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The Carpenters performed many times on US network television. TV Specials, guest appearances and even their own summer replacement series! In addition, they were featured on Japanese and European shows. And let's not forget, the TV movie of Karen's life story.
Unfortunately, very little of this is available for purchase at your local music or video store. Many of the shows survive in station and network archives, and clips have shown up in the Carpenters' music video collections, but there has been no effort to market this archival material.
Luckily for the determined collector, copies of some of these shows have survived in personal collections. They are traded and hoarded and shared amongst the most faithful fans. Although most copies are many generations from the original off-air recordings, the warmth and charm of the Carpenters shines through the washed-out colours, the hiss-filled sound and the badly tracked video tape.
This article attempts to document all of the Carpenters TV appearances. Please email and let me know if I've missed anything or if you have any more information. I am very interested in finding our which musical numbers were performed on each show, and whether they were live or lip-synced and if they were the regular released recordings or specially recorded versions of the songs.
I do not collect or trade these video tapes... but one day I hope Richard Carpenter and the various rights holders can be convinced that there is a market for them.
.../Paul Maclauchlan
"Increase your online profits
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These are shows, usually one hour, that featured the Carpenters as the hosts and main performers. The specials usually had a theme, musical numbers, humorous skits and at least one guest star.
1976, December 8: ABC TV; Guests: Victor Borge & John Denver with a cameo appearance by Olivia Newton-John. #6 on weekly TV ratings. Videotaped on September 30 and October 1 & 2, 1976.
This special included several of the Carpenters hits. Also a race between Richard (in his Ferrari) and Al Unser and Johnny Rutherford. The race took place at the Riverside Raceway, California, with Howard Cosell doing a report on the race. Karen was transformed into Cher! John Denver and Karen Carpenter sing a duet. Richard and Victor Borge stage a funny piano duet. The special ends with a medley of the Carpenters' hits.
Songs performed:
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1977, December 9; Guests: Harvey Korman, Kristy McNichol and Kukla Fran & Ollie. Also, Frank Pooler and the Long Beach State Choir.
O Holy Night, Sleigh Ride, It's Christmas Time, Christmas Alphabet,This Is My New Year's Resolution, The Christmas Song, Christ Is Born and White Christmas are among the songs performed.
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1978, May 17; Guests: John Davidson & Suzanne Somers
Richard and Karen Carpenter are visited by an alien from outer space being played by John Davidson. The guy comes to earth to look for knowledge of music, and alas, he has found the right two people! Some songs performed are: Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft; Goofus; Piano Picker; Dancing In The Street; Just The Way You Are; Star Wars; Little Girl Blue; Sweet, Sweet Smile; Man Smart, Woman Smarter (Karen Carpenter & Suzanne Somers duet, singing lyrics different from the Passage album version); Dance In The Old Fashioned Way (Karen Carpenter & John Davidson duet) and others.
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1978, Dec 19; Guests: Gene Kelly; Kristy & Jimmy McNichol and Georgia Engels. Agnes & Harold Carpenter also appear.
The special features the Carpenters having a Christmas Party and has many classic songs such as Santa Claus Is Coming To Town, Jingle Bells, Merry Christmas Darling, Christmas In Killarney, Angel In The Christmas Tree, The Christmas Waltz, Ava Maria and more.
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Music, Music, Music1980, May 16; Guests: John Davidson, Ella Fitzgerald and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra. This show is a celebration of great American music and features many classic songs. There are reportedly outtakes and bloopers circulating from this special.
Carpenters perform A Song For You, Without A Song, Make It Easy On Yourself, Someday and I've Got Rhythm. Karen & Ella duet on This Masquerade.
1971, July 20 27, August 3 10 17 24 31 and September 7; ABC TV; Eight one-hour shows.
Featured the Carpenters, and their guests, singing and performing in comedy sketches. Appearing regularly on the shows were: trumpeter Al Hirt, comics Patchett & Tarses, singer Mark Lindsay, and The New Doodletown Pipers. The eight shows were recorded in eight consecutive days.
Guest: Herb Alpert
Cameos by: Bob
Hope, Don Knotts, Ed McMahon, and
Vincent Price
Songs:
Guest: Jack Jones
Songs:
Guest: Dusty Springfield
Songs:
Guest: Jose Feliciano
Songs:
Guests: Kenny Rogers & The First Edition
Songs:
Guests: B.J. Thomas & Anne Murray
Songs:
Guests: Mac Davis & Helen Reddy
Songs:
Guests: The 5th Dimension
Songs:
Reportedly, one show featured Any Day Now as part of the Bacharach / David Medley, and a performance of Cinderella Rockerfeller with Doug Strawn.
