Joan Rivers dies in New York at 81

Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers dies in New York at 81

(Yes we can Talk) 

By Glenn Peppers                                                                               9-4-14

I’m assuming like many of you, I am so broken hearted right about now! For just about two hours ago on this Thursday, September 4th 2014, I heard Joan Rivers passed on this afternoon while I was flipping channels on my television! This really brought me down because I really thought that Joan would recover. 

My love/hate affinity for Joan Rivers was like most people's experience with her, (whether you knew her or not) I guess. To me, she was funny as all get out, and ruder than a drunken bar brawler on a saturday night! One critic once said that “Joan Rivers was about as subtle as a Mac Truck!” In all actuality, he was right!

Rivers was a straight up New York girl at heart! And ever since I was a kid I loved the hell out of her! My first time seeing Joan Rivers was on the Ed Sullivan Show back in the 1960's (around 1965)! She was this feisty yet odd lil' woman with these big nightclub style, Henny Youngman/Shecky Green one liners that cracked me up. 

Back then there wasn’t many female comedians. You had Totie Fields, Phyllis Diller, and Carol Burnett! Lucille Ball had made her mark in films way before television, and stand up wasn't Lucy's thing! But Joan stuck it out in the clubs in New York. Fighting the smoky stages in Manhattan and Jersey with the Best of any male comedian! Even at though I was this little kid, as I sat on the living room floor watching her do her act, I understood Joan’s humor! 

She had an most definite audience appeal! Apparently Johnny Carson saw that appeal, and made her a star by having her on his show, The Tonight Show so many times throughout the years that when Johnny was away on vacation, Joan was his most frequent quest host!

Joan Rivers on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson

Of course, Joan and Johnny did eventually have this massive falling out in the early 1990's, after Joan had gotten her own late night talk show on the (all new)  FOX network. Feeling betrayed, Carson literally never spoke to Joan Rivers ever again! From losing her husband Edgar to Suicide, and other personal woes, Joan Rivers always seemed to weather the storm. As  famous as she was; and to be as loved as she was by so many. 

Surprisingly, a lot of folks hated Joan Rivers! I mean, you have to admit, little miss Joan could be quite the acquired taste at times! Sometimes she'd even bug the heck outta me with some of the things she'd say. Yet, her endearing sincerity, and her “Oh com'on people, they’re Just Jokes!” way about her would break the ice, and disarm you. Her baby face ways always shone through and won me back to her. 

Humor wise, it was Joan's quick wit that fascinated me! Those fabulous comeback lines for hecklers!... Amazing! When I briefly did standup comedy back in the 1980’s, it was guys like Richard Prior, Don Rickles and Joan Rivers comedic-cadence and flow that I followed as I crafted my liners in order to deal with crowd hecklers! Sometimes I’d build my whole set around trashing hecklers most nights at a comedy club. I had three thick notebooks full of comeback lines that I spent time perfecting. In writing them, I could almost hear Joan spewing them out at a bunch of rude hecklers in an audience!

If you're old enough, you know that over the years, Joan Rivers became apart of most all our television iconic viewing for decades. From the Ed Sullivan Show, to Carson's Tonight Show, to the Hollywood Squares, to selling her own line of clothing, and other products on QVC. Right up to hosting those Runway Carpet fashion shows on E! Entertainment! Joan was all over the place! 

Many a generation had a piece of Joan Rivers flavor to pull from! And she wasn't slowing down a bit for anyone! Bless her heart, Joan Rivers worked until she died, doing what she loved most. Making people laugh! And I guess as far as life goes, it doesn't get any better than that! Rest in Peace my Feisty lil' Friend! And give Johnny a hug for us, huh! Because where you're at, I know all is well dear heart! All is well!

Glenn Peppers