https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lEX6HI4Mew
Tonight Show clip from 1986, with a picture of her in 1965 with Johnny Carson. In fact she is wearing the same outifit and wig, which was funny in itself.
Her face was very angular. I remember her when she started on the Ed Sullivan Show in the 60s.
With that NY accent, she was unique.
I remeber this joke: “When I was born, I was so ugly, the doctor slapped my mother!”
Thanks that was nice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcBFlL8zBBQ
1984—classic Joan Rivers doing stand-up on the Tonight Show.
This type of schtick made her famous.
The 1986 clip was the death knell of her friendship with Carson - and almost the death of her career. She is wearing what she first wore when she appeared on Carson - without telling him that she was leaving his show (as permanent guest host) to host her own - opposite his. Carson, rightfully, never forgave her. Carson absolutely adored comics and comedy writers and was very generous with them. But if you crossed him, you were dead.
Rivers’ show was a disaster which led to the suicide of her husband. She then gave a horrifying press conference that I still haven't forgotten. It speaks well of her, I suppose, that she had the tenacity to pull through all of this and come out more famous than ever. Carson refused to talk to her till the day he died.
She stole that joke from Rodney Dangerfield.