I've always LOVED her type of humor and comedy, for the same reason I LOVE Rickles. Nothing was seemingly off-limits with Joan the last few years and that seemed a bit much, but most of her career she was "something"! No one really to pass the torch to... Sarah Silverman? I'm not into her in the least. Lisa Lampinelli? She's funny, but a little of her goes along ways. Probably Kathy Griffin would be the closet to Joan's kinda humor, spontaneous and in-your-face... I like her! I read the other day that when Joan took a show opposite Johnny Carson, he never spoke to her again... after years of a mentorship/friendship... she called a few times and he'd hang-up. Of course her show didn't last long... he killed her in the ratings. Also just learned that she was never invited on the Tonight Show again even through Leno, until Jimmy Fallon took it over.
Saw her at the Venetian in 2010, and she was funny as hell. Really glad I got to see her show. Follow her on Twitter, and she posted wonderful pictures of a trip to Italy that she took with her grandson & his friend. It was just a few weeks ago. I'm glad her grandson will have those memories. She was a true original, one of a kind. They say it comes in threes: Robin Williams, Lauren Bacall, and now Joan. May they all rest in peace.
yeah she also got screwed over on the red carpet show by that wimp Ryan Seacrest, he hasn't made his bones like she did if you haven't yet, watch the Documentary about her Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Back in the 80s I saw her stand up show in Vegas and I was on the receiving end of many jokes all night. She decided I looked like Barbie (this was 30 years ago) and had fun with that. It didn't help when my friend told her my then husband (now ex) was named Ken. At the end of her show, she came down from the stage and presented me with a bouquet of roses and champagne and thanked me for being a good sport. That was a classy gesture! RIP; thanks for the laughter!
I've read a few of her books, what a survivor. Tough lady. I'm glad that she probably didn't know what hit her and to her it was fast, she didn't suffer. But, I really didn't think anything could kill her. I'm really sorry I didn't get to see her live or meet her.
Very sad when I heard this, I just saw a recent youtube video of her taking on a heckler at a performance in Wisconsin. She ripped the guy a new one. Also saw her reply to a question about the recent violence in the Middle East she was quick witted and had her facts straight. Gotta give her props for re-inventing herself over the years especially after her Fox talk show failed and her husband committed suicide.
I probably first saw her on "The Ed Sullivan Show" and black + white TV. She was one, of only a couple women, doing "stand up" back then. ( Toddie Fields,Stiller + Meara....?) * All the plastic surgeries - were over the top. * Jefferey Lyons paid her a nice tribute - by saying - while he was promoting his "Baseball Trivia' book -- she interviewed him and asked many interesting questions - even though she knew nothing about baseball. * I wonder if there will be a large lawsuit over the medical proceedure that led to her death ?
Wow... Totie Fields... that brings back some memories! When I was a kid, I watched a lot of Merv Griffin, Mike Douglas, etc. with my dad. She was on a lot... VERY FUNNY!!! Just looked her up... she actually died very young (48) in and in Las Vegas. Apparently, she was just about to begin a couple week gig at the Sahara when she passed in 1978. She'd had a leg removed a couple years earlier due to blood clots along with a bout of breast cancer.
Totie..........I couldn't think of how to spell it ? Yeh.....she made the rounds.....I forgot about her amputation. And didn't remember she died at 48. I knew she did Vegas gigs. She was on Mike Douglas Show with Gene Simmons of KISS. Somehow, ethnic origins came up -- and Simmons was somewhat vague about his - Totie Fields said "You can't fool me with that hook !" ( read this in a KISS biography )
All true. She was the designated guest host because in the end Carson took so much time off. Once she took the offer for a competing show, she was sh*t in Carson's eyes. Although, now we're slowing learning Carson wasn't the great guy many of us thought he was. At least me, I grew up watching that show, even though it aired at 10:30 PM local time. It was a treat to stay up late and watch it on a school night.
For the Carson side of things: his stance was that she was his main guest host and could be his possible replacement when he retired, that he felt stabbed in the back when she left without word and he found out about it through a third party. He had said if she spoke to him about the opportunity first and asked him if it was OK to leave The Tonight Show he would have given her his blessing and been willing to have her return as a guest, to plug her show and even do guest appearances on her show. I can see his angle in all this: at that time he was pretty much one of the most powerful people in the industry and with that would come a massive ego, so he probably never had anybody just snub him like that and so you would expect it would make him pretty angry. But that said, you would think with all her appearances on his show they must have had a pretty good friendship prior and to just write all that off over one incident, blacklist her from the show and not leave any room for reconciliation seems pretty petty overall.
Her appearance on The Tonight Show http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/09/05/viral-video-of-the-day-joan-rivers-returns-to-the-tonight-show.html
Not petty, that was JC. The best friend you could have but once on the bad side, always on the bad side. That's not new in show business power. BTW, never much of a Rivers fan but RIP.