Thanks to Julie Winton, here is a review from the September 4 1971 TV Guide:
Review by Merle Miller
Karen Carpenter has a sweet little voice, nothing special, sweet, small, but then, how many girl singers play the drums at the same time? Her older brother Richard plays the piano, is said to make most of the arrangements for the Carpenters and on occasion moves his lips. He may be singing but in the first 2 shows I saw, his voice was inaudible. The sound on this show is a problem.
It wasn't easy to fail, but the folks at NBC have managed. In the first place, the show is burdened, is very nearly sunk, by a "gimmick." Each number is introduced by the labored use of a letter of the alphabet. Did they have in mind a Sesame Street for adults?
For reasons unknown, the sound track was recorded at one time and the action was, apparently photographed at another.
What a pity, and what a familiar pity. The musicians on this show are genuinely talented. Why didn't they leave them alone.
Lots more details on the show can be found on Ron Zurek's web site devoted to the show.
1968, June 22 and 29 & 1969, February 2 September 9 December 1; syndicated(?)
The Dick Carpenter Trio (Richard: piano, Karen: drums, vocals; & Bill Sissyoev: bass) won a summer 1968 audition to appear on this judged showcase for college talent. They played a short medley of Dancing In The Street / The Shadow Of Your Smile. They performed on three shows over the next year and a half, winning $3,500. Richard also won $3,500 for subsequent solo performances.
1969, December 4
1970, January 18
1970, January 24; NBC TV
Special hosted by the famous figure skater.
1970 (After March 2)
Syndicated Pop Music show episode featuring the Carpenters in a promo film for their Ticket to Ride single. It was shot on location in Squaw Valley, California on Karen Carpenter's birthday, March 2nd, in 1970.
1970, June 24
1970, July 20
Karen & Richard select "dates" on a popular game show. Carpenters lip sync (They Long To Be) Close To You at the beginning of the show. Karen is on the first half of the show and Richard is on the 2nd half.
1970, September 15
1970, October 2
Live performance of (They Long To Be) Close To You.
1970, October 18
The Carpenters perform (They Long To Be) Close To You for Ed on his "really big show".
1970, November 8
1970, November 14
1971, February 13
1971, February 18
Host Ralph Edwards reviews the Carpenters' biography with appearances by family and friends.
A DVD collection of 18 episodes of This Is Your Life was released in March 2005. The Carpenters episode is included in the set.
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Buy: This Is Your Life Vol. 1 3 DVD box set |
1971, March 16
Carpenters receive awards for "Best New Artist of 1970" and "Best Contemporary Vocal Group of 1970". They received six nominations, including "Record Of The Year" (Close To You single) and "Album Of The Year" (Close To You album).
1971, March 24
1971, July 29
1971, August 18
This show of the 5th Dimension summer replacement series featured The Carpenters, Dionne Warwick and Merle Haggard. The Carpenters talk and perform Reason To Believe and Superstar as guest stars.
1971, September 6
1972, January 19
1972, February 21
The host interviews Karen & Richard in the studio and at home.
1972, March 24
Carpenters receive the award for "Best Vocal Group of 1971". They also recieved three other nominations.
1972, April 9
Carpenters perform the best song nominee, Bless The Beasts And Children.
1972, May 7
The Carpenters and Jennifer O'Neil visit singer Tom Jones in Lake Havasu, Arizona, and perform several songs. One song, For All We Know - Reprise, was released on the Carpenters CD Singles 1969-1981.
1972, October 5
Carpenters perform A Song For You.
1973, May 1
The Carpenters perform live for US President Richard Nixon and his guests, including West German Chancellor Willy Brandt. Songs include: Bacharach / David Medley.
1973. May 6
1973, November 13
1974, March 2
Carpenters nominated for two awards.
1974, August 4; PBS-TV
Arthur Fiedler conducts the Boston Pops Orchestra accompanying the Carpenters performances.
1974, December 18
The Carpenters perform a duet with Perry Como and perform several songs.
1974
Concert broadcast. No other details available.
1976, March 2
The famous figure skater hosts the Carpenters singing several songs.
