Curse of Karen.

[Carps1000]

In my local shop I spotted one of the many mags on sale (true life etc) & in one mag edition called "thats life" was a bit on Karen...or rather someone who was doing a tribute act about the Cs. This lady who liked to sing in Kareoke pubs was told that she not only sounded like Karen but looked like her too. So this silly woman decided to ""use her talent" to perfom at weddings & clubs etc as a " Tribute Act" to the Cs, but as the months went on she said she began to feel Karens presense around her "taking over her self" she became so obsessed by Karen so she then she stopped eating & started acting & living the way Karen she assumed would have lived her life in the 70s & it was only when she was made to go eat by "worried" friends & relatives because of her rapid weight loss by refusing to eat that she jolted back to the reality of what she was doing to herself as she states that she could sense Karen watching her when she performed & dreamt of her at night while asleep.& felt compelled to do everything Karen did while she was alive..Oh lordy. Any way she shelved the act one day & now does Abba/Sedaka acts as she forced herself to start eating again & the only way to do this was to forget Karen & stop singing her songs. This "true life" article was in the UK magazine "Thats Life..issue 6 (feb 8th) Did any Uk forum member see this article?. I think if anyone wanted this article the web page is [e-mail] I think that is the right web address tho I could be wrong so 4give if I am as Im useless with computers. Ken carps1000

[Rick Henry]

I myself have not read the article - sounds like this lady is not completely in touch with reality. It would probably benefit her to put her career on hold for a while and get some real help.

[ps11932]

Indeed it sounds like some combination of health issues, spirit warfare and/or opportunistic and sensational journalism. Associations with applying and identifying with Karen's illness in this way is not only harmful to this performer, but a bad reflection to the world, and a bad reflection of her good name.

[Rick Henry]

ps11932 said:

Indeed it sounds like some combination of health issues, spirit warfare and/or opportunistic and sensational journalism. Associations with applying and identifying with Karen's illness in this way is not only harmful to this performer, but a bad reflection to the world, and a bad reflection of her good name.

Some interesting thoughts there O.E.

You bring a good point to the table... opportunistic and/or sensational journalism.

It's very true that much of the entertainment business is fueled on sensationalism. Blowing things way out of proportion. It's seems that many performers (or maybe for some it's their managers) are doing whatever they can to create attention. Many contrive mini scandals (that really are pointless - but for some reason flood our news headlines). The more attention you get the more records you sell, more tickets sold or higher ratings points. But that's generally performers who are secondary in any real natural talent. True talent doesn't have to resort to these sort of pranks. Artists like Karen Carpenter, Dusty Springfield, Sade, Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones have relied and continue to rely on their talent first and foremost. These are the ones who will by all means go down in the journals of time as being amongst the finest of the finest.

You are right O.E., if indeed this tribute performer is sensationalizing (or fabricating - making up) to bring attention to herself - it is very hurtful to those who may look up to her and is also I feel very disrespectful toward the memory of Karen Carpenter. Karen Carpenter did not develop this unfortunate eating disorder because she wanted to bring scandalous attention to herself and sell more records. As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite - everything possible was done to keep this out of the public eye.

Thanks all for letting me ramble on... I had certain thoughts on this topic - maybe someone else can shed a different angle upon what's being said here.

[enigma]

This reminds me of the simular things one Mark David Chapin went through before assasinating Lennon he also actually believed he was John Lennon at some points in his life. Unfortuneately Chapin chose a more violent and dispicable way to live out his fantasies. In this case the woman was as off base as Chapin in my opinion first off Karen never intended to encourage anyone to follow in her ED she suffered with it and as Rick said every effort was made in her life to keep the public from knowing, I am certain Karen would be upset if someone used her illness as part of their own life or even chose to eminate her in such a close and personal way she certainly would not guide someone or encourage such behavior. The media giving people like this attention only makes the problem worse and encourages others to do the same to get attention or for any other reason. I am glad she came back to reality and hope she does not try to eminate any other celeberty and just be's herself. Wow some people are so mentally sick and scary this is one of the greatest and most dangerous curses that come with fame and celeberty. Just some of my own ramblings

[GoodOldDreams]

admin said:

ps11932 said:

Indeed it sounds like some combination of health issues, spirit warfare and/or opportunistic and sensational journalism. Associations with applying and identifying with Karen's illness in this way is not only harmful to this performer, but a bad reflection to the world, and a bad reflection of her good name.

Some interesting thoughts there O.E.

You bring a good point to the table... opportunistic and/or sensational journalism.

It's very true that much of the entertainment business is fueled on sensationalism. Blowing things way out of proportion. It's seems that many performers (or maybe for some it's their managers) are doing whatever they can to create attention. Many contrive mini scandals (that really are pointless - but for some reason flood our news headlines). The more attention you get the more records you sell, more tickets sold or higher ratings points. But that's generally performers who are secondary in any real natural talent. True talent doesn't have to resort to these sort of pranks. Artists like Karen Carpenter, Dusty Springfield, Sade, Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones have relied and continue to rely on their talent first and foremost. These are the ones who will by all means go down in the journals of time as being amongst the finest of the finest.

You are right O.E., if indeed this tribute performer is sensationalizing (or fabricating - making up) to bring attention to herself - it is very hurtful to those who may look up to her and is also I feel very disrespectful toward the memory of Karen Carpenter. Karen Carpenter did not develop this unfortunate eating disorder because she wanted to bring scandalous attention to herself and sell more records. As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite - everything possible was done to keep this out of the public eye.

