Joan Rivers, the tart-tongued, fur-coated queen of comedy died today at the age of 81.
She was, it is no exaggeration to say, one of the most important creative forces in all of American comedy – a trailblazer and template for entire generation of funny women (and men) who came after her. If you haven’t already, I urge you to check out Heeb‘s 2007 profile of Joan by Jay Ruttenberg, which is – to my mind – one of, if not the definitive pieces on Rivers’ life and work.
But, if you’re just looking for a quick reminder of why Joan was, is, and will always be the patron saint of this publication, look no further than my personal favorite Joan Rivers moment: Here’s Joan, hosting The Late Show, and getting in some quality time with, and bitchy snarking at, “[her] guys” – The Beastie Boys.
There was no one like her. There’ll never be anyone like her. The world lost a giant, today.
Goodbye Joan, I’ll miss you.
[…] my favorite Joan Rivers moment – other than that time she went off on Hamas, is this video, posted on Heeb. featuring the Beastie Boys when they were 19. Hard to imagine that Joan would outlive the then […]