Joan Rivers
Re: Joan Rivers
That's the spirit, @W, cry me some rivers.
Re: Joan Rivers
I am just torn up over it. 
Kind of increases my faith in karma.
Robin Williams OTOH..I was
Kind of increases my faith in karma.Robin Williams OTOH..I was
ADDICTED TO PLASTIC SURGERY
Go in for "turkey neck" and look what happens. What price vanity? "Lifestyle Lifts" is going to take it on the chin... at least for a few days.
I'm going to miss the old broad. Brilliantly irreverent -- there were no sacred cows. I wonder who she's wearing tonight? RIP, Joan.
I'm going to miss the old broad. Brilliantly irreverent -- there were no sacred cows. I wonder who she's wearing tonight? RIP, Joan.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Re: Joan Rivers
. I wonder who she's wearing tonight?
Probably horns, a red cape accessorized with a red pitchfork, wearing eau de brimstone.
Re: Joan Rivers
Regardless of what one may think of Rivers in regards to some of the unfortunate comments she has made recently, there is no question that she is a towering force in the history of female stand up comedy...
She wasn't the first successful stand-up female comic of the modern era; that distinction probably goes to Phylis Diller and Selma Diamond..
(Diamond served as the inspiration for "Sally" that Rose Marie played on The Dick Van Dyke Show...Ironically Rose Marie was also one of the trail blazing female stand-up comediennes...but I digress )
When Rivers first started doing stand-up in the mid '60s, there were basically only two other women who were doing it successfully; Diller and Totie Fields...
(My mother was a great fan of Totie Fields, which is why I know about her:-)
Rivers provided the template for a whole kind of edgy comedienne stand-up act that had never been done before...
And that a lot of comediennes have made their living off of ever since...
Two better known comediennes who come to mind right off the bat that owe a huge debt to Rivers are Kathy Griffiin and Sarah Silverman...
She wasn't the first successful stand-up female comic of the modern era; that distinction probably goes to Phylis Diller and Selma Diamond..
(Diamond served as the inspiration for "Sally" that Rose Marie played on The Dick Van Dyke Show...Ironically Rose Marie was also one of the trail blazing female stand-up comediennes...but I digress )
When Rivers first started doing stand-up in the mid '60s, there were basically only two other women who were doing it successfully; Diller and Totie Fields...
(My mother was a great fan of Totie Fields, which is why I know about her:-)
Rivers provided the template for a whole kind of edgy comedienne stand-up act that had never been done before...
And that a lot of comediennes have made their living off of ever since...
Two better known comediennes who come to mind right off the bat that owe a huge debt to Rivers are Kathy Griffiin and Sarah Silverman...
Last edited by Lord Jim on Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:44 am, edited 3 times in total.
Re: Joan Rivers
It's interesting what behavior people are willing to overlook, even laude in the name of comedy. She got away with her hurtful crap for years. I recall the rude "jokes" she made about Karen Carpenter, which was doubtless hurtful to Karen's family. She really, in my opinion, is no better than the creeps at the Westboro church who use their words to inflict maximal hurt. But we excuse her, because it's "humor".
Re: Joan Rivers
Had there been no Joan Rivers, there probably would have been no Kathy Griffin or Sarah Silverman...
(Of course we can argue about whether or not that would have been a great loss...
)
(Of course we can argue about whether or not that would have been a great loss...
)
Last edited by Lord Jim on Fri Sep 05, 2014 6:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Joan Rivers
Or one of them might well have been the pioneer. I am not really familiar with either of them and their humor.
I think the world would have been OK without the presence of Rivers, and might be a nicer place now without her.
I think the world would have been OK without the presence of Rivers, and might be a nicer place now without her.
Re: Joan Rivers
Well, that's certainly an arguable point...I think the world would have been OK without the presence of Rivers, and might be a nicer place now without her.
Re: Joan Rivers
There are many types of "humor" and it's obvious that any one person doesn't appreciate every type of comedy act.TPFKA@W wrote:She really, in my opinion, is no better than the creeps at the Westboro church who use their words to inflict maximal hurt. But we excuse her, because it's "humor".
Being happy that someone is now dead who made a very successful living making people laugh reveals more about the 'happy person' than it does about the deceased.
I suspect that the happy one prefers humor in which a middle aged woman speaks of tripping children and kicking puppies.