Thanks all for letting me ramble on... I had certain thoughts on this topic - maybe someone else can shed a different angle upon what's being said here.

Unfortunately, some people in show business really seem to subscribe to the notion that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. I have yet to come across an impersonator/tribute act that convincingly captures the essence of Karen in look and sound, let alone assuming her persona and living her life.

There are people who might have delusions of being famous by virtue of identifying with and dressing up as a celebrity, but they risk turning into questionable caricatures of the people they try to imitate if they take it all too seriously. Look at the recent tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith, who tried to emulate Marilyn Monroe, but was never taken seriously by the general public, and was seen by many as nothing more than a greedy, shallow and talentless wannabe that is famous for just being famous with all her trials and tribulations.

Sorry for the rambling and sounding so harsh, but in these days of "reality TV" overdose, there are way too many "celebrities" mass-produced this way, not to mention others hogging the spotlight like Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, who derive their fame from their family name, not from what they personally deserve by demonstrating anything in the way of real talent...

[Rick Henry]

goodolddreams said:

admin said:

Some interesting thoughts there O.E.

You bring a good point to the table... opportunistic and/or sensational journalism.

It's very true that much of the entertainment business is fueled on sensationalism. Blowing things way out of proportion. It's seems that many performers (or maybe for some it's their managers) are doing whatever they can to create attention. Many contrive mini scandals (that really are pointless - but for some reason flood our news headlines). The more attention you get the more records you sell, more tickets sold or higher ratings points. But that's generally performers who are secondary in any real natural talent. True talent doesn't have to resort to these sort of pranks. Artists like Karen Carpenter, Dusty Springfield, Sade, Diana Krall, Alicia Keys, Norah Jones have relied and continue to rely on their talent first and foremost. These are the ones who will by all means go down in the journals of time as being amongst the finest of the finest.

You are right O.E., if indeed this tribute performer is sensationalizing (or fabricating - making up) to bring attention to herself - it is very hurtful to those who may look up to her and is also I feel very disrespectful toward the memory of Karen Carpenter. Karen Carpenter did not develop this unfortunate eating disorder because she wanted to bring scandalous attention to herself and sell more records. As a matter of fact it was quite the opposite - everything possible was done to keep this out of the public eye.

Thanks all for letting me ramble on... I had certain thoughts on this topic - maybe someone else can shed a different angle upon what's being said here.

Unfortunately, some people in show business really seem to subscribe to the notion that bad publicity is better than no publicity at all. I have yet to come across an impersonator/tribute act that convincingly captures the essence of Karen in look and sound, let alone assuming her persona and living her life.

There are people who might have delusions of being famous by virtue of identifying with and dressing up as a celebrity, but they risk turning into questionable caricatures of the people they try to imitate if they take it all too seriously. Look at the recent tragic death of Anna Nicole Smith, who tried to emulate Marilyn Monroe, but was never taken seriously by the general public, and was seen by many as nothing more than a greedy, shallow and talentless wannabe that is famous for just being famous with all her trials and tribulations.

Sorry for the rambling and sounding so harsh, but in these days of "reality TV" overdose, there are way too many "celebrities" mass-produced this way, not to mention others hogging the spotlight like Paris Hilton and Nicole Ritchie, who derive their fame from their family name, not from what they personally deserve by demonstrating anything in the way of real talent...

I don't think your ramblings are too terribly harsh. You're calling it as you see it and there's quite a bit of truth in what you're saying. It's pretty sad that the makers of the media think the general public is willing to gulp up anything and everything they throw at us. I'm very tired of seeing so much mediocrity labeled as entertainment. I miss the days when an entertainer actually had to have talent in order to make it. Nowadays as long as you're good looking and willing to go along with whatever media frenzy/scandals that are cooked up by money hungry executives you will become a huge star. Look at Britney Spears - she is far from being a great singer (at best she's an average singer) yet she sells tons of CD's - she sells far more than a lot of artists who are truly talented - such as Chan Marshall (Cat Power). Chan has quite a unique and appealing voice, her music is low-key and has meaning behind it - though she is not selling the millions that Britney Spears sells.

I also apologize if my rambling seems a bit harsh - but this is what I truly feel.

Anyway we can take solace in knowing that true talent like Karen Carpenter's does indeed last a lifetime and beyond.

[Dave]

Here is a comment about Jim Carrey's interpretation of Andy Kaufman from "Man In The Moon";

"Of course, this film would be nothing without the inspired performance by Jim Carrey. Within the first moments of the film, you completely forget that it is Jim Carrey on screen. Rarely have I seen an actor truly transform into the persona that he is portraying. Jim Carrey was Andy Kaufman."

It is the greatest compliment for an actor to be said to have become the character they are portraying. There is a huge emotional and physical investment in this, and it was said at the time that Carrey was extremely disappointed and depressed over not having won an Oscar for his portrayal of the late comedian.

It is also said that Chris Farley chose to emulate his idol, John Belushi, and now, we hear that Anna Nicole idolized Marilyn Monroe.

So, we learn that it is not healthy to emulate some of our role models' behaviors.
It takes a strong circle of friends and family to keep our feet on solid ground sometimes...but when you throw big money into the mix, suddenly everyone becomes a syncophant.