"I knew I was an unwanted baby when I saw that my bath toys were a toaster and a radio."
Let's be real, shall we? Joan Rivers can be downright mean, nasty and wickedly vicious – and that's exactly why we love her. She's says the things we all think but that only the evilest queens among us are bold enough to say. But as hard as she is in her critique of pop culture, Rivers, as the opening quote illustrates, has always been hardest on herself.
Like her stunningly stylish fashion sense and her love for plastic surgery, that's something else she has in common with "the gays," her gift for self-depreciation. Some of the most beloved comedians in the history of the game have been those who have successfully encouraged the world to laugh at their misery. (Here is where the comparisons to gay folk cease. We don't invite the world to laugh at our misery, rather we laugh at the misery of the straight world.) From her childhood in the upscale city of Larchmont, New York to the so-called joys of marriage, Rivers has never hesitated to lay it on the line.
"I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again."
Henny Youngman with his "take my wife, please," routine can probably be credited with helping to introduce the fine art of spouse bashing for laughs. But Rivers was one of the first to successfully turn the tables with her tales of her beloved husband Edgar. Mr. Rosenberg wasn't just part of the act, though. Off stage, the two were partners in marriage and business. Together, they watched Rivers' career reach heights unparalleled for a woman in the business. A legend on the Vegas strip, Rivers went on to write books, do television specials and become the first permanent guest host on the Tonight Show.
Rivers reached the pinnacle of her career in 1986 when she was given her own show on the fledgling Fox network. After only a year, however, Rivers was fired from the show she created and in the wake of the failure Edgar committed suicide. These blows, both professional and deeply personal, would have spelled out the end for a lesser artist's career.
But Rivers is nothing if not resilient, and fortunately for her she has more talent than pride. Her first gigs after the tragedy were in the kind of small clubs she hadn't performed in for decades. But she did it. She went from having her own show to her own square – the center one – on a new version of the game show Hollywood Squares. But it kept her on television.
Slowly, Rivers began rebuilding. She auditioned for and landed a role on Broadway. Eventually Rivers even got another show, this one on daytime, for which she won an Emmy in 1990. On stage, Rivers was neither kindler, nor gentler than she was in years past. But the world began to learn something: it was only an act.
"I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking."
Today, Rivers has her own successful line of jewelry, as well as a fragrance and skin care line. She is still a regular fixture on TV offering pre-show commentary at the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes on the TV Guide channel. She has also written several bestsellers, such as "Bouncing Back" and "Don't Count the Candles: Just Keep the Fire Lit."
And at 72, the candle that is the career of Joan Rivers is burning as brightly as ever.
