Q essay: Remembering Joan Rivers (1933 - 2014)
In today's opening essay, Jian pays tribute to trailblazing entertainer Joan Rivers, who died yesterday at the age of 81. -- and her fearless approach to comedy.
"The truth is, she was one of the hardest women in show biz," he says, calling her the master of the one-liner, and the queen of the quip.
"The big comedy club in the sky just got a little bigger yesterday. And a little louder, a little more obnoxious, perhaps. But a whole lot more fun and fabulous."
Joan Rivers in her own words
The vivacious entertainer was a much more complex person than her on-screen persona may have suggested. In 2010, Rivers joined Q guest host Terry O'Reilly to discuss the brutally honest documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work.
Rivers walked Terry through her career highlights and hard times -- including the suicide of her husband and alienation from many of her peers. She argued that her outsider status has actually fuelled her comedy.
Listen to that archival interview in the player embedded below.
