Strange! Karen was never on the Muppet Show.

[ullalume]

There's a picture with Karen (looks like 1977-ish) with Miss Piggy, yet they were never on the show....or were they, can anyone shed any light?

 

[W.B.]

Perhaps the Muppets were guests on a Carpenters' TV special from that period? After all, Kermit, Miss Piggy and company had made a guest appearance on a John Denver Christmas special . . .

 

[ullalume]

Maybe there was a fall out between kermet and Karen in '79 over the rainbow connection track. Apparently Kermet never felt she did it justice(but personally I think someone else was pulling the strings.

Neil

 

[Mike4TheCarps]

From what I hear, it was just a picture and Remind you teh Muppets Movie just came out in 79 and the Muppets were relatively new towards the end of Karens Life. In 1981, where the picture looks like it was taken, they were busy promoting their little success of Made in America, and then karen was in New York in 1982 for her therapy.. so its no wonder why she couldnt make the show

Mike

 

[W.B.]

Also, The Muppet Show, I.I.N.M., ended in 1981, before Made In America had come out. Probably if it had lasted another year, Richard and Karen might've made a guest appearance -- but I'm only guessing. After all, a celebrity was only allowed to make one guest appearance on the show -- but not every celebrity appeared.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

There's a picture with Karen (looks like 1977-ish) with Miss Piggy

I've seen this photo before but I can't remember where? It's been awhile, it may have been at Barry Bilicki's site of photos. However Karen looked more like 1980 or 1981 to me.

 

[Dave]

There's a picture with Karen (looks like 1977-ish) with Miss Piggy, yet they were never on the show....or were they, can anyone shed any light?

I have seen those old Muppet Show episodes with "celebrity guests" a long time ago, when I was just getting into Rock. I like it when the characters sang their guest artists' songs, though it took some getting used to back then.

Dave

...Remembering THE MUPPET SHOW, online...

 

[cam89]

Hi,
I believe that photo was taken in 1979, while Karen was recording her solo album. She had gone by the studios of Jim Henson, and the picture was taken for fun, as Ev Wallace wrote when I asked her. It would have been neat for Karen to have been on the famed Muppet Show.

Cameron
[email protected]
www.carponline.bravepages.com

 

[ullalume]

Thanks for the info Cameron.

Damn, this sites good.

Neil

 

[drmmergirl]

In response to the original post, Karen would have been perfect with the Muppets; right up her alley. I still remember Helen Reddy in Pete's Dragon.

Getting back to Karen. I will always be impressed with the 1975 Carpenters' concert I attended in Denver. The Carpenters brought out several 1st graders from the Denver Public schools to perform "Sing, Sing A Song." That song would have been perfect for the Muppets.

 

[mr J.]

Is this a teenage discussion group here???I think we should get back to more mature CARPENTERS topics.I can't imagine a bunch of adult men(and women) talking about the muppet show! Incidentally,has anyone seen that picture of (a very full-figured) Karen wearing a bikini-featured on the KAREN CARPENTER-E TRUE HOLLYWOOD STORY?(It was taken in Mexico around 1973 or 1974).Now,that's a picture worth talking about!

 

[engineer]

1) The Muppet Show was not aimed at a teenage audience. It seemed "targeted" to children, but was, in all honesty, most appreciated by adults. After all, children wouldn't very well be impressed by the wide array of musical talent that appeared on the show.

2) The Muppet Show left the air 20 years ago. Therefore, there really aren't any current teenagers who are probably fans of the show. I'd guess most current fans of the show are at least in the mid-30s and up.

3) Karen loved the Muppets, Mickey Mouse, etc. I guess you think she had juvenile interests that weren't worth discussing, either.

4) Some of us are "young at heart," and still enjoy watching the Muppets. Kindly refrain from passing judgment on us. I, for one, think looking at pictures of women in bikinis is juvenile, but I'm not going to tell you to stop talking about it.

5) If you don't like a topic, don't read it. But don't get on here and tell us to stop talking about it, when it clearly is a topic related to the Carpenters.

