But through it all—the striped bellbottoms, the tough kids in the suburbs and the gloomy news—Karen Carpenter's voice made everything sound just right. If you also have a soft spot for the Carpenters, ...

Morrow said Karen's father, Harold Carpenter, had little to add. When "The Karen Carpenter Story" finally aired New Year's Day 1989, Schmidt, then a teenager, was one of the "spellbound" viewers ...