Karen’s attempts at masking her emaciated frame fooled no one. Fans became so alarmed they approached the Carpenters’ agent about the singer’s condition. Worried she might be dying of cancer, or some other fatal illness, fans questioned Bash. Ironically, they were right, she was dying of a fatal illness. But no one knew what it was.
Her physical appearance was so shocking that, occasionally, an audible gasp from the audience greeted Karen when she took the stage. One critic, obviously confused, praised her entrance from the drums to the mic, but then said, “She is terribly thin, almost a wraith, and should be gowned more becomingly.” One acquaintance said she looked like “a Holocaust victim.”
Richard Gets Concerned
At first, Richard thought nothing of it. Assuming her weight loss was the result of successful work with her personal trainer, he congratulated her saying, “You look great.”
Karen replied, “Well, I’m just going to get down to around 105.” Worried about her response, Richard said, “A hundred and five? You look great now.” Karen was not convinced.
Karen Hides Her Obsession
She dropped to 90 pounds. At 5-foot-4, she had looked great at 120 pounds. With thirty pounds less, she started to look unhealthy. Family and friends became concerned and hounded her to eat more. Karen responded by bundling up to hide her extra weight loss.
In 1975, her agent, Sherwin Bash, noticed and said, “She would start with a long-sleeved shirt and then put a blouse over that and a sweater over that and a jacket over that.” Bash continued, ‘With all of it, you had no idea of what she had become.”
The Disease Begins to Physically Affect Karen
Everyone was becoming more and more concerned. Exhaustion overwhelmed her often, and she would have to lie down to get her strength back. In 1975, following a tour in Las Vegas, Karen checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
A doctor finally diagnosed the mysterious disease that was killing her. He said in a statement that anorexia nervosa was causing her physical and nervous exhaustion. He said she was too ill to perform. It cost the Carpenters their European tour. Refunded tickets went out for all 50 shows.
The Stress of Fame Plagued Richard Too
While the world focused on Karen and the strange new disease she was diagnosed with, no one witnessed Richard’s struggles. He kept his addiction well hidden. The 1971 tour wore him down. He eased the stress with a prescription of Quaaludes.
Gradually upping his dose, the habit became a major addiction. Richard abruptly quit touring on September 4, 1978, and refused to show for a UK TV appearance. Rumors about the duo splitting and him abandoning Karen swirled while he hid from the limelight.