Grammy awards 1974 with Bette Midler and Carpenters

[masquerade]

I know this can be seen elsewhere, but only as a part of full Bette Midler biography video. For the sake of easier access, here is the excerpt with Carpenters.
I really like Richard's smile when Karen showed him the winner's name.



@moderators: If there is a copy of this already on the forum (I couldn't find it), please delete this post.

 

[newvillefan]

Thanks so much for posting that, I’ve never seen it before. If you watch carefully after Karen announces Bette as the winner, she appears to say just off mic “I knew it”

 

[Actorman]

I never knew Marie Osmond was a Best New Artist nominee.

 

[Jeff]

Brilliant post. I missed this 1st time around. Karen looked terrific and she held her own with Bette Midler.

 

[newvillefan]

What surprised me most about this is just how quietly spoken Karen was. When presented with a microphone and a crowded room, a lot of people tend to project their voice, but watching this makes me think Karen wasn’t even capable of raising her voice louder than the level she spoke at. It’s a good job those microphones were powerful enough to pick her up.

 

[Jamesj75]

All of this is interesting, but what is most memorable about this incident is the condescending, snarky attitude Midler showed to Karen and Richard upon accepting the award. She atoned for her attitude since that awards show, so I give her credit for that. But Midler's treatment of Karen and Richard at the Grammys ratcheted up the senseless criticism of our beloved duo.

 

[newvillefan]

All of this is interesting, but what is most memorable about this incident is the condescending, snarky attitude Midler showed to Karen and Richard upon accepting the award. She atoned for her attitude since that awards show, so I give her credit for that. But Midler's treatment of Karen and Richard at the Grammys ratcheted up the senseless criticism of our beloved duo.

Seeing it now, I don’t think it was all that bad. Yes she was being sarcastic with the “Miss Karen” and the courtesy, but many people have fared less well in Bette’s hands over the years. I don’t sense any real animosity in it, just showbiz ribbing. At least she gave them both a kiss on the cheek.

What is noticeable is how short Bette’s acceptance speech is - it’s as if she couldn’t wait to get off that stage. Whether that’s because she didn’t want to be sharing it with the Carpenters or because she felt bad coming face to face with them after all the jokes, who knows.

Ironically she said a lot worse about Karen in the years after this clip.

 

[David A]

Karen looks radiant in that clip. Wow.

 

[Carpe diem]

I thought this quite ironic. Perry Como singing a tribute to Karen with a song that was a #1 hit for Bette:

If this has been presented in this Forum before, please forgive me. I did a search of the postings and found nothing similar.

Later, Bette seemed to express remorse for her sniping at Karen:
Bette Midler Apologizes For Karen Carpenter Slurs

 

[newvillefan]

I thought this quite ironic. Perry Como singing a tribute to Karen with a song that was a #1 hit for Bette:

I saw that clip on YouTube but wondered whether the title it was given by the person who posted it was wrong. Is there any evidence this was specifically a tribute to Karen or is it just some random stage performance by Como?

 

[Simon KC1950]

Ok I get that Bette Midler is a comedian but there's just no need to be cruel about Karen, even worse after Karen died, I think I read she, along with Joan Rivers, made horrible jokes about Karen's anorexia... Vile pair of women. I give Bette credit for apologizing but It's a case of too little, too late.

 

[Kencarpenterfan]

Ok I get that Bette Midler is a comedian but there's just no need to be cruel about Karen, even worse after Karen died, I think I read she, along with Joan Rivers, made horrible jokes about Karen's anorexia... Vile pair of women. I give Bette credit for apologizing but It's a case of too little, too late.

I agree with you Simon

 

[Carpe diem]

I saw that clip on YouTube but wondered whether the title it was given by the person who posted it was wrong. Is there any evidence this was specifically a tribute to Karen or is it just some random stage performance by Como?

Thank you for pointing that out. I have to look at this stuff more critically. I thought it odd that this was suppose to be a "tribute" to Karen but there was only a small clip of her from the Only Yesterday video and nothing else? I was duped, shame on me!

 

[Carpe diem]

Ok I get that Bette Midler is a comedian but there's just no need to be cruel about Karen, even worse after Karen died, I think I read she, along with Joan Rivers, made horrible jokes about Karen's anorexia... Vile pair of women. I give Bette credit for apologizing but It's a case of too little, too late.

I 'd never known until now that Bette actually made fun of Karen's anorexia. I always thought it was her "catty" behavior towards Karen surrounding the Grammy Awards with comments such as "she is so white she's transparent!" and similar. To make light of Karen's disease especially after she had passed, then I agree with you...

 

[Mark-T]

I don't think its ever too late to apologize. But the effects of our actions and words before it live on nonetheless.

 

[Toolman]

I wasn't aware that Midler ever made fun of Karen's anorexia. Do you have something more to back up that claim? The parenthetical comment in the link is an addition by the editor, not Midler's words. Whoever wrote that little piece was apparently assuming Midler's jokes were about the anorexia, but I sure never heard Midler comment on that.

