Joan Rivers’ Death

Poor old girl. We honestly thought she’d pull through. She’d been fighting battles all her life, and won most of them. Now she’s lost the battle for hers. For more than a week, her exhausted daughter Melissa and her loyal PA Jocelyn Pickett had maintained a quiet courage and steadfast dignity, refusing to articulate the unthinkable.

The tour’s off. It was due to start next month: a dozen vast theatres, all the major cities of the UK, culminating, as usual, at the Royal Albert Hall. It had sold out quicker than you can say Kate Bush. It was to have been the sixth I’ve done with Joan Rivers, here and internationally, in the 15 years I’ve known her. She would introduce us as 'The Best Opening Act In Their Price Range’. Our first number? 'Good Heavens, I’d Assumed That She Was Dead...’ ("The woman must be in her upper 80s/The only Rivers older are the Nile and the Euphrates"). They were going to call this one 'Before They Close The Lid’, with a strap-line: 'Seriously, this could be it’.

She’s jumped the gun. This last week, while she lay unconscious on the life-support system, ABC and CNN were giving twice-daily bulletins. The internet was ablaze. I was praying. Hell, even Sharon Osborne was praying. Things went wrong when an operation to her vocal cords went awry. (And that brought to mind one of her funniest routines: answering the phone to a growling basso voice saying “Hello, Joan”. “Hi, Julie? Julie Andrews?” “How could you tell it was me?”) Not so funny now.

The death Thursday of comedy legend Joan Rivers was felt acutely at E! Entertainment, which has lost a mainstay of its network for the last 20 years.“[T]he world is less funny without her in it,” E! News and E!’s parent company, NBCUniversal, said in a statement. “Today our hearts are heavy knowing Joan will not be bounding through the doors.” Rivers was a star on the network’s popular “Fashion Police” program since 2010, appearing alongside Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne, and George Kotsiopoulos. “Fashion Police” is one of the biggest hits for E!, and its top episode reached 620,000 viewers last year. The broadcast had gone on a two-week hiatus since Rivers first suffered complications from a throat procedure.Rivers and her daughter Melissa had also for many years led the coverage of many of the network’s red carpet events, from the Golden Globes to the Academy Awards.“She was a colleague and friend, as we worked together on E!, and she was also a treasured guest on my radio show many times,” Ryan Seacrest said about Rivers. “Regardless of the forum, Joan was full of funny, witty surprises and she had so much spirit.”The network has yet to comment on the future of “Fashion Police” or any other programming involving Rivers.“Right now we are mourning our beloved Joan,” E! said in a statement. Regardless of what the network does, it’ll be incredibly difficult for E! to fill the shoes of the iconic star.