Remembering a trailblazer: Joan Rivers dead at 81

Joan Rivers, the raucous, acid-tongued comedian who crashed the male-dominated realm of late-night talk shows and turned Hollywood red carpets into danger zones for badly dressed celebrities, died Thursday. She was 81. Rivers died at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, surrounded by family and close friends, daughter Melissa Rivers said. She was hospitalized Aug. 28 after going into cardiac arrest in a doctor’s office following a routine procedure. The New York state health department is investigating the circumstances.

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.

Melissa Rivers

Upon hearing of her death, reaction poured out from dozens of notables, ranging from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Rivers’ peer-in-comedy Don Rickles. “Knowing her, working with her and enjoying the fun times of life with her was special. She will always be in our hearts,” Rickles said in a statement. Under the immobile, plastic surgery-crafted veneer that became Joan Rivers’ unapologetic trademark as she aged, her wit remained as vibrantly raw and unruly as when she first broke her way into a comedy world belonging largely to men.

Arts Joan Rivers