Thu, 09/04/2014

Remembering Joan Rivers

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We are very sad to hear of the passing of comedian Joan Rivers, who died this afternoon, Thursday September 4, 2014 at the age of 81. Joan started performing in comedy clubs in Greenwich Village in the early 1960s. Her big break came in 1965 with a shot on The Tonight Show. She became a favorite of Johnny Carson and viewers, which eventually led to her being anointed as the first "permanent guest host" of the show in 1983. In October of 1986, Joan struck out on her own with her FOX Television's The Late Show. The show was short lived and caused a permanent rift in her relationship with Johnny Carson. During the period after the cancellation of the FOX show, Joan suffered a series of personal and professional setbacks, not the least of which was the death of her husband Edgar Rosenberg. In 1989 Rivers launched a successful syndicated daytime talk show for which she received a Daytime Emmy. In the late 90s she established herself as an entertainment commentator with her E! series Live from the Red Carpet. Earlier this year she appeared on The Tonight Show for the first time in nearly 30 years when Jimmy Fallon took over as host. Recently Joan had been serving as host on E!'s Fashion Police and starred along with her daughter Melissa Rivers on the series Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?

Below are some selections from her 2007 Archive interview:

On appearing on The Tonight Show for the first time:

 

On appearing on The Lucy Show:

 

On Johnny Carson' reaction to the start of her late-night talk show:

 

On her catch phrase Can We Talk?:

 

On revolutionizing the red carpet:

 

On celebrity and how she'd like to be remembered:

 

 

Watch Joan Rivers' full Archive interview:

http://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/joan-rivers