Joan Rivers, born Joan Alexandra Molinksy in 1933, was an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and television host.
Joan Alexandra Molinksy
In this lively biography, which is informative, poignant, and funny, author Leslie Bennetts provides an insightful portrait of Joan's life - from childhood to death.....and beyond.
On the comedy circuit Rivers would say, "I'm from a little town called Larchmont, where if you're not married, and you're a girl, and you're over twenty-one, you're better off dead."
But Joan wanted to escape suburbia and get famous, and she thought the best way to do that was on the stage, as an actress. Young Joan's acting career didn't take off so - thinking she could make people laugh - Joan became a comic.
Joan's parents, who wanted her to settle down with a nice Jewish boy, objected vociferously, but Joan was determined to follow her dreams. Rivers was far from an overnight success, though, and played small gigs for years before she achieved fame.
Young Joan Rivers doing her comedy act
Agent Lou Alexander, who worked with the founder of the 'The Improv' comedy club in Manhattan, said about Rivers, "I've never seen anybody, man or woman, who wanted or loved [comedy] more than Joan Rivers. She could have a high temperature and she'd go onstage. There is nothing that would stop her. She was willing to give up anything to make it."
Joan Rivers loved to be onstage
Joan succeeded, in part, by breaking barriers - talking about things that shocked the public. Comic Judy Gold observes, "It was okay for guys to discuss their dicks and blow jobs, but it was never okay for women to discuss their sexuality." Nevertheless, Joan did. One of her schticks revolved her supposed lack of sex appeal. Joan would quip, "I was so flat, I used to put X's on my chest and write, 'You Are Here'. And I wore angora sweaters just so the guys would have something to pet."
Rivers got her big break on The Tonight Show in 1965. Her act brought tears of laughter to Johnny Carson's eyes, and Joan marveled, "He said right on the air, 'God, you're funny. You're going to be a star.'
Joan Rivers on The Tonight Show in 1965
After her felicitous debut, Rivers was a regular on The Tonight Show and eventually became the permanent guest host.
Joan Rivers as guest host of 'The Tonight Show'
The Tonight Show helped Joan's private life as well. When a short, stocky, bespectacled, Jewish producer named Edgar Rosenberg needed a comedy writer for a project with Peter Sellers, The Tonight Show recommended Rivers. Thirty-one year old Joan liked Rosenberg's British accent and observed, "I could see that this forty-year-old winner in a Dunhill blue suit and Lanvin shirt had class - a classy way of talking, a classy way of dressing." The couple married soon after their first date and had their daughter Melissa a few years later.
Joan Rivers and Edgar Rosenberg
Joan Rivers and Edgar Rosenberg
Joan Rivers with baby Melissa
Joan Rivers and Edgar Rosenberg with daughter Melissa
Joan enjoyed being married, but had to adjust her comedy routine from desperate single-girl jokes to clueless-married-woman jokes. For example, Joan said she knew nothing about sex because all her mother had told her was that the man gets on top and the woman goes underneath....."so I bought bunk beds." Even this mild reference to sex shocked the public. Nevertheless Joan carried on and joined the pioneers of social change.
According to Bennetts, "Rivers' humor was always fueled by anger" because Joan was insecure about her appearance and jealous of good-looking women, including her sister Barbara.
Joan Rivers' sister Barbara
Thus Joan made slut shaming a mainstay of her act and mocked beautiful women. For example, she quipped, "You want to get Cindy Crawford confused? Ask her to spell 'mom' backward." And referring to Jackie Onassis, "I use her as a great example of what women should do: always marry for money." Joan's most vicious jokes were aimed at glamorous Elizabeth Taylor, a great beauty who gained weight in middle age.
Elizabeth Taylor
River's cracked, "I took her to McDonald's just to watch her eat and see the numbers change" and "I had to grease her hips to get her through the Golden Arches." The public's gleeful reaction fueled a constant barrage of jokes at Taylor's expense that went on for years. Producers sometimes tried to rein in Joan's more outrageous jokes, but she never gave in to such pressure.
Bennetts observes, "River's metamorphosis into a ruthless verbal assassin helped turn her into a cultural icon.....but some people were put off by one of the world's most uninhibited mean girls." In fact, Joan's nasty jokes may explain why she was never invited to certain celebrity functions, like the Vanity Fair Oscar party.
Joan and Edgar's marriage had its ups and downs, many of them fueled by Rosenberg's personal ambition and determination to control Joan's career. According to Bennetts, Rosenberg didn't have much show business know-how, and this ultimately led to disaster. Following Edgar's advice, Rivers left The Tonight Show to host the Fox Network's rival program, 'The Late Show with Joan Rivers'.....which Rosenberg produced. Carson was furious about the betrayal, and never spoke to Rivers again.
