Excerpts from Carpenters Fan Club Newsletters: #76 to #90



Here are some selections from the newsletters, from just prior to Karen’s death
to the end of the fan club’s services to the fans.



It’s all for you, Karen!



Frederic Kahler, founder

http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/carpentersgang/



3 Feb 05









#76: October, 1982



Greetings Friends!



I trust you have all enjoyed a super summer and are now braced for the Festive
Season! We have received many inquiries relating to the article in “People”
magazine about Tom and Karen’s separation, so to set the record straight I now
confirm the statement, and as a mark of respect for Karen there will be no
further comments on this subject.



Our duo have decided to re-release “Christmas Portrait” and possibly Merry
Christmas, Darling” this Christmas, but apart from that there is nothing new to
report on the Carpenters music scene at this time so we’ll have another
question-and-answer session, which appears to be very popular...



Q: Is it true that when the late John Wayne judged the 1969 All American College
Show in which the Carpenters performed, he was so taken with Karen’s voice he
wanted her to be his leading lady in his movie “True Grit”?



A: He was taken with her personality and felt she had the right looks for the
part; however, the film studio wanted a “name” actress. [The part went to Kim
Darby.]...



Q: What are Richard and Karen’s views on the current music trend in America?



A: They are not overly enthused but currently enjoy such recordings as “Eye in
the Sky” by Alan Parsons Project, “Ten Out of Ten” by 10CC, and Donald Fagen’s
“Nightfly.”



...All the Best.



Rosina





#77: IN REMEMBRANCE – KAREN ANNE CARPENTER – February 4th. 1983 – by Rev.
Charles Neal.



Dear Friends,



We come here today to remember and to cherish the life of Karen Carpenter –
loved one, friend and companion in the story of our lives. In the course of
these days, the farthest thing from our minds and hearts has happened. No one
can begin to express the sadness and sorrow that is felt here, and is being felt
around the world: a spontaneous outpouring of love and grief for one of G-d’s
truly talented and gifted daughters who has died so young at 32 years of age.



Into every nook and cranny of this global village the sad news travels yet, and
the world weeps. For Karen’s story is one that has graced this world with life,
with love, and with a song...



...Karen’s life has continued to unfold: a unique and beautiful tapestry woven
with all the experiences of life:



a tapestry at once joyous and furious;



a tapestry filled with the joy of time,



but also the tyranny of time;



the joy of success, but also the



tyranny of success;



the joy of life, but also the



tyranny of life;



yes and no!



joy and sorrow,



laughter and tears,



limelight and loneliness,



love and heartache,



health and illness,



triumph and tragedy,



quietness and fury;



always the tapestry of time...



...Someone has said: What we love, we shall grow to resemble. What Karen loved
she has indeed come to resemble, until Karen herself has become a song to the
world; yes, Karen’s life itself, a song to the world: a song of love and joy and
beauty...



... [Karen’s] untimely death, “too soon and too young” as John Bettis has
written so poignantly...



... [the apostle] Paul caught a glimpse of it: If we live, we live to the Lord,
and if we die, we die to the Lord, so then, whether we live or whether we die,
we are the Lord’s...



... “Too soon and too young



Our Karen is still



But her echo



Will linger



Forever...



In response to the overwhelming requests for donations in Karen’s memory, the
Carpenter family extend their deep appreciation to interested friends who would
like to donate to one of the following established memorials of their choice:



1. Scholarship for talented musicians at CA State University of Long Beach.



2. Anorexia Nervosa Research.





#78: July, 1983



Hello Friends,



This letter is being written by your old friend, Evelyn. I regret to say at the
present time, Rosina is in the hospital at the bedside of her critically ill
husband, John.



The Carpenter family and their staff send their sincere thanks to you for the
numerous cards and letters sent at the time of Karen’s passing. We thank you for
the Masses said for Karen and for the contributions... to various charitable
organizations in her memory. We thank you for the beautiful floral arrangements
you sent and are still sending to her crypt in the Forest Lawn Cemetery in
Cypress...



...On a brighter side, Richard sends word that the new Carpenters album will be
released in Sept. Watch for VOICE OF THE HEART at your local music stores.
Richard has spent the previous three months completing the album, which was in
progress at the time of Karen’s passing. A new single will be released this
summer.



Karen’s childhood friends in New Haven, Connecticut held a beautiful Memorial
Service at the Marquand Chapel at Yale University. She was eulogized by Frank
Bonito and Debra Vaiuso Cuticello...



... [Debra:] She never forgot to send [my son] Jamie a card or gift on special
occasions. For his first birthday, she designed his name in a clown design in
needlepoint, to match his room – truly a gift of love. The time and talent was
endless, giving and wanting nothing in return but an exchange of warm and
genuine friendship.



We continued our weekly phone calls. They came to visit us in Cuilford again in
January. On January 25th, while watching the Olivia Newton-John Special on HBO,
I called KC to tell her how much I enjoyed it. She sounded so great, full of
energy, vigor and excitement. She seemed to (have) pulled herself together and
(was) ready to start a new lease on life. I asked her for some new photographs.
We exchanged hugs and kisses. I received those photos on Saturday, February 5th,
the day after her death.



