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Joan Rivers Has Died At 81
By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 4, 2014
Modified Sep 4, 2014
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By
Rebecca Fishbein
Published Sep 4, 2014
Modified Sep 4, 2014
Share
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Comedienne Joan Rivers died this afternoon at age 81, according to her daughter, Melissa Rivers.
Last week, Rivers was put into a medically-induced coma at Mount Sinai Medical Center, after going into cardiac arrest while undergoing an endoscopic procedure. She was put on life-support, though earlier this week a source told E! that Rivers was "on the road to recovery."
Yesterday, Melissa Rivers told reporters that Rivers had been removed from the hospital's intensive care unit. She issued a full statement today:
It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers. She passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother.
Cooper and I have found ourselves humbled by the outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received from around the world. They have been heard and appreciated.
My mother's greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.
The NYC Department of Health is reportedly investigating the clinic where Rivers underwent the endoscopic procedure last Thursday.
The NY Times has an obituary tracking her career, from the "brassy Jewish American princess from Flatbush, Brooklyn" to her guest appearances and guest hosting gigs on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, as well as her failed FOX show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. And, of course, it notes her go-for-the-jugular humor:
She would take the stage in a demure black sheath and ladylike pearls, a tiny bouffant blonde with a genteel air of sorority decorum. Then she’d stick her finger down her throat and regurgitate the dirt on the rich and famous, the stream-of-conscious take on national heroes and sacrosanct cultural idols.
On Nancy Reagan’s hairdo: “Bulletproof. If they ever combed it, they’d find Jimmy Hoffa.”
On Charlton Heston: “He told us, ‘I got Alzheimer’s.’ Surprise! He’s been wearing his wig sideways for 19 years.”
On Donatella Versace: “That skin! She looks like something you’d hang off your door in Africa.”
On Sandra Bullock’s Bottega Veneta gown at the Golden Globes: “It looked like Prince’s old prom dress.” (And Tina Fey’s Zac Posen: “A decorative toilet seat cover.”)
On Queen Elizabeth II: “Gowns by Helen Keller.” “Nice looking. Not at all like her stamp. Wears her watch over the glove, though — tacky.”
On herself, desperate for a man: “My parents had a sign, ‘Last girl before Thruway.’ I’d get an obscene phone call. I’d say, ‘Hold on a minute, let me get a cigarette.’ ”
Nothing was sacred.
On her husband’s suicide: “After Edgar killed himself, I went out to dinner with Melissa. I looked at the menu and said, ‘If Daddy were here to see these prices, he’d kill himself all over again.’ ”
Update 4:18 p.m.: Governor Andrew Cuomo's office released the following statement on Rivers's death:
Joan Rivers was an iconic New Yorker whose wit and humor will always be remembered. Joan made the nation laugh for more than fifty years, and for that we will always be grateful. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I send my condolences to her family, friends and fans.
Here are some clips of Rivers appearing on The Tonight Show—which was a guest on, guest-hosted, and was eventually banned from for 26 years.
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Rebecca Fishbein
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