One On One (Pt 2) - John Tesh with Richard Carpenter

"Do you think Karen would alive today if she had received better treatment?
"Yes, I do."
"You knew that she was ill, but did it ever occur to you that this could be fatal?"
"Oh, yeah. You read that, a person hears that - but again, human nature and all - it can never happen to me, it can never happen to her."

[@catherinehooper9039]

Rich, you did what you could! You did no wrong. Karen would agree.

[@ncole1545]

Karen died the day after my wife (before our meeting) was hospitalized for anorexia and she said the doctors didn't initially know what was wrong with her. It took years and a couple of near misses to diagnose and treat her correctly. She survived it.

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

I hope Richard decides to tour the US after his European tour. I'll be one of the first in line to see this man.

[@bethmc717]

You know maybe Richard finds this very difficult to discuss,Hes entitled to his privacy and I respect that,He lost his sister at such a young age,look at the body language,Anorexia is still very misunderstood by alot of ppl and unless your a sufferer you dont know and never will

[@divinedeschabel4404]

Richard is a yes mom yes dad type of a guy! He loved Karen but he is committed to his parents, as the interview goes, Richard seemed to protect his family. When he was asked about the details of Karen's death, I didn't see any emotion, is that how they were raised!? Not to feel anything,?, .. That's probably why Karen was sad, because she needed love, she wants to fell loved.. Poor Karen :-(

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

But, he can't be blamed for that.

[@scottharrison3391]

why didn't they change doctors, it s pretty clear he was doing more harm than good.

[@jamesbond4633]

Interesting....Richard quotes a line from The Rain Song.."upon us all a little rain must fall". Led Zeppelin and Robert Plant. I am sure Richard and Karen's listening to music was very eclectic. She did beat out JOhn Bonham for best drummer in I think Creem Magazine's best musicians music poll!! Sad that they both died young each in their own self destructive way.

[@zigman8550]

I think it was a PLAYBOY magazine poll about the best drummer.And I did hear in one interview with Richard that although it wasn't his genre of music he did really like Led Zeppelin.

[@babygirlramos9766]

First i would like to say sorry...i just like to make comment for this interview...He knew Karen is very ill that time..but he or they force karen to go concerts...Second the solo of KC he dislike...he never think what hurts may cause this with KC.Third,the love(the word i love you)she long to crave to her parents.Everyone come to think of it,you as a parents or brother,you see that your daughter/sister is so thin...almost dying...you did nothing...what are you doing?Sorry,its only my opinion...its really hurts me because i love karen alot..Karen is the one who wants people to see...not Richard and their parents.Sorry again...we lossed an angel in this world.

[@SuperPaige02]

Maybe you should have looked at different avenues

[@MsNooneinparticular]

Can't force someone to get help. Richard confronted Karen head-on many times about her illness but she did what all eating disordered people do: lied & deflected. She disobeyed her therapist's orders not to leave treatment & swapped the laxatives for ipecac, which turned out to be the thing that killed her.

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

Everyone says this in hindsight.

[@RayOvacRadio]

For some reason I feel we are not getting the real true story from Richard.

[@steevee1945]

+Ramo251 what do you feel is missing?

[@RayOvacRadio]

steevee1945 The truth about the abuse Karen went through with her Mother who did not know how to show love for her children but she did favor Richard.

[@steevee1945]

I would not characterize Mrs. Carpenter's treatment of Karen as "abuse". But she clearly did not understand Karen's greater need of support and expressions of love vs Richard's. This is most obvious in the account on page 3 of Ray Coleman's book on the Carpenters. And Richard has naturally tried to defend and protect his mother from intrusions and accusations by outsiders. We won't hear any negative comments from Richard, but both of the biographies about the Carpenters make it clear that Karen needed much more support from her parents than Richard did. I think the most cruel action by Mrs. Carpenter was forcing Karen to marry Tom Burris, after Karen wanted to back out.

[@RayOvacRadio]

steevee1945 I agree

[@JaneDoe-zr4px]

+Ramo251 I always thought Richard was holding back, as long as his parents were alive. I hoped after they passed, he would be more forthcoming and honest. Karen's anorexia was one of the most extreme cases at the time mainly because she used multiple weight loss methods, each deadly in their own right - sorry, but people don't get, and stay, that sick without having serious emotional problems. One aspect of the Karen Carpenter story that's never discussed is how on earth did she learn about the methods she used. The starvation goes without saying, the laxatives she could've learned from models and other Hollywood types, but the use of Synthoid (synthetic thyroid to increase her metabolism) and Ipecac (vomit inducing liquid used for poison control) - who the FUCK taught her about that shit? Remember this is before the internet, cable, documentaries, all that. How the hell did she discover them? I do respect Richard for revealing as much as he did in the tv movie. He was the exec producer of it and it went into some of the family dynamics, especially the mother and Karen's control issues. I would bet there was alot more going on than he's ever discussed though. We'll probably never know.

[@ionthetarget]

Richard said fat chance.

[@andrewcramer9200]

I LOL'd when I heard it. Because I'm a moron. Oh well.

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

He's a good man.

[@yeniesparza7238]

RЄl

[@robertowisconetti2732]

This interview shud be called HOW TO LIE WITH RICHARD CARPENTER😾

[@TheThomasSlater]

What were the lies🤔

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

Richard was a musician, not a doctor.

[@AngelWhisper_7]

I believe Karen would have died anyway if she had not seen that therapist because she had already taking a ton of laxatives, about seventy or eighty per night, for several years, plus she had been taking thyroid pills (ten times the amount that's recommended for someone with the thyroid issue, but she didn't even have a thyroid issue!! ). And nobody knows how long she'd been taking them! BUT the therapist said she wouldn't have made it through the rest of the bottle that she gave to him, alive! There was half of it left plus she started using epicac syrup, which basically destroys the heart muscle and destroys the fibers of the heart, IF used in big quantities and chronically, which SHE DID, So she had done the damage before she even saw that therapist., Her heart was a ticking time-bomb unfortunately.,And someone was saying about her autopsy report about her blood sugar, that she was in a diabetic coma because her blood sugar was over 1100 and the normal number for someone to go into a coma would be as high as 500, so the fact that she didn't drop when her blood sugar was over that shows how incredibly tough she was! But because of that, that's the reason they couldn't bring her back. Cuz the blood sugar was just too high and potassium levels too low! IF she HAD NOT USED ALL THOSE DRUGS, SHE WOULD STILL BE HERE TODAY, AND HAVE LIVED FOR A LONG TIME. Her starving herself DID contribute to her death coz her blood sugar and potassium levels were at more than deadly levels/numbers AND it was ALSO the drugs taken in quantities not meant for anybody, drugs that destroyed her heart AND her metabolism which caused her heart to be a time bomb to fail. AND again unfortunately, there was nothing anybody could do by 1981. VERY DISTURBINGLY SAD.😢😭♥️

[@user-fb3vd8yn5i]

She is resting in peace now.

[@boyds434]

Interviewer is annoying!

[@robertowisconetti2732]

Boyd S she was trying to get da truth

[@nigelwilliams9307]

Silly interviewer.