Joan Rivers

I think she was for a while, until she became a self parody.

Joan Rivers, along with Phyllis Diller and Carol Burnett, was the first to break the glass ceiling in the male-dominated world of stand up comedy in the late 1950's.

Rivers was the most controversial of the three, and the first to tell jokes about topics that were considered taboo (being gay, domestic violence, abortion, etc.).

Love her or hate her, one thing is clear:  her place in entertainment history is secure, and she was a role model for all modern female comedians.  Also got to give her credit for longevity -- few at 81 have the stamina to work a full schedule like she did.  

RIP.

Hook

Yeah, I was unnecessarily being narky based on her more recent work which focused on, and was immersed in, the cult of celebrity. Whilst on one hand, you could argue that she skewered/roasted the whole scene, it also seemed to sit well with her to be an integral part of it. Perhaps something of a paradox.

Of course, I also didn't know her personally, only her on-screen persona. The real Joan Rivers may well have been a lovely lady. As you say, RIP.

And I had just seen an article yesterday where she'd gotten out of the ICU.

Makes me less optimistic about my dad's emergence from the same today...

Her legacy will last a thousand years.

Or at least that's how long all the plastic in herr face will take to degrade. 

Nasty narcissistic bitch - a poisonous apologist for Israeli war crimes and a racist -  good riddance

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/new...id-Palestinians.html