We all have our tastes regarding what is and is not funny. Joan Rivers dying was neither funny nor good, in my opinion.
But I do wonder how much of what will be buried or cremated of Joan is original equipment and/or unmodified body work.
Re: Joan Rivers
We just watched the 36 episodes of Deadwood on HBO On Demand, over the past couple of weeks,(even though it's a 10 year old show on HBO;) and I have to say it was well written, (fantastic dialogue; an odd cross between Shakespeare and Barnacle Bill The Sailor...... and well performed...)
What does Al say?...
I'm sorry, I digress...
What does Al say?...
I'm sorry, I digress...
Last edited by Lord Jim on Fri Sep 05, 2014 2:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
YO, JOE
You get it. Obviously not everybody does.
And Lenny Bruce, Jackie Vernon, Mitch Hedberg, and Bill Hicks all died too soon, too. Humor... it's not for everyone.
And Lenny Bruce, Jackie Vernon, Mitch Hedberg, and Bill Hicks all died too soon, too. Humor... it's not for everyone.
“In a world whose absurdity appears to be so impenetrable, we simply must reach a greater degree of understanding among us, a greater sincerity.”
Re: Joan Rivers
Or it could be that I get it and you don't. There are many I think are funny. Robin Williams for example. There are many others. They did not make their money from the pain of others.
Yeah, I am pretty sure that's it, I get it and you don't.
Yeah, I am pretty sure that's it, I get it and you don't.
Re: Joan Rivers
She wasn't my taste of comedienne but she was someone's Mom, and given what I've gone through this year with mine, I have a lot of empathy for her and her daughter.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
Re: Joan Rivers
I probabaly would have some empathy for her or her daughter had it not been her comments on those Ohio women and the people of Gaza. She really touched my nerve and the nerves of many others.Guinevere wrote:She wasn't my taste of comedienne but she was someone's Mom, and given what I've gone through this year with mine, I have a lot of empathy for her and her daughter.
While not rejoycing I certainly won't miss her.
Re: Joan Rivers
LJ, no question she was a leading light for women in the industry, its just too bad her comedy became mostly about being mean, and not as much about being clever and funny.
As for her touching nerves, the older I get the better I get at ignoring people who just need to be ignored. She didn't bother me, because I really paid her no attention. I'm sorry she got under your skin.
As for her touching nerves, the older I get the better I get at ignoring people who just need to be ignored. She didn't bother me, because I really paid her no attention. I'm sorry she got under your skin.
“I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg, paraphrasing Sarah Moore Grimké
Re: Joan Rivers
to me, not all comedians are created equal. you have the clever ones, like rivers and leno, whom I don t care for. being clever and snide is fairly easy for a bright person.
then you have the tortured genius of robin Williams and Richard pryor. these are empathetic people who feel the pain of the world and their own pain differently than most folks. they (we) seem to take the weight of the world around with them on their shoulders.
when a forest is cut they are cut as well. when the mountain gorilla is hunted, they are hunted too. as the earth slowly dies, they suffer with it. as ancient cultures are lost, they lose a bit of their soul too.
on the other hand when a child is rescued, they feel the joy. when their child succeeds, they succeed.
unfortunately there is more sorrow than joy in the world and so they turn to escape, in the form of drugs or alchohol many times, just to dull the pain for awhile.
that's how I see it anyway, but I m often wrong...
then you have the tortured genius of robin Williams and Richard pryor. these are empathetic people who feel the pain of the world and their own pain differently than most folks. they (we) seem to take the weight of the world around with them on their shoulders.
when a forest is cut they are cut as well. when the mountain gorilla is hunted, they are hunted too. as the earth slowly dies, they suffer with it. as ancient cultures are lost, they lose a bit of their soul too.
on the other hand when a child is rescued, they feel the joy. when their child succeeds, they succeed.
unfortunately there is more sorrow than joy in the world and so they turn to escape, in the form of drugs or alchohol many times, just to dull the pain for awhile.
that's how I see it anyway, but I m often wrong...
Re: Joan Rivers
Careful about that "ignoring" comment, Guin; you're liable to be accused of trying to appear morally (or otherwise) superior.
Re: Joan Rivers
Guin never comes accross to me that way. You on the other hand have a genuine talent for it. Go with your strengths I say.Big RR wrote:Careful about that "ignoring" comment, Guin; you're liable to be accused of trying to appear morally (or otherwise) superior.