1976, May 22
Host: Paul Anka; Guests: Carpenters.
1977, Jan 27; NBC TV
Guest host Steve Martin. The Carpenters are interviewed and perform two songs, From This Moment On and ?. John Denver was also a guest on this show.
1978, February 4; ABC TV
Karen Carpenter and Toni Tennille perform Paul McCartney's Silly Love Songs.
1978, March 16
TV Special promoting the A&M film. Carpenters perform Yesterday Once More and discuss the music they grew up with.
1978, June 27; NBC TV
Guest host John Davidson. The Carpenters perform two songs, Abba's Thank You For The Music and ?.
1978, November 19
The Carpenters spell Mickey Mouse's name to the tune of Close To You.
1980, March 13; ABC TV
Short clip of Karen Carpenter with Herb Alpert.
1980, April 14
Karen performs Heartache Tonight in a group sing-a-long segment with Olivia Newton-John, Tina Turner, Elton John and Toni Tennille.
1981, July 11 (or maybe August 29)
Interviews.
1981, August 10; ABC TV
Interview with Joan Lunden.
1981, October 2
The Carpenters relate an anecdote about Olivia (a close friend of Karen's), and perform Those Good Old Dreams.
1983, January 11; Syndicated
Short interview at the 25th Anniversary of the Grammy Awards.
Fall 1984
Richard Carpenter appears on two shows as a celebrity judge. The show was a Dick Clark production.
March 1986
Richard Carpenter performed a medley of Carpenters tunes on the National Easter Seal Telethon. This was televised from the Aquar Theater in Hollywood, Pat Boone and Donna Mills co-hosted.
1994
Richard Carpenter appears on the talk show to promote the "The Carpenters: The Untold Story". During the show Richard plays piano accompanying Kathie Lee Gifford's singing: (They Long To Be) Close To You, We've Only Just Begun and Rainy Days And Mondays.
Richard Carpenter performs Home For The Holidays.
1977
1977
1983
Coverage of the unveiling the Carpenters star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.
1972
1974
Broadcast of a Carpenters concert. Released on the Live At Budokan 1974 home video. Different from the one on the Live In Japan album.
1976
Another broadcast of a Carpenters concert. Different from the one on the Live In Japan album.
1980
Karen Carpenter with Tom Burris and Richard Carpenter.
1981
Carpenters live outdoor performance of songs
A Japanese television special, featuring Richard Carpenter.
1996, December
Solo Richard piano concert, including a reworked video of Top Of The World where the live 1996 Richard sings and interacts with the taped 1973 Karen. Also, performs songs from the Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor album.
1971, November 6; BBC TV network
Carpenters live broadcast of a concert in London. Includes a performance of the unreleased song And When He Smiles. The full set list:
1974, March 3; BBC TV
1974; German TV
Two songs. Clips.
1976; New London Theatre, UK TV
Concert performances, including: There's A Kind Of Hush, I Need To Be In Love, Piano Picker, a Karen Carpenter drum solo and Richard's "Spike Jones" inspired version of (They Long To Be) Close To You.
1977
Carpenters concert broadcast on Dutch TV.
1978
Carpenters perform Sing with Julio Iglesias.
1978, December 24 (taped in Early December)
Karen and the band, with Peter Knight as musical director, perform Please Mr. Postman, I Need To Be In Love and Merry Christmas Darling. Richard is unable to perform due to his growing dependency on Quaaludes. Karen tells everyone that he has the flu.
1994
Interview with Richard.
February 1983; various media
Numerous news reports and tributes were broadcast in the days following Karen's death on February 4.
1983; Japan TV; 90 minutes
Tribute to Karen, includes music videos, live footage (from 1971?) and Richard discussing their life and music.
1983
Interview with Richard Carpenter.
1984, January; US network TV
Tribute to Karen Carpenter. Barbara Mandrell sings with Richard Carpenter.
1988; limited theatrical release only
This is the infamous "Barbie & Ken" stop motion animation film by Todd Haynes. Barbie and Ken dolls were used to portray the Carpenters. Screening of the movie was halted by a court injunction obtained by Richard based on unauthorized use of Carpenters recordings on the film soundtrack. More details, including a synopsis and clip, can be found at this website.
January 1 1989; (US)
A made-for-TV biographical account of the Carpenters story. Produced with the cooperation of the Carpenter family. The film featured new musical material from the Carpenters and Richard. Featuring concert clips from 1971, 1973 (or 1974) and the 1976 A World Of Music show. Also, other song clips from TV and other sources.
