1933-2014
The comedy world was rocked again after the passing of Joan Rivers. And so soon on the heels of Robin Williams as well. Joan Rivers was a pioneer in comedy, particularly for budding female comedians. She also has had tremendous acclaim in all types of media from television to reporting to fashion consulting. Joan indeed did it all.
I'm reminded of one of my favorite episodes of television in Louie (Louie CK's FX show). There is an episode called "Joan" in which Louie gets a job at a hotel casino, but only in a crappy lounge where no one is respectful to the show or his stand up. He starts insulting the audience, the hotel owner (Donald Trump, a man who really deserves it), and the casino itself and ends up getting in trouble with the hotel management. He quits the gig because he's a young comic and doesn't want to deal with being censored. Later, he watches Joan Rivers do stand-up in the same casino, albeit in bigger and better digs. He meets up with her after the show and she basically tells him what an idiot he is. She tells hims that sometimes you have to sacrifice your own self-purpose for ambition. It's a good lesson, and a wickedly funny scene. It's the one bit that made me fall in love with Joan as a person. Here's this old lady, who has been working forever in entertainment and she's rude, off-kilter, and doesn't play by any rules but her own. It's hard not to see her as your eccentric aunt. Joan was a flawed woman but that's part of what makes her human. I, along with many others, will miss her dearly.
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