Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

Whilst i normally reserve this work for hardcore actors and people exclusively involved with fictional television and film, however no one was more hardcore than Joan Rivers, and despite her now being known for fashion police, and her work with Johnny Carson, Joan Rivers started out as an actress, appearing in The Swimmer, Rabbit Test and even facing off against Miss Piggy in Muppets Take Manhattan.

However Joan really became an icon in the 70's with her appearances on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Carson, becoming a regular and even standing in for Carson on many occasions, Joan was subsequently given her own show, Late Night with Joan Rivers on Fox, the show lasted only a year, lead to a rift with Carson, and was subsequently a factor in the suicide of her husband, who was the producer on the show, Rivers spoke of feeling 'raped' by fox.

Rivers next worked on her standup career, and in 1994 she was hired by E! to host the Golden Globes pre-show red carpet. Rivers became known to younger viewers for her appearances on the red carpet, sometimes working with  her daughter, Melissa. Joan originated the phrase 'who are you wearing' and became known for her dry, sharp wit, her acerbic humor and her fearlessness, Joan was a woman who was unafraid to offend or upset, and a woman who made fun of everyone, especially herself.

To younger, modern viewers, Rivers is known for her work on Fashion Police, a weekly news style show in which a panel dissect and analyze the fashion looks of the week.despite my reservations about the show itself, which i found to be judgmental and catty, the advantage of this show was that it provided Rivers visability, and it allowed her fans to see her every week, so in that respect the show was a great forum for her. Fashion Police was great viewing because it gave Rivers a platform to show off her best assets, and the entire show was infused with her personality.

In 2010, before Fashion Police became a real hit, Rivers starred in a documentary, entitled A Piece of Work, the documentary showed Joan at her best, and at her worst, it showed her as someone who could be brilliant, funny and uncensored, but also as someone who was brattish, self centered and spoilt, in short it was a true portrayal of a true woman. A part of me expects Joan to sit up and say "fooled you!", a world without Joan Rivers seems unthinkable, she was a woman who never stopped fighting, who overcame every obstacle and who never stopped or slowed down, she laughed till the end, and the world is one star dimmer now that this legend has been laid to rest. Rest in peace Joan, you were truly an icon.

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware.” - Joan Rivers