|
 "Her condition remains serious, but she is receiving the best
treatment and care possible," her daughter, Melissa, said in a
statement released by Mt. Sinai Hospital where Rivers was rushed
on Thursday.
"My mother would be so touched by the tributes and prayers that
we have received from around the world," Rivers said.
Rivers, 81, had gone to a New York clinic for a vocal cord
procedure on Thursday.
Without identifying the brash comedian specifically, the Fire
Department of New York said a patient reported to be in cardiac
arrest was taken to Mount Sinai from Yorkville Endoscopy by
emergency workers at mid-morning.
Rivers is considered a pioneer for women in stand-up comedy. The
Brooklyn native, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Barnard
College, played the 1960s comedy club scene with others who also
would go on to become stars, including Bill Cosby, Richard
Pryor, Woody Allen and George Carlin.
In 1983, she earned one of the biggest gigs in the business when
then-"Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson crowned her as his
regular guest host.
[to top of second column] |
But her subsequent, short-lived stint hosting a competing late night
talk show on the then-nascent Fox network in 1986 led to a rift with
Carson that lasted until his death in 2005.
She went on to host a daytime show, "The Joan Rivers Show," and more
recently has found a niche on the awards show circuit, turning her
biting wit on the fashion faux pas of Hollywood celebrities.
Known too for her penchant for plastic surgery and with a reputation
for being a ceaseless worker, Rivers also has starred alongside her
daughter in the WE TV reality show "Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows
Best?"
(Reporting by Ellen Wulfhorst and Chris Michaud; Editing by Bill
Trott, Piya Sinha-Roy and Andrew Hay)
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