On September 4, 2014 the red carpet became a much sadder and duller place with the passing of Joan Rivers.
Rivers came to prominence as a guest on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson in 1965. It was on the Tonight Show where she established her comedic style, which led her to becoming the first woman to ever host a late night talk show.
But success did not come easy for Rivers, and she had her fair share of bumps in the road. Right after being fired from her program in 1987, her husband Edgar Rosenburg committed suicide leaving her and her daughter Melissa with heartache and a heavy debt.
Rivers had bounced back and in the process obtained a personal fortune. She marketed a clothing and jewelry line on the QVC shopping channel, was the subject of a personal documentary, co-hosted Fashion Police on E! and starred in reality series Joan & Melissa: Joan knows best?.
At the age of 81 Rivers was still at the top of her game and retirement wasn’t even a question. She had showed no sign of slowing down and did not plan to.
Tragedy struck when Rivers was hospitalized on August 28, 2014 at Mount SinaiHospital after going into cardiac arrest during a routine throat procedure on her vocal cords in Manhattan. Seven days later it was reported that she had died from cardiac arrest and heart failure. What exactly caused her death during that simple routine surgery is still unknown and according to New York law officials, the New York state health department in undergoing an investigation to determine if there was any malpractice involved.
On September 7, 2014 a private ceremony was held at New York’s Temple Emanu-El to honor the life of Rivers.
On her television series Joan and Melissa, she told her daughter “When I die… I want my funeral to be a huge show biz affair with lights and cameras and action. I want craft services. I want paparazzi. I want publicists to make a scene. I want it to be Hollywood all the way.” The event was star studded just as Rivers would have wanted.
She will always be remembered for impact in the world of entertainment, especially the red carpet. Her signature question “Who are you wearing?” is now a must for reporters on the carpet.
Rivers will also be remembered for her plastic surgery obsession. She revealed,” My body is my temple and my temple needs redecorating.”
For a woman who expressed that “comedy was originally just a way to pay the bills,” she had built an empire and paved the way for many new comedians, but most importantly changed the history of women in comedy. She was a pioneer for contemporary stand-up comedy and was the inspiration for many comedians such as Kathy Griffin, Chelsea Handler, Sarah Silverman, and Roseanne Barr.
During mid-career, Rivers took an oath to never apologize for anything, saying “if you don’t like the goods go to another shop.” Throughout her career she was unapologetic and defiant because she believed that comedy is the truth. Known for her controversial comedic persona, Rivers was self-deprecating to the lives of many celebrities and public figure. But she never failed to make jokes about herself. She was uncanny, outrageous, original and taboo. But that’s what made her so extraordinary and intuitively funny.
She was constantly reinventing herself. Kathy Griffin stated in remembering JoanRiver, “She has taken more hits and blows and career punches and personal punches then anyone I’ve ever known. And comes out of it with a new act, another platform, another laugh.”
She made award season worth watching and it’s safe to say that fashion week will never be the same.
Rivers once said, “I was put on this earth to make people laugh” and that she did.