May 29, 2008. Copyright 2008, Graphic News. All rights reserved

Caustic comedienne Joan Rivers hits 75 on June 8
By Susan Shepherd

LONDON, May 29, Graphic News:  The First Lady of stand-up is still standing. A little osteoporosis maybe, but still standing. Queen of the quip, the clever one-liner and the sometimes vitriolic put-down, Joan Rivers has spent her life laughing in the face of adversity and making one good living out of it along the way. A New Yorker, of Russian Jewish descent, she began acting after graduating from Barnard College, where she had studied anthropology, but found her true talent telling jokes in bars, cafes and clubs. An appearance on AmericaÕs hugely popular late night TV programme, The Tonight Show, with Johnny Carson, launched her broadcasting career. By the end of the 1960s she had broken into what was still a male-dominated circuit, her witticisms winning her comparisons with Jack Benny and George Burns. Her popularity on The Tonight Show led to her becoming one of its permanent guest hosts -- she presented the programme nearly 100 times -- but after she switched networks to the up-and-coming Fox channel in 1986 and her own show aired directly opposite CarsonÕs, he never spoke to her again.

The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers was a short-lived episode with tragic consequences for the RiversÕ family. JoanÕs husband, Edgar Rosenberg, who had managed her career and produced many of her TV appearances during their 20-year marriage, killed himself when Fox replaced Rivers at the end of just one season. In her autobiography, Bouncing Back, Rivers later told how she herself contemplated suicide after EdgarÕs death and suffered from the eating disorder bulimia, until intensive therapy helped her recover. In 1989 she was back on the small screen with The Joan Rivers Show and, the following year, won the Emmy award for Outstanding Talk Show Host.

Deeply self-deprecating -- ÒI have flabby thighs, but fortunately my stomach covers themÓ -- Rivers has spoken frankly about the amount of cosmetic surgery she undergoes, including regular injections of Botox. She has had her nose thinned and her eyes lifted, but insists a womanÕs self-esteem can be greatly improved by such treatments. She also publicly eschews the keep-fit industry: Òthe first time I see a jogger smiling, IÕll consider itÓ. Frequently, her acerbic comments are directed at fellow celebrities. In a magazine interview in 2006 she famously described the actor Mel Gibson as anti-semitic, suggesting he should die, and recently lambasted Victoria Beckham as arrogant and Òonly a Spice GirlÓ. Her colourful language led the London Daily Mail to dub her act at last yearÕs Royal Variety Performance in front of the Queen and Prince Philip, Òa foulmouthed tiradeÓ.

Left with reported debts of $37 million when her business partner ran off with their money 13 years ago, Rivers took to presenting with her daughter, Melissa, at Hollywood-style events, interviewing guests on the red carpet and coining the phrase: ÒWho are you wearing?Ó Her own-brand jewellery and cosmetics ranges are big sellers on shopping channels in the UK and North America, while her one-woman theatre show, Broke and Alone, six years ago, made a triumph of her hard times and sold out worldwide.
/ENDS