Karen on TV

[kc1950]

So - i am new to you tube and been watching as much stuff on the Carpenters as i can - I have seem some excellent clips including the music, music, music program and the raw Live clips from Japan and from Europe in the 70's and for that i am grateful -

then again - I have seen some of the most horrible things - things that have made me actually bang my head against my computer desk and scream "the horror....the horror...."

Here's a few that stick out
Ben Vereen, Toni Tennille, and Karen Carpenter singing Silly Love Songs on ABC's 25th anniversary - Ben Vereen???

Karen singing with showbiz hacks like John Davidson - Was he really the best friend a song ever had?

Karen performing with Kristy McNicholl? Why?

Richard and Karen telling stories to Marcus Welby Why??

As much as i like Carol Burnett - she had no business being on the same stage as Karen - she's Carol Burnett and i respect her talent - but - the 2o year old Karen blows her off the stage

I have made a call to the Attorney General's office to consider finding some of the Television Executives and charging them with crimes against humanity -

I felt the same way when i would see Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl Bailey when they appeared on captain and tennille, donny-marie, and sonny and cher. They were legends and they had to hamm it up with lesser talents -

[Rick Henry]

Oh you are so right on so many many points here kc1950.

I have always thought that the guests on the Carpenters television specials could have been better chosen.

Before I go there I will say there were some great guests... John Denver, Victor Borge, Gene Kelly, Ella Fitzgerald and Georgia Engel.

But really Kristy (and Jimmy) McNichol this was the quickest way to put Carpenters even further into that image that they so very much wanted to escape. And Kristy and Jimmy were such a second rate act I just can't believe that anyone thought this was a good combination.

I agree they could have teamed Carpenters with someone who had more charisma in song than John Davidson... maybe someone like Don McLean or even Lou Rawls or possibly Sammy Davis Jr would have been more interesting.

Although I liked Suzanne Somers I always felt it was an odd fit and just did not care for her on the Space Encounters special.



And your comment on great like Ella Fitzgerald and Pearl bailey lowering their standards to appear on shows hosted by lesser talents such as S&C, D&M and C&T is almost a crime. But you will notice the one's that did do a weekly musical variety show were generally of lesser (maybe somewhat kitch talent) along with Donny and Marie, Captain and Tennille and Sonny and Cher we can add Tony Orlando.

But to be fair about it some top talent have also done variety shows. Our very own Carpenters did their short lived "Make Your Own Kind of Music" summer series. Others who have done vairety are Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr and others.

As much as I love Mary Tyler Moore she tried her hand at variety in the late 70's and really bombed with it.

[enigma]

First I will agree as well with some of the guests on the television specials and the writing on these specials as well was hokey and insulting to people who were watching. I know Karen was not keen on these specials and I could see why between the guests writing and show set up for the most part they were really bad even Karen Richard and the legends could not save them. The highlights were the music and some of the skits were kind of funny and cute but overall the material was sub par. Talk about lowering your talents.

Now as far as Carol Burnet is concerned Karen would never blow her off the stage in fact no one could and comparing the two is like apples and oranges anyway. Karen mastered singing and performing and did have a good sense of humour but Carol Burnet was the master at comedy and her variety show was an example of what a good cast and good writing could achieve the producers and writers of the Carpenter specials could and should have taken a page from the Carol Burnet show and did those specials some justice.

The thing that did always impressed me was how Karen did hold her own in the company of the legends and did her best with the lesser guests whether it was John Davidson or Ella Fitzgerald Karen always kept her performance to the highiest standards and adapted very well to the varying calibor of talent they had her working with Karen never missed a beat the sign of a truely gifted professional. Even the sub par and hokey material looked better when Karen was doing it.