FEARLESS: R.I.P. Joan Rivers, who proved that a woman could be both beautiful and funny, and did not need to play well with others, in order to get ahead in the world.
The chapter in Gerald Nachman's book is a nice mini-bio, and there's also the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work, streaming on Netflix.
I doubt there will ever be another one like her, because no one will be able to break the mold for women the way she did. The documentary referenced in the post was extraordinary - a spectacular lesson in how natural gifts aren't enough, no matter how brilliant those gifts. You have to put in the work. And oh boy, did she put in the work. May her memory be for a blessing.
ReplyDeleteWhat Joan Rivers wrote about her own funeral:
ReplyDelete"When I die, I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action...I want Craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene! I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don't want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents. I don't want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing "Mr. Lonely." I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyoncé's."