Edgar Rosenberg pictured with Joan Rivers in Los Angeles on June 19, 1987, just a few months before his death.
Joan Rivers with daughter Melissa as they leave Lenox Hill Hospital in Jan. 1968, where the baby was born on January 20.
Melissa Rivers arrives at mother Joan Rivers' townhouse Thursday following the announcement of the death.
For eight excruciating days, the family, friends and fans of comatose
comedienne Joan Rivers prayed for a miracle that never came.
Rivers, 81, the snarky stand-up comic who loudly conquered the worlds
of talk shows, fashion and reality TV, died quietly Thursday afternoon in a
Manhattan hospital suite, her daughter said.
The room was filled with music, flowers, plants and bows after Melissa
Rivers reached the heartbreaking decision to take her mother off life support.
“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan
Rivers,” the comic’s only child announced in a three-paragraph statement. “She
passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends.
“My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although
that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we
return to laughing soon.”
Her daughter made sure Rivers’ hair and makeup were done before the
final moments inside Mount Sinai Hospital.
Rivers was admitted on Aug. 28 after going into cardiac and respiratory
arrest at Yorkville Endoscopy on E. 93rd St. while undergoing a minor
procedure. That facility is now the subject of a state Health Department
investigation.
Condolences flooded social media after her death.
“A legend, a friend, a mentor, an icon, and wildly funny,” tweeted
comedienne Kathy Griffin, one of Rivers’ many acolytes. “One of a kind. RIP.”
Rivers became a trailblazer for
funny females in an era of male domination, staying in the spotlight for six
decades after smashing through the industry’s glass ceiling.
“Joan Rivers will always be a pioneer,” tweeted comic Ellen DeGeneres.
Rivers unleashed a take-no-prisoners style that put her at odds with
some of her targets — like Elizabeth Taylor, the butt of many fat jokes, or the
first family of self-promotion, the Kardashians.
“I took Elizabeth Taylor to
McDonald’s and she got stuck in the arch,” was a typical blast delivered in her
trademark rasp Her influence extended across the comedic spectrum. Louis C.K.,
who featured Rivers on his Emmy-winning sitcom “Louie,” called her “prolific
and unpredictable” — and a good comedy role model.
“I looked up to her,” he said. “I learned from her. I loved her. I liked
her. And I already miss her very much. It really (expletive) sucks that she had
to die all of a sudden.”
The Brooklyn-born Rivers became almost as famous for her unapologetic
love of plastic surgery as her barbed humor during a tumultuous career that
seemed to pick up speed each passing year.
By the time of her death, Rivers had just finished her 12th book and
co-hosted the E! show “Fashion Police” with Kelly Osbourne.
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