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Videos: Late Night Hosts Pay Tribute To Joan Rivers
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 5, 2014
Modified Sep 5, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 5, 2014
Modified Sep 5, 2014
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Yesterday, groundbreaking comedienne Joan Rivers passed away at the age of 81. Rivers shot to fame on on The Tonight Show, and to celebrate her legacy, last night's late night hosts paid tribute with heartfelt words, clips and jokes.
Jimmy Kimmel showed a clip from one of Rivers's past appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, in which Rivers joked she hoped her grandson, Cooper, grew up to be gay because, "Who else is going to give a damn that I knew Judy Garland?" Later, guest Sarah Silverman told Kimmel that Rivers "was a hero to me," joking, "If she was here," said Silverman, "she'd probably want me to say, like, 'Nice tie. Who made it, Calvin Clown?' 'I like that shirt. Does it come in men's?' 'Oh my God, Jimmy, I love your hair. You have to tell me where you bought it.'"
The clip isn't available online, but Jimmy Fallon, who famously broke a three-decade ban by inviting Rivers back to The Tonight Show earlier this year, spoke of the departed star's brief cameo on his first episode. "It was really emotional and really nice," he said. "We loved her. We will definitely miss her."
David Letterman praised Rivers's work ethic and bravery onstage. "She would be on this show, she would be on all of the shows, and she would work about 300 dates a year," he said. "That's a lot of work. That's a lot of travel. She was 81 years old out doing it, and as funny today as when she first got into show business."
Referencing Rivers's brass, unrepentant fashion critiques on the red carpet, Craig Ferguson quipped, "I just hope that when Joan meets the man upstairs he is wearing something she can insult.”
Conan O'Brien recalled watching Rivers guest host on The Tonight Show: "She would go on, she would guest host for Johnny Carson and everybody, people would gather in the living room and everyone would howl with laughter, and the next day everyone would talk about it. At that time, she was so outrageous, and her comedy, it felt so out of the bounds. People were just blown away."
And Jon Stewart, who called Rivers "actually groundbreaking," closed out last night's episode of The Daily Show with a clip of Rivers's standup routine on The Ed Sullivan Show.
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It's also worth taking a moment to read an article Rivers penned for The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, chronicling her relationship with former mentor and Tonight Show host Johnny Carson. Rivers was banned from his show after she was offered her own late night show on FOX, and their friendship was never repaired. "For years, I thought that maybe he liked me better than the others," she wrote for THR. "But I think it was a question of, 'I found you, and you’re my property.' He didn’t like that as a woman, I went up against him."
Tagged
conan o'brien
daily show
david letterman
jimmy fallon
jimmy kimmel
joan rivers
RIP
Rebecca Fishbein
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