Joan Rivers Left Behind Lots of Joke Says Daughter, Melissa
Almost a decade after the legendary comedian’s death, her daughter Melissa says that she’s still finding jokes in sweaters that belonged to her mother.
The younger Rivers has spent years slowly sorting through her mother’s archives, some of which are now part of a National Comedy Center exhibit in honour of the late comic and producer.
In a recent interview with CNN, Melissa says “We still find scraps of paper, shoved in a book or on boarding passes. The beginnings of a joke.”
“The other day we were going through some of her clothes, trying to figure out what to do with some of the real archival pieces. Some of the designers have asked for them. And we have to check all the pockets. Oh my God, because half the time you’ll find jokes and old Altoids.”
Rivers said “Like anyone going through their family stuff,” there have been moments of laughter and tears.
The National Comedy Centre in Jamestown, New York had a huge exhibition of the late Joan Rivers, showcasing her life and legacy from the start of her career in the late 1950s to 2014.
The Rivers archive includes a file cabinet containing over 65,000 original jokes, spanning from the start of her career. There are also clips of her early gigs in Greenwich Village nightclubs and Chicago’s Second City. The later years include her red-carpet interviews and late-night appearances.
Also included are personally compiled scrapbooks, audio recordings, correspondence with peers in entertainment, the guest books from her storied run as host of “The Late Show with Joan Rivers,” and a selection of the gowns and jewelry that defined her style.
At the National Comedy Center, Rivers joins collections on George Carlin and Carl Reiner, among others.
On June 8, Rivers and her son Cooper, who was extremely close to his grandmother, honoured Joan Rivers on what would have been her 90th birthday.
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