This Is Your Life...Karen And Richard Carpenter

Thanks Gary...I've never seen this entire show before. Look at how Karen hangs onto Jack D. Why does everyone seem to kiss Karen's hair instead of the side of her face? lol
 
Just put in my video. I've only watched it once. 2nd view we see Karen and Richard with chart success, health and wide eyed youthful innocence.
 
Love this clip. Really shows the duo as the genuinely nice people that they are/were. Karen's wide-eyed innocence and inner beauty/charm shines through. Her expression when her mother hands her the baseball glove is priceless! Thanks Gary.
 
It was very sweet. I wonder if their Mom’s comments were scripted like the others for you could definately feel the one sided appreciation toward Richard regarding music. Since they had been practicing for years at that point I thought the focus on the ball and glove and continued comment of it was out of place. It was subtle but there, nonetheless. Karen definitely had a appreciation for Jack Daugherty by the way she held his arm close to her, and was well spoken during the entire program, despite her innocent naïveté that sometimes was brought forward during those very early days during interviews. And, Richard was very cordial and openly friendly and seemed to want Karen as the focus. I could be reading far too much into things but things that were said and expressed seemed different than what was brought forth in the interviews Randy collected in the Yesterday Once More book collection. We could definately see that they were not yet brought down emotionally from the heavy, relentless touring schedule. It was a nice clip!
 
I remember seeing it when it first aired. Ya, ouch. It was pretty exciting for us young fans at the time! Blast from the past.
 
Karen was only 20 and Richard 24, pretty young to appear on This is Your Life.

I always thought their appearance on the show was about 10 years too early. They should have done it in 1980 once they'd celebrated their tenth anniversary with A&M.
 
I always thought their appearance on the show was about 10 years too early. They should have done it in 1980 once they'd celebrated their tenth anniversary with A&M.
Only thing I could think of is that it must have been some sort of promotional tool, as well as, a ratings booster for the program. I don’t think it helped their image but it is similar to what was portrayed in the live concerts with We’ve Only Just Begun scene in 1976. And of course we all know the issues that surrounded 1979 and with their current album project shelved with Richard in rehab and everyone not quite sure if it was a break or something more at the same time the record company was encouraging Karen in solo recording. It was a time uncertain for sure. Maybe, Those Good Old Dreams was meant to replace the videos behind the old We’ve Only Just Begun live section of their future concerts that unfortunately never came back to life. It almost seemed like the Carpenters were even growing tired of their own songs with their personal life issues in the way that would plague anyone in their shoes, but I am sure that was not actually the case. Fans always loved their hits, as well as, the deeper tracks. I honestly believe that a new healthy pair would have seen a different 1979-80. They just had so much to recover from all the excessive tours. Thank God for Nostalgia today.
 
Seeing Karen and Richard in 1980 rather than 1970 would have been awesome, but the show was long gone by 1980 (with the exception of a few TV specials).
 
This was probably the happiest period of Karen's and Richard's lives...the first bloom of success when it was all still new and a thrill, and still years before their health problems began to appear.
 
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