Celebrities and crowds gather for funeral of comedian Joan Rivers

In her 2012 book, Joan Rivers said she hoped her funeral would be “a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action” and “Hollywood all the way”. It looks like the comedian got her wish on Sunday morning as stars piled into Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan, and adoring fans lined the street outside. Seen among the celebrities in attendance were Howard Stern, Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg, Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband, Matthew Broderick, as well as Kathy Griffin, Donald Trump, Kelly Osbourne and fashion designers Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors.

I don’t want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents.

Joan Rivers on the type of funeral she wanted, as written in her 2012 book ‘I Hate Everyone… Starting With Me’

The funeral programme promised performances by Broadway luminaries Audra McDonald and Hugh Jackman. Outside, barricades lined several blocks of Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, where a crowd of fans and media stood watch across the street from the synagogue. Fans from Australia and England were among the crowd, who said they watched Rivers’ show ‘Fashion Police’ in their native countries. Rivers died on Sept 4, after she went into cardiac arrest during a routine procedure at a doctor’s office. The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.

It’s the grand finale, act three, the eleven o’clock number - make it count. If you’re going to die, die interesting! Is there anything worse than a boring death? I think not.

In her book, Rivers joked that dying of natural causes was boring

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