Joan Rivers did -- after Karen's death, I watched Rivers try to get applause with the line, "What some people won't do to look good in culottes (sp)" or something like that. Very stupid, didn't get much of a laugh. I lost any respect for Rivers at that point, not that I ever found her particularly funny. Midler was different. I wouldn't put her into the same category as Rivers.

 

[Harry]

BetteBack September 7, 1990: Bette Midler Regrets Making All Those Karen Carpenter Jokes | BootLeg Betty

 

[Carpe diem]

I wasn't aware that Midler ever made fun of Karen's anorexia. Do you have something more to back up that claim? The parenthetical comment in the link is an addition by the editor, not Midler's words. Whoever wrote that little piece was apparently assuming Midler's jokes were about the anorexia, but I sure never heard Midler comment on that.

Joan Rivers did -- after Karen's death, I watched Rivers try to get applause with the line, "What some people won't do to look good in culottes (sp)" or something like that. Very stupid, didn't get much of a laugh. I lost any respect for Rivers at that point, not that I ever found her particularly funny. Midler was different. I wouldn't put her into the same category as Rivers.

I agree Toolman, Joan Rivers possessed a special kind of vindictiveness/meanness whereas Bette Midler often teared-up and got quite emotional in certain interviews I have seen her in. Definitely not the same kind of cut-throat attitude.

 

[GaryAlan]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...into-the-next-chapter/?utm_term=.1fd47f03ff88
This article ran in The Washington Post June 11, 1986.
A sample of Joan Rivers ( if I wrote what I thought about her, I would be banned !).....
------
"Shortly after Karen Carpenter’s death from anorexia, Rivers raised a hullabaloo by observing that
Carpenter wasn’t thin enough for fellow comic David Brenner."
“Well, it’s true. David really likes them thin,” she says.
“A skeleton with a hair bow is what David goes for.
He would have been at Auschwitz with a piece of paper. ‘Hey, can I have your name?’
What never got reported was the larger point I had been making — that six months before her death,
Karen Carpenter couldn’t get arrested. Where was everybody then?
The hypocrisy of the whole thing still rankles me.”
------

 

[newvillefan]

What never got reported was the larger point I had been making — that six months before her death,
Karen Carpenter couldn’t get arrested. Where was everybody then?
The hypocrisy of the whole thing still rankles me.”
------

I also remember reading a quote that someone said about Karen that the Carpenters hadn’t had a hit in years and nobody cared about her until she died when everyone suddenly thought she was the best thing since sliced bread. I’m sure it must have been Bette or Joan. I think the sentiment in the above quote - whilst in poor taste - echos the same sentiment. And not too far from the truth if I’m honest. The music industry - radio in particular - largely abandoned them after the mid seventies. Many artists - Bee Gees, Elton John for example - recovered and had an amazing resurgence. Not Carpenters.

 

[GaryAlan]

More Joan (Playboy Interview 1986).
Remembering Joan Rivers: Her 1986 Playboy Interview | Playboy

"Playboy: How about the Karen Carpenter jokes?"
"Rivers: All I said was she was skinny enough for David Brenner. The point I always made with Karen Carpenter was how everyone suddenly loved her the minute she died; but for two years before she died, not one person bought an album or went to see her. So why are we all so bereft over this poor girl?"
"Playboy: Don’t you think people eventually get turned off? Don Rickles was once the king of insult comedy, but many people think his career is practically over."
"Rivers: I don’t think it’s over. I think he’s hysterically funny. The problem is, at the end of his act, he apologizes. He says, “I’m sorry. I’m not here to hurt you; I’m really a nice guy, this is all in fun.” What I used to say at the end of my act was “If I’ve offended one person or made one person cry — sob — or upset someone … well, tough.” And that’s it. Don shouldn’t cop out. I’ll never cop out. But tell me one person I’ve been mean to that cared."

 

[JayJayVA]

Rivers also had a joke like "Who is the patron saint of Ethiopia?---"Karen Carpenter". (Then always nervous laughter from the audience) ...and she would say "oh grow up!" or "oh c'mon".

Ethiopia was going through a harsh famine in the early-mid 80s.

 

[Simon KC1950]

Bette is not as cruel as Joan and at least she said sorry. As for Joan Rivers, what a horrible person.

All I will say is that it's very ironic that she made a career out of picking at people and saying disgusting things about Karen's appearance and illness yet it was Joan Rivers who spent a lot on plastic surgery to make herself look better in her later years, which it didn't I might add.

 

[AM Matt]

Yep, the late Barry White was upset that Bette Midler won for "Best New Artist" at the Grammys. Matt Clark Sanford, MI

 

[A&M Retro]

I saw the Karen meets Bette Grammy moment ‘live’ and I remember not being happy about it. I also remember my Dad saying, ‘Who the hell is that?’ when Bette made her comment. As I look back on it now, it seems pretty benign. Karen and Richard were laughing pretty hard. You can see Richard cracking up and you can hear Karen’s unmistakable laugh, too. My favorite part is where Karen acts like she’s going to throw the Grammy up in the air.

As for the comments Joan Rivers made: There’s no excuse.