Joan on 'The Late Show with Joan Rivers'
Joan interviewing Pee Wee Herman on 'The Late Show with Joan Rivers'
Bennetts covers the Rivers-Carson debacle in detail, and folks interested in the feud can read plenty of chitchat - and opinions about who was at fault - in this book.
In any case, Carson needn't have worried because Joan's late night talk show flopped and her career took a nosedive. Edgar blamed himself for the disaster, fell into a depression, and committed suicide in 1987. The tragedy was a triple whammy for Rivers. She lost her husband, lost her career, and became (temporarily) estranged from her beloved teenage daughter Melissa, who blamed Joan for Edgar's death.
Joan and Melissa Rivers were shattered by Edgar Rosenberg's suicide
Though Joan was devastated by Rosenberg's suicide, she used his death - just like she used EVERYTHING - as material for jokes. She would say, "Thank God my husband left in his will that I should cremate him and then scatter his ashes in Neiman Marcus. That way he knew he would see me fives times a week."
Joan Rivers used everyone as fodder for jokes
After Edgar's demise, Joan struggled to recover her well-being, career, and popularity. Though she'd been kicked to the curb, Rivers was determined to recoup.....and make money. Bennetts writes about Rivers' subsequent years in detail and notes that, over time, Joan did Broadway plays; sold jewelry and other products on QVC; hosted daytime talk shows; wrote memoirs; helmed a radio show; participated in Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice competition; did Red Carpet interviews; participated in a documentary; did comedy shows; became the host of Fashion Police; and so on. Rivers also became an activist for AIDS; supported the rights of the LGBTQ+ community; advanced her daughter Melissa's career; had a serious romance; socialized with the rich and famous; and more.
Joan Rivers sold her jewelry line on QVC
Joan Rivers interviewing Halle Berry on the Red Carpet
Joan Rivers was the host of 'Fashion Police'
Joan was very friendly with Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles, and loved to joke about the royals. Bennetts writes about the time Joan was asked to say a few words at the Prince of Wales dinner, and was told not to say 'fuck' in the toast. So Joan got up and said, "I've been told I can't say 'fuck'." Bennetts observes, "Being outrageous gave her so much pleasure. She loved it."
Joan Rivers with Prince Charles
It's well known that Rivers' had hundreds of plastic surgeries, undergoing procedures on her lips, breasts, nose, stomach, brow, eyes, and arms, as well as getting regular injections of Botox. Fashion maven David Dangle recalls, "She had her boobs reduced a couple of times, she had tummy tucks, eye job, lid job, nose, cheek implants. She was big on chemical peels, dermabrasion, and fillers. I think she looked extraordinary for an eighty-year-old woman. Her skin looked flawless."
Joan Rivers had hundreds of plastic surgeries
Defending her cosmetic enhancements, Rivers said, "For many of us, having it all means getting a nip, or a tuck, or a little lift now and again. Why? Because it makes us feel good." She went on, "I'd rather look younger and feel happy than look older and be depressed."
Joan Rivers wanted to look young
Though Rivers hated getting older, aging was fodder for her material. She joked, "The fashion magazines are suggesting that women wear clothes that are age appropriate. For me that would be a shroud." And she quipped, "I had a friend going through menopause come to lunch today. Her hot flash was so bad it steam cleaned my carpet."
Sadly, a minor surgical procedure led to Rivers' death at the age of 81. Joan's voice was getting raspy and she went to Yorkville Endoscopy in New York to diagnose the problem. While anesthetized for the look-see into her throat, Rivers suffered cardiac and respiratory arrest and went into a coma. She died a few days later.
Joan Rivers funeral
Rivers was much lauded, both during her life and after her death. Writer and humorist Roz Warren wrote about Joan, "It's impossible to overestimate her impact, both because she redefined what was possible for women in comedy and because she's been a role model for so many." Bennetts notes, "By the time Rivers died, many of the hottest names in comedy were women." These women included Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Ellen DeGeneres, Sarah Silverman, Whitney Cummings, Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho, and more.
Producer Chip Duckett says, "[Joan] had this insanely diverse career that people didn't recognize until she was gone. She was such a chameleon, but when they looked at the whole of her career, a lot of people woke up to the fact that she had been such a trailblazer in so many ways."
Joan may not be completely gone because when her friend, Sue Cameron, consulted a psychic, Rivers' showed up right away. She seemed her usual self....talking about how she could use her death for a bit. Joan also reported that she was avoiding her late husband and was at peace with the circumstances of her death. Cameron says, "She was just so tired of having to be Joan Rivers.....exhausted and done." Joan wanted to rest.
Bennetts' extensively researched book is 419 pages long and filled with dishy observations, great stories, and funny jokes. Highly recommended.
Rating: 4 stars
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