Trivia

About 1982, she was appointed the first permanent guest hostess on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). She infuriated Johnny Carson when she left to host her own show, The Late Show (1986) on rival Fox network. Johnny Carson never spoke to her again.

Started performing as a stand-up comedienne using the stage name Pepper January.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1994 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for portraying the title character, Sally Marr, in "Sally Marr... and Her Escorts".

Received her Bachelor's degree in English literature and anthropology from Barnard College in New York City (1954).

Before she was a successful comedienne, talk show hostess and television personality, early in her career, she was a writer for Candid Camera (1953).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television at 7030 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on July 26, 1989.

Before she was a successful comedienne, actress, talk show hostess and a television personality, she briefly worked as a shoe buyer for Lord & Taylor, a department store in New York City, after graduation from college.

She was the national spokesperson for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

She was an advocate of plastic surgery for older women saying that once a woman can afford it, it is worth it for her self-esteem.

Attended Connecticut College for Women in New London, Conneticut.

Her parents were: Meyer C. Molinsky, a doctor in Brooklyn, and Beatrice (née Grushman) Molinsky, a housewife - both Russian Jewish immigrants.

The majority of her plastic surgery was performed by Santa Monica surgeon Steven Hoefflin (who also performed plastic surgery on Michael Jackson's nose). She also received Botox and collagen injections every four months from New York City dermatologist Patricia Wexler.

Upon her death, Joan Rivers's body was cremated at the Garden State Crematory in Union City, New Jersey, and her ashes were scattered in Wyoming.

Her mentor was the late Phyllis Diller.

Served as an Honorary Director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

In 2012, Rivers protested against the warehouse-club Costco because they would not sell her New York Times bestselling book, "I Hate Everyone... Starting with Me". She handcuffed herself to a person's shopping cart and shouted through a megaphone. The police were called to the scene and she left without incident and no arrests were made.

She supported the Elton John AIDS Foundation and God's Love We Deliver, which delivers meals to HIV/AIDS patients in New York City.

Rivers was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital after experiencing complications during throat surgery being performed at a New York City Clinic. [28 August 2014].

Had changed her last name from Molinsky to Rivers; this was because she wanted to be an actress; her agent Larry Rivers talked her into doing this.

Was one of the stars to release statements in Paul Reubens defense, after he was being arrested for indecent exposure in July 1991.

Had disliked politics in her comedy routines, but during interviews, she enjoyed skewering politicians by insulting both their policies and their fashion.

An accomplished author, she has written several candid autobiographies, including "Enter Talking" and "Still Talking". Author of self-help books, including "Bouncing Back: I've Survived Everything... and I Mean Everything... and You Can Too!" and "Don't Count the Candles: Just Keep the Fire Lit!". Author of several comedy books, including "Having a Baby Can Be a Scream" and "The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abromowitz".

Met Barbara Walters at NBC in 1965, where there might have been a competition in between the two ladies. The two became friends for nearly 50 years, until Rivers' own death on September 4, 2014.

Her hobbies were: dancing, philanthropy, spending time with her family, social media, collecting necklaces and/or jewelry, dining, cooking, petkeeping, traveling and (of course) collecting faberge eggs.

Most recently lived in Malibu, California with her daughter, Melissa Rivers, and her grandson, Edgar Cooper Endicott.

Before she was a successful comedienne, actress, talk show hostess and a television personality, she performed as half of the comedy team of "Joanie and Bill". "Bill" was former actor William Perry (1936-2006) who was the nephew of actress Toby Wing.

She was a Phi Beta Kappa Sorority key holder from Barnard College, where she studied anthropology.

After her death, the friends who attended her funeral on September 7, 2014 were Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Bernadette Peters, David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Kathy Griffin, Donald Trump, Rhonda Shear, Boy George, Deborah Norville, Kelly Osbourne, Howard Stern, Robin Quivers, Regis Philbin, Kathie Lee Gifford, Rachael Ray, Geraldo Rivera, Sally Jessy Raphael, Sarah Jessica Parker, Judy Sheindlin, Barbara Walters, Rosie O'Donnell, Diane Sawyer and her daughter Melissa Rivers.

Decades before Johnny Carson's death, she called him many times, but refused to answer all of her calls. Rivers said when she hosted The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), Carson was the first to be receiving a phone call from her, but he hung up on her and never spoke to her again.

She won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1990 for best talk show host and was nominated for a Tony Award for the play "Donna Marr and Her Escorts" in 1994. She was also nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording in 1985.

Her father, Dr. Meyer C. Molinsky, who graduated from medical school at Long Island College and in the mid-1930s kept an office at 760 Montgomery Street in Crown Heights, New York, historical records show.

Announced that she and her daughter, Melissa Rivers, were leaving E! Entertainment to fashion-bash red-carpet-wise over at the TV Guide Channel. They had been with E! Entertainment since 1996. [June 30, 2004].

Used to maintain a residence in Litchfield County, Connecticut adjacent to the former Bill Blass estate.

Unlike fellow talk show host Geraldo Rivera, Rivers was a huge fan of dancing and for inviting nearly every musician on both of her own talk shows.

Attended Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

Hosted a daily talk show on WOR-AM radio in New York City from 1997 until 2002, syndicated to about 50 stations.

She said in interview she was overweight through her childhood and adolescence, and that it had a profound impact on her body image, which she would struggle with through her life.

Had briefly attended Brooklyn Ethical Culture School in Brooklyn, New York.

Like fellow talk show hosts Regis Philbin, Geraldo Rivera, Phil Donahue, Jerry Springer, Sally Jessy Raphael and Oprah Winfrey, Rivers was regarded in being one of the busiest personalities on television.

Met a young, unfamiliar future comedienne/television personality Rhonda Shear, at a surgeon's clinic, at the time Shear needed to get her nose done. The friendship had lasted exactly 30 years, until Rivers' passing on September 4, 2014.

On her 100th episode of The Late Show (1986), Rivers had two separate problems: the ratings sank, and she was also separated from her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, who wasn't just depressed, but was in bad health, after years of heavy smoking, who was also deeply in debt. He tried to ask her for help, when she refused to help him. She told him he had to get help, who couldn't pull poor Rivers down. Before Edgar's suicide, she was fired from the talk show, after one year.

Knew Kelly Osbourne when she was only 6, she later worked with her on Fashion Police (2002).

Her older sister, Barbara Waxler, passed away on June 3, 2013 at age 82.

Her publicist was Judy Katz.

Rivers was born in Brooklyn, New York City, and grew up in the following neighborhoods: Prospect Heights and Crown Heights. In her adolescence, she relocated with her family to Larchmont, NY.

Had never retired from comedy.

Best remembered by the public as the hostess of The Joan Rivers Show (1989), Fashion Police (2002) and Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (2011).

Before she was a successful comedienne, actress, talk show hostess and a television personality, she was part of "Jim, Jake, and Joan", a comedic musical trio, in 1964.

She graduated from the Adelphi Academy of Brooklyn in Brooklyn, New York, at age 18, in 1951.

Was brought on to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962), seven times and was turned down, until she made her first appearance.