Principal photography was complete March 3rd 1988. This C.B.S. Movie of the Week stars Cynthia Gibb as Karen. Mitchell Anderson as Richard, Peter Michael Goetz as Dad Carpenter and Louis Fletcher as Mom Carpenter. Richard served as Executive Producer and technical advisor for the project and composed the score. The film, which features over twenty Carpenters songs, was directed by Joseph Sargent.
The Karen Carpenter Story is based on fact, meaning that artistic license was used for certain events in Karen's and Richard's lives. This practice is quite common in biographical films as they are dramas and not documentaries. That fact notwithstanding, Richard tried to keep certain aspects of the production as accurate as possible. Both Carpenter homes were used for certain interior scenes. Autobmobiles that Richard has owned for years were used as well as some of Karen and Richard's wardrobe and all of their instruments.
The Karen Carpenter Story will be released in the UK on DVD on October 8 2007 by DDHE Home Entertainment. Here is The Karen Carpenter Story DVD Promotional Sheet.
1993, February 5; US Syndicated show
"Tabloid news" investigation report.
ment
1994
Interviews with Richard Carpenter, Tony Peluso, Sherwin Bash, Paul Williams, John Bettis & Herb Alpert, all sharing anecdotes and memories of Karen Carpenter and their relationships with her.
1994, December 23; Japan TV
Carpenters documentary.
1996, February 25; Japan
Title also seen as: Shitteru Tsumori
Carpenters special.
1996, March 8
1996; BBC TV (UK)
A one hour study of the Carpenters' career.
1997, April; E! cable network (US)
A two hour biography of Karen Carpenter. Promoted by E! as: "The career and death of the singer; with Dorothy Hamill; Casey Kasem; Cristina Ferrare; Phil Ramone.
1997, December; PBS (US)
90 minute documentary reviewing the music of the Carpenters. Later released on home video with additional sequences.
The PBS documentary Close To You: Remembering the Carpenters is currently airing on Public TV in many US cities. Producer Laura Bucuzzo says "the program is doing extremely well across the country. It is raking in the dollars for the PBS stations, and having great ratings." She added that in Boston, "the hosts of the pledgebreaks were 'riveted' to their sets in the backstage area. And, at the end of the program, they were near tears....because they said the show was so moving." The show is a 1-hour special and features interviews with Richard, John Bettis, Paul Williams, Herb Alpert, Burt Bacharach, and quite a few others. Another person involved in the production told me that "Richard goes into detail as to how their harmonies were created, how the songs were arranged, and so on. Quite a fascinating show, much more on the music rather than a straight biography." I have seen it now and think it's the only honest look at the Carpenters' music to date...
1998, January 1; VH1 cable network (US)
One hour documentary on the Carpenters.
VH1's Behind the Music Carpenters profile will debut on the VH1 Network on January 1, 1998. I believe that several Newvillers, in addition to myself, have contributed to the production. Interviews include Richard Carpenter in his home along with Mary, Sherwin Bash, and others. This looks like it will be a SUPER profile of the duo's music.
1998. January 12; A&E cable network (US)
One hour biography of the Carpenters.
BIOGRAPHY: THE CARPENTERS: HARMONY AND HEARTBREAK is the story of a brother and a sister who were joined through their extraordinary talent and separated by a tragic eating disorder. Richard and Karen Carpenter signed their first major record contract in 1969. By 1970 they had a number one hit in Close to You.
They followed that with We've Only Just Begun, a song destined to become a standard at weddings and proms across the country. Throughout the 1970s, the pair consistently recorded top hits. Their records flew out of the stores and their concerts sold out everywhere they appeared.
BIOGRAPHY: THE CARPENTERS: HARMONY AND HEARTBREAK also tells the flip side of this phenomenal recording success. Around 1974 Karen Carpenter began dieting. She wanted to get down to 105 pounds. It was the beginning of a seven-year battle with anorexia nervosa. By the early 1980s, Karen finally began therapy in New York City. But it was too late. In February 1983, Karen Carpenter, age 32, died of complications from anorexia nervosa. The story is told by Richard Carpenter and those who knew, worked with and admired the Carpenters, including singer k.d. lang, lyricist John Bettis, manager Jerry Weintraub, producer Phil Ramone, and music critic David Browne.
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