Downey, Calif. - Karen Carpenter, 32, the silky voiced singer, who with her brother, Richard recorded some of the biggest hits of the 1970s, died yesterday after collapsing at her parents home. The Carpenters mellow songs like "We've Only Just Begun" and "Close To You," sold more than 60 million albums worldwide.

She died at 9:51 a.m. at Downey Community Hospital, 25 minutes after being brought in by paramedics, a hospital spokesman said. Her brother and parents were with her when she died. The singer suffered from anorexia nervosa, a disorder caused by compulsive dieting. Her publicist, Paul Bloch, said she died of a full cardiac arrest. It was not known wether the anorexia contributed to her death, but the 5-foot-4 woman weighed 108 pounds.

A two hour autopsy failed to determine the cause of death, and the Los Angeles coroner's office called for more detailed tests that were expected to take weeks.

Downey Fire Capt. Paul Cook said Karen's mother, Agnes, found her daughter on the floor of an upstairs walk-in closet and was giving her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation when paramedics arrived. "We found her in cardiac arrest. The cause of that we don't determine. We had a doctor on the line and gave the condition of the patient and the paramedic on the scene administered the drugs," he said.

Karen's anorexia first affected her professional career in 1975, when the Carpenters canceled a command performance for Queen Elizabeth and a concert tour of Europe and the Orient. She then weighed 90 pounds. But the anorexia "had been considered in control for some time," according to her public relations representative.


DAILY NEWS February 5th, 1983 USA