Six Essential Clips That Will Make You Miss The Hell Out Of Joan Rivers

Joan Rivers died last night at the age of 81, which brings the total of absolute legends who have passed away this year to roughly five thousand. And yet for me, Rivers is the hardest one to take. Having watched Rivers and her co-hosts of Fashion Police rip apart and praise in equal measure (she wasn’t all venom) the stars at the MTV VMAs and the Prime Time Emmy Awards less than a week ago, there was little concept that she would be gone so quickly. Her zest for entertaining people, no matter how crass or how cheap, is what kept her going. She was 81, yet didn’t it feel like she would outlive us all?

She was a trailblazer, being the first woman to host a network talk show (1986’s The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, albeit it only lasted one year) and was a consummate businesswoman in an industry dominated by men. She knew what it took and wasn’t afraid to go there. And before people could complain about her outrageous gags, she’d turn around and make fun of herself in turn. Without her many of the female comedians that came after her would have been told to stay in the kitchen. She fought criticisms until the day she died (and will probably continue to do so now), rarely mentioning her work for charity organisations for AIDS, dogs for the blind, and cystic fibrosis. She wouldn’t want us moping about. She would want us to laugh so here are some of our favourite Joan moments.

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The Ed Sullivan Show, 1967

One of her earliest and most famous sets was this one where she spends two and a half minutes perfectly eviscerating the battle of the sexes, dating, and sexism like this zinger about the lack of eligible men in her home town: “What do you mean you don’t like him? He’s intelligent – he found the bell himself, what do you want?”

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Muppets Take Manhattan, 1984

In this cameo, Joan Rivers shares the perfume counter with Miss Piggy in an upper-class department store. The two divas wear patching ruffled pink smocks and do each other’s make-up. It’s entirely ridiculous and that’s why we love it.

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Shopping for Fitness Rap, 1996

Speaking of department stores… If you have a spare fifty minutes then you could watch the entire Shopping for Fitness VHS special on YouTube. It’s a bizarre trip into the surreal world of 1990s celebrity specials before reality television and the expansion of cable networks gave Rivers a new platform to bring her back to cultural relevance. If you only have a few minutes, however, try this rap performance and she gives during the show. It’s truly spectacular. She was nothing if not game for anything.

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Just for Laughs, 2007

This set of stand-up is a mixture of old and new, with many of her most gags brought back for a younger audience. Take, for instance, the famous joke “No man will ever put his hand up your dress looking for a library card”, or her never-ending series of laughs about the plight of ageing.

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Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, 2010

There are many, many reasons to watch Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, a documentary that went behind the scenes of the comedian’s life. There are so many keen insights into not just her world, but that of the work ethic of artists everywhere. It’s startling and refreshing, and perhaps no better than this blistering stand-up routine that starts at Viagra, moves on to Rivers being heckled by a man with a deaf son after a Helen Keller joke, and then ends with a brilliant joke about – what else? – September 11 and a dialysis machine.

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The Graham Norton Show, 2012

If ever you needed further proof that at the dawn of turning 80 years old Rivers was still an indefatigable presence, this appearance on Graham Norton’s chat show two years ago will seal the deal. Seven minutes of constant jokes, insults, and adlibs. The best may just be her reaction to a seemingly shell-shocked Jake Gyllenhaal when discussing pornography, or describing Glee as “that stupid show where they’re all happy”. Classic.

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Finally, there’s no video of her saying it, but let’s end with the way Joan Rivers would want it: a joke about dying. “Death is very final. Unless, of course, you’re Shirley MacLaine.” Thanks for the memories, Joan.