Dan

 

[jimac51]

Wow! There are few topics I would see more appropriate in discussing with adults than the Muppets. My hope is that their legacy will extend past the passing of Jim Henson-an entertainer on a par with Walt Disney, the Termite Terrace geniuses that Leon Schlesinger hired to make Warner Bros. cartoons or Bullwinkles's Jay Ward(and far surpassive in the creative department,since most of Jim's work actually was generated by Jim and not hired employees). Since my exposure to Jim's work in the late '50s,I have been held captive to the true magic of Jim Henson's creative mind. I have passed this on to my children(who were fortunate to be growing up during the flowering of Sesame Street,the Muppet Show,the trilogy of Muppet movies and Jim's many side projects). I'm now influencing a five-year old child in my wife's family,via "The Muppets Take Manhattan"(she loves the Kermit/Miss Piggy wedding scene which I must play over and over)with potential success. Like most of the comedic greats mentioned above,Jim aimed his art at a broad target(even the industrial films he made for grown ups only) trying to please himself first(his hardest audience)and letting the rest of the world in on the joke. Mac

 

[Harry]

The Muppets are INDEED a valid topic here, made even moreso by the fact that Jim Henson's company now occupies the studios where Karen and Richard recorded, the former A&M Studios! And Herb Alpert himself did a TV special in '74 with the Muppets as guests.

Muppet humor is, and has always been, targeted to both kids and adults - that's why they've been so successful.

Harry
...in defense of The Muppets, online...

 

[Dave]

I'm also in defense of The Muppet Show, myself. It introduced a lot of young kids to Rock, and it was good entertainment for adults, as well. Its musical forte was what made it a family show. And it was on at a good time, too.

Yes, seeing the characters sing the works of the show's musical performer guest stars, kinda made me wince and it gave me goosebumps, back then, and still would today.

But, I don't think there is anything wrong with this medium in Family Entertainment. Nor discussing it here. And Karen Carpenter (and Richard) would have been (a) Great Guest(s)!

Dave

 

[Geographer]

Actually, the topic is specific to the picture of Karen with Miss Piggy muppet. I remember being very fortunate on one particular occasion (in total, there were 3 occasions) where I was able to visit the Newville House in Downey. On two of those occassions, Harold and Agnes themselves took me on a "tour" of the house. On the third occasion, Ev had me and some others over. Anyway, that picture of Karen and Miss Piggy was displayed in a frame on a plant/picture stand right by the front door. I specifically remember noticing it there because I had seen in in the YOM video. Unfortunately, I didn't have forethought to ask about it and have wondered it's origin all these years. After all, Karen was NEVER on the Muppet Show. After the release of ATGB and "Rainbow Connection" I wondered if it was in relation to that recording. Were the Carpenters "asked" to record the song for possible Muppet Movie soundtrack (or so I wondered)? Cam89 seemed to answer the question where she recieved information about it from Ev Wallace. Thanks Cam, as now I can devote those few synapses in my brain to other thoughts!

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Mr J I'm not sure what country you are from but here in the U.S. the Muppets were very popular for both adults & kids alike, it was family entertainment.

To this day I always look forward when going to Disney MGM Studios to the Muppets 3D no make that 4D theatre show. (I think Karen's version of Rainbow Connection would be perfect playing in the background while your waiting in line)

...bringing the Carpenters & the Muppets together in one relevant post, online...

 

[Harry]

Here's a photo with Karen & Miss Piggy.

It's available to everyone who has the GOLD/YESTERDAY ONCE MORE video as part of the photo montages in the "Close To You" video. I captured it straight from the DVD and posted it above.

Harry
...with pictures, online...

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Thanks Harry, that is a good clear copy, how do you capture a pic screen from a DVD? What program does this? Maybe I have it but don't realize it.

 

[Harry]

It's Cyberlink's PowerDVD version 4. It has a screen capture function where you can basically grab any frame of any DVD. Though you can run the DVD on your computer at full-screen mode, the picture that you grab is actually a smaller size.

Harry
...who added DVD-playing capabilities to his computer, online...

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I have PowerDVD Cyberlink 4.0.08, it was part of my software bundle a couple years ago. About a year ago my system crashed & lost everything off my hardrive

A couple months ago, I tried to re-install it with the included disc but after the install was sucessful, I tried to open the program but it keeps bring up a windows message that it is forcing it to close.

I thought maybe I needed to input the serial # on the back of the package but it never gave me an option to do it, just installs itself & then won't stay open.

Oh well I uninstalled it & never installed it again.