Today in History - Joan Rivers dies

CAIRO – 4 September 2017: September 4 is the third death anniversary of American comedian, talk show host and writer Joan Rivers, a controversial figure known for her outrageous and often offensive sense of humor.

Born on June 8, 1933 in New York, Joan came from a family of Russian-Jewish immigrants. Her big break came in 1968, when she got a spot on the ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson’ and became an immediate hit.

Three years later, she was hosting her very own talk show, ‘That Show with Joan Rivers’.

Throughout her 50-years long career, Rivers won numerous awards, including the ‘Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host’ Daytime Emmy for her work on ‘The Joan Rivers Show’ and a posthumous Grammy Award win for Best Spoken Word Album for ‘Diary of a Mad Diva’.

Rivers expanded beyond talk show hosts, and is well-known for her scathing celebrity reviews as a host for 2010’s ‘Fashion Police’, which allowed the viciousness in her humor to run wild. She even became a reality TV show star with her series ‘Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?’ which ran from 2011 to 2014.

Complications following a vocal cord surgery eventually led to Rivers falling into a coma in 2014. She died on September 4, 2014. Her funeral was attended by celebrities such as Howard Stern, Whoopie Goldberg and even Donald Trump.