Comedian and TV host Joan Rivers has died, her daughter said, reports BBC Online. Rivers, 81, had been on life support in Mount Sinai Hospital since having a cardiac arrest in New York last week. In a statement, her daughter Melissa said she died surrounded by family and friends, and she thanked hospital staff for their ‘amazing care’. The comedian, best known for her lacerating wit, stopped breathing during a procedure on her vocal cords at an outpatient clinic last Thursday.
‘My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh,’ said Melissa Rivers. ‘Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.’
The actress and stand-up comedian is well known for her legendary put-downs and has more recently turned her razor-sharp tongue on the red carpet’s worst dressed celebrities, hosting the E! network’s Fashion Police.
Both Rivers and Melissa, her only child, have appeared together in reality TV show Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?
She didn’t just fire her barbs at others, however. She was always prepared to joke about herself, and in particular her plastic surgery. In 2010, she tweeted a joke about her death, saying: With all the plastic surgery I’ve had I’m worried that when I die, God won’t recognise me!
Shortly after her death was announced, tributes poured in from the world of entertainment. US talk show host David Letterman called Rivers ‘a real pioneer for other women looking for careers in stand-up comedy’.
He recalled her guest spots on his show, saying: ‘She would come out here and sit in this chair and say some things that were unbelievable.’
‘But it was hilarious… the force of her comedy was overpowering,’ he added.
On his show, Jimmy Fallon said: ‘We loved her. We will definitely miss her,’ while veteran TV interviewer Larry King said: ‘We will never see her like again.’
Comedian and actress Whoopi Goldberg tweeted: ‘My friend Joan Rivers has passed away once again to quote Billy Crystal… There are no words. Bon Voyage Joan.’
TV show host Ellen DeGeneres also described Rivers as a pioneer, adding: ‘She paved the way for a lot of comedians. I’m very sad she’s gone.’
Lena Dunham, writer and star of sitcom Girls, said: ‘Watching Joan Rivers do stand-up at age 81 was incredible: athletic, jaw-dropping, terrifying, essential. It never stopped. Neither will she.’
Comedian Sarah Silverman said: ‘My heart is torn in half. She wasn’t done.’
-With New Age input
