RSP REMEMBERS JOAN RIVERS 1933-2014

"Once I was having lunch in a fancy restaurant with  Lily Tomlin and Richard Pryor. We were all struggling comics together and the day we had lunch, any one of  u s could have picked up the check. That's when I knew I'd made it."

"...At this age, to be wanted - you are fighting every single step of the way."

One of the most pioneering comediennes of our time paved the way for many female comics. Back in the day, most of them only talked about being a housewife and their husbands in their stand-up routines, but Joan took it to another level. Brave and courageous enough to think out of the box at a time in her life when most women of a certain age may consider throwing in the towel, she remained contemporary. 

I always saw her as ahead of her time.

Like her or not, she dared to say the things that most would not have the courage to say. Many seem to have associated Ms. Rivers stage persona with her private self and confused the two. In every performer there are two separate entities. Comedy is what she was about, but as seen through her documentary, "A Piece of Work.", you see her truth, her reality and her vulnerabilities. 

The opening of A Piece of Work is stark, real and brilliant.

She experienced many ups and downs in this thing called life. Before beginning her career as a stand-up comic, she wrote jokes for Phyllis Diller. Throughout Ms. Rivers' very long and eventful career she maintained a cutting edge  in forging new comedic territory whether through her books or through her very innovative approaches to comedic platforms, like her podcast, "In Bed With Joan", where she interviews celebrities in bed. What a concept!

A true queen of comedy, Joan Rivers could brilliantly roll off one liners with ease in any interview. And like Robin Williams had the gift of spontaneity in her humor.

Comedy is a huge responsibility and Ms. Rivers took that responsibility on with passion throughout her career. She was bold, courageous and daring; a one of a kind extraordinary individual who stood outside the crowd and was proud of it.

Joan Rivers found the fountain of youth.  It was her soul, integrity and constant drive with edgy, out of the box contemporary ideas that made her timeless.

Farewell, JOAN RIVERS. Thank you for sharing the journey.

TRIVIA:

• After graduating from college and before getting into show business, she was briefly a shoe buyer for Lord & Taylor, a department store in New York City.
• Was the national spokesperson for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
• Hosted daily talk show on WOR-AM radio in New York City from 1997 until 2002, syndicated to about 50 stations.
• Won an Daytime Emmy in 1990 for best talk show host
• was nominated for a Tony Award for the play "Donna Marr and her escorts" in 1994. She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1985.
• Was nominated for Broadway's 1994 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for portraying the title character, Sally Marr, in "Sally Marr...and Her Escorts."
• Was a vegetarian
• Started performing as a stand-up comedienne using the stage name Pepper January.
• She is a Phi Beta Kappa key holder from Barnard College, where she studied anthropology.
• An accomplished author, she has written several candid autobiographies, including "Enter Talking" and "Still Talking". Author of self-help books, including "Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything ... and I Mean Everything ... and You Can Too!" and "Don't Count the Candles: Just Keep the Fire Lit!". Author of several comedy books, including "Having a Baby Can Be a Scream" and "The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz".
• Early in her career, she was a writer for Candid Camera (1953).
• She often performed stand-up using the stage name Pepper January
•  co-wrote a 1973 television movie called The Girl Most Likely To.
• She directed her first film Rabbit Test in 1978, which starred Billy Crystal in his film debut as the world's first pregnant man.
• Published 11 books.

Credits: IMDB, Boomsbeat.com