotty. I love Karen Carpenter, her voice, and The Carpenters' music in general (Yes, even the cornier ones.) and this information is interesting to say the least even though I have seen most of it before but I digress. Anyways, great writeup and I plan on seeing more of your blogs in the future so have a nice time wherever you are and take care.

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    1. Hi Christopher! Thanks for reading my blog. For some reason, people are fascinated by the Carpenters. Although this was not intended to be a blog about Karen and Richard, my posts on them are by far the most popular.

      This particular post was inspired by a different one I wrote in which a friend had asked some questions. What's really crazy is that I like to read books about celebrities from the 70s and 80s and Karen Carpenter had a connection to some other people from which I was able to glean some information. For example, Pat Boone's eldest daughter, Cherry Boone O'Neill, suffered from anorexia nervosa and when Karen was recovering, she contacted Cherry for advice. Since I had done so much reading about both of them, I was able to bridge some of the information.

      The more reading I do, the more links I find... It's kind of fascinating. I went through a big Anita Baker phase about twenty years ago and it turns out she and Karen had the same manager at different times.

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    2. Well, first of all the pleasure is mine as this is a very fine music-related blog and it is a very small world indeed isn't it? Sorry to be so predictable but again as I said I love The Carpenters and am obsessed with information about them so there's that. But I love the other features on this blog as well though.

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    3. Good, I hope you'll stick around and read more. Sorry to be so late replying, but I have been without net access for several days.

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  4. I don't understand why Levenkron stood by and watched Karen Carpenter loose more and more weight under HIS CARE. What in the HECK what HE thinking?? What a waste of time especially for Karen who was literally dying in front of him as each day passed under his care. Karen could have been saved had she gotten the right care. Karen was pretty much left to her own devices under Levenkron's care. The New York therapy was all on Karen's terms it seemed. Maybe Levenkron was in denial during that time, who knows? I do know he learned a very hard lesson with Karen's untimely death. If I were Richard I would want Levenkron's head on a platter. But then again where was Richard when Karen was in New York wasting away. Nothing of this situation makes much sense. Just a whole lot of denial going on by everyone involved.

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    1. It's hard to tell what Levenkron was thinking. Keep in mind, though, that Karen was a legal adult and a star who was probably used to getting things her own way. If you read Coleman's book, Levenkron was quoted as saying that Karen tried to dictate how he would be treating her. Unfortunately, in the United States, it's very difficult to get someone committed and regardless, a clinician can't make someone get better. From what I've read, Karen did make some progress, but what did her in was the damage done to her heart. She abused laxatives, diuretics, and thyroid medication. Levenkron couldn't help her with that.

      Also keep in mind that it was the early 80s and not as much was known about eating disorders back then. Of course, nowadays there are special treatment centers for people with eating disorders, but back then, those places didn't exist. Doctors often tried to help someone with anorexia by simply making them gain weight. From what I've read, the sudden weight gain stressed Karen's heart. She was near a normal weight when she died. Today, it's likely that doctors taking care of Karen would have paid a lot more attention to her cardiac health.

      It is sad that she died so young. Who knows what she could have accomplished had she lived longer?

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  5. Having had an eating disorder from the age of 18-46 (1970 -1998) and several therapists, I can certainly understand why people need to blame someone. My mother was someone who never told me she loved me and when she died of cancer, I still hadn't her tell me. Throughout my life I felt unlovable and unworthy of love. My eating disorder started my freshman year in college. I was very insecure and found another insecure soul. We became fast friends. She suggested we go on a diet so as not to gain the "freshman 15" and though my weight was fine (5'2" 110 lbs) I thought "why not?" My friend couldn't stick with it and I couldn't stop. I finally had the control I lacked. The first ten pounds brought compliments, but after that, people began asking me to stop. A friend came to visit and she was so alarmed because I was now 30 lbs down and very skeletal. She freaked out when she saw me and asked me "what has happened to you?" It wasn't a great weekend. My family said NOTHING and never took me to see a doctor. If I had a problem, they would have to admit the family had a problem. After I graduated college, I moved out of state and began to see a therapist. First we had to unravel the family problems before I could stop the starving, laxatives and exercise. An eating disorder has a payoff until one is willing to give it up. I had great therapists and gave them all I could. I made steps delving into my families issues, but I'd only go so far. When I was 46, I'd finally had enough. I realized I didn't have much time left and something a childhood friend said convinced me I wanted to live. I didn't know how, but was willing to try. I searched to hospitals and it took five months to get in. I was inpatient for two months and outpatient for 7 years. This time it worked. I know that if I slip, I'll die. Karen Carpenter haunts me, as she is only two years older than I am. I didn't know what I had or that it had a name. It took her death to bring it to light. I don't know if Karen would have ever recovered. Karen's mother would have done anything to undo any progress Karen would have made. Richard didn't want Karen to be healthy because Karen could have made a successful solo career. It's all speculation, but these are my assumptions.

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    1. Wow. Thanks so much for the thoughtful and detailed comment. I always appreciate it when readers respond in a way that shows they connected with a post.

      Since I wrote this piece, I have watched a lot of videos featuring Richard and Karen. All I can think is that their family system was incredibly enmeshed and controlling. The end result was devastating.

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  6. No one thinks about freud. If childlike incestual feeling did exist and she dealt with it by starving herself to control and punish herself(guilt)

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  7. Karen was caught in a very controlling and enmeshed family.
    Her mother never loved her, and her brother ran their show. They were above her, a parent and an older brother, so there was a huge power inequality. She would've had to get away from them in order to find herself and develop her own personality and direction. Something hard to do in many ways, especially in that time. But let's not forget that Karen did the best she could with everything she had. Her talent and legacy has left an indelible mark in history and helped many others in similar situations.



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  8. Someone, or perhaps several people, dropped the ball.
    What initially interested me about Karen Carpenter's life was her music. After her death, I became curious as to how someone with more than sufficient financial resources and access to the best medical care could die from anorexia nervosa. Curiously, some commentators and writers attributed her death to the "lack of knowledge about anorexia" before her death.
    Rubbish=. The diagnosis and first clinical cases were known for 100 years before her death. It seems we will have to wait another 50 years for more facts to become known.

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    1. I don't know anything about you, or whether or not you were around in the early 80s, but even though anorexia nervosa has been around for many years, people really didn't know anything about it in those days. It didn't get a lot of press.

      Karen Carpenter starved herself, abused syrup of ipecac, and thyroid medication. Her heart was damaged. Then she gained about twenty pounds. When she died, she was near a normal weight. No one was expecting her to drop dead when she did.

      Moreover, lots of people still die of anorexia nervosa. It remains one of, if not the most, deadly psychiatric illnesses.

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