February 4, 1983: Karen Carpenter Dies

February 4, 1983: Karen Carpenter dies at her home in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey, California. She was only 32 years old, perhaps the earliest celebrity known to suffer from anorexia nervosa, a condition in which people see themselves as overweight even when dangerously underweight.

The Carpenters were a music group that consisted of Karen and her brother Richard: He played piano and wrote songs (at least, when they weren't doing one of their many covers), and she sang lead and played drums.

And, while she sang lead and played drums, she wasn't exactly Levon Helm of The Band. She wasn't even Gary Lewis of Gary Lewis & the Playboys: Certainly, she could sing, but The Carpenters' songs were among the lightest hits of the hard-rocking 1970s. My father, who sang in a few choirs, adored them for their harmonies. Far less of a fan was rock historian Dave Marsh who said that, if Phil Spector's productions were "The Wall of Sound," Richard Carpenter's producing led to a "wall of mush."

But they were commercially successful. From 1970 to 1975, they hit Number 1 with "Close to You," "Top of the World" and a cover of The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman"; Number 2 with "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other" and "Yesterday Once More"; Number 3 with "For All We Know" and "Sing (Sing a Song)"; and Number 4 with "Only Yesterday." They won 3 Grammy Awards.

But by 1975, people began noticing how thin Karen looked in concerts and TV appearances. She never accepted that she didn't need to lose weight. And the musical tide had turned, as disco took over, ending their run of hits: When the world has got "Boogie Fever," you don't come out with a cover of the Herman's Hermits song "A Kind of Hush." A bad marriage to a real estate developer in 1980 threw her into a depression. She was in the final stages of dissolving the marriage when she died.

Richard Carpenter survived his own health issue, an addiction to Quaaludes. Later in the 1980s, he worked with Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. Nearly 40 years after his sister's death, he continues to write and produce songs.

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February 4, 1983 was a Friday. Baseball was out of season. The football season had ended 5 days earlier, with the Washington Redskins beating the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XVII. There were 10 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks beat the Dallas Mavericks, 120-101 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The New Jersey Nets beat the Chicago Bulls, 120-98 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

* The Washington Bullets beat the San Diego Clippers, 100-93 at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 92-81 at The Coliseum in the Cleveland suburb of Richfield, Ohio.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 102-93 at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Kansas City Kings, 143-125 at the Kemper Arena (now the Hy-Vee Arena) in Kansas City.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Utah Jazz, 122-110 at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah.

* The Phoenix Suns beat the Houston Rockets, 115-99 at the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.

* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 115-109 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the San Antonio Spurs, 115-103 at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

Only 2 games were played in the NHL: The Winnipeg Jets beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 6-4 at the Winnipeg Arena; and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Montreal Canadiens, 7-3 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.