“KC, wherever you are, you are at peace. Sleep in the warmth of G-d’s presence
as I remember the warmth of your friendship.”



[Note: as in 1983, Karen’s passing also falls on Friday in 2005.]





#79: October, 1983



Hello Friends!



This is your old friend Ev, sitting in for Rosina. It is with deep regret that I
bring you the news of the death of Rosina’s beloved husband, John Sullivan.
After a lingering illness, John succumbed on September 3rd. His lovely funeral
service on September 10th included a tape of “Ave Maria” sung by Karen, and the
Twenty Third Psalm rendered by Richard...



...The single “Make Believe It’s Your First Time” should be in your music stores
right now.



A lovely tribute to Karen was presented to Karen by Richard and the Long Beach
State Choir on June 25th in the historic Sanctuary of the First Congregational
Church of Long Beach. Singer Dennis Heath and dancer Bobby Burgess were among
the concert performers, as well as lyricist John Bettis, who offered two songs.



Mom, Dad and Richard spent several days in Baltimore, Maryland visiting their
relatives before they flew to Tennessee for the dedication of the Strolee Plant
in Church Hill, Strolee, manufacturers of baby chairs, high chairs, play pens,
car seats and swings, named their new Church Hill complex “The Karen Carpenter
Plant.” Dedication ceremonies took place September 21st... Richard was honored
to unveil the plaque, and Werner Wolfen, Carpenters business manager, gave a
heart-warming talk on beloved Karen.



The family left Tennessee amid a heavy downpour of rain.



On October 12th, a Star to honor the Carpenters will be unveiled on the famous
Hollywood Boulevard sidewalk... at 12:30pm...



...Richard is making preparations for overseas trips...



...Lustrous gold lettering has now been placed on the Carpenter crypt in Forest
Lawn Cemetery in Cypress. The simple but fitting epitaph chosen by the family
reads: “Karen 1950-1983, A star on earth – A star in heaven.”







#90: FINAL



Dear Friends,



You have in your hands the last Carpenters Fan Club Newsletter!



It is hard for us to fathom, but nineteen years have elapsed since the inception
of the Carpenters Fan Club and the mailing of Newsletter #1. In the months that
have passed since you received your last newsletter, much has been happening
with the Carpenters.



We are deeply saddened to report the demise of Dad Carpenter, who passed away on
October 15 of 1988 at the age of 79. He now rests in the Carpenter crypt beside
his beloved daughter, Karen. He is greatly missed.



Another daughter resides in Richard and Mary’s home. Traci Tatum Carpenter was
born July 25 at 7:16pm, weighing in at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. She resembles her
older sister, Kristi Lynn, who celebrated her second birthday August 17th.



The broadcast of “The Karen Carpenter Story” was an unqualified success. The
film, which was [on] January 1st of 1989 on the C.B.S. network, placed first for
the week and was the second most watched television movie of the year. (“I Know
My First Name is Steven” was first.”)



We thank you for your heartwarming compliments and comments on the film. Many
young people wrote to tell us the movie introduced them to “Carpenters” music
and they are now collecting all the albums. More important was the response both
we and C.B.S. received from people who were enlightened as to the dangers of
eating disorders. C.B.S. will rerun the film, but not for at least a year.



The Scott Grimes album “Scott Grimes” was released by A&M last April....



Richard recently finished production on an album by another A&M artist,
Veronique Beliveau. Veronique is a gorgeous French-Canadian vocalist who is
quite famous in Canada. This [is] her fourth A&M album and her second in
English. The album “Veronique” will be released in late September in Canada and
in January in the U.S.



While vacationing this past summer, Richard, Mary and Kristi made a side trip to
Toronto, where Richard guested on Veronique’s latest TV special.



Production on the final “Carpenters” album has been completed... “Lovelines”
consists of twelve selections, ten of which are previously unreleased...



Two [of the selections] are heard in “The Karen Carpenter Story.”



Getting away from music for a moment, we report that twelve of Richard’s
“period” automobiles were put on display at Disneyland for the park’s “Blast to
the Past” days.



We are now in the laborious process of reorganizing the “Yesterday Once More”
warehouse where, in addition to the autos, the Fan Club offices and storage
areas are located. During the undertaking we encountered “The Lost Sun Visors”!!
These visors are the “Made in America” variety, and to be quite honest, we’d
like to sell them! If you are so inclined, you may use the P.O. Box 1084 through
which to order them, The price is $X.XX each or three for $X.XX.



Some of the Carpenters music books are still available and can be purchased
directly from the following publishers:



1. Music Dispatch.... Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53213



2. Columbia Pictures.... Miami, Florida 33014



We’d also like to report that the entire domestic “Carpenters” catalog is
available on Compact Disc and has been for some time. Certain record store
personnel are reluctant to Special Order, but if you want these recordings,
“Stand firm.”



“Yesterday Once More,” the Carpenter TV video tape released in 1984 is still
available...



...Many of you habe been club members since its inauguration in 1970. Others
have joined throughout the years as they learned of its existence. All of you
have been loyal and supportive. We deeply appreciate your friendship. In saying
farewell after nineteen memorable years, we wish all of you a lifetime of
happiness, prosperity and good health.



May you remember us with fondness, as we will remember you.



Evelyn.





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