Joan Rivers
Stand-up comedian · 1933–2014

Joan Rivers

Who Joan Rivers is

American comedian, writer and television host who came up in Greenwich Village clubs and Chicago's Second City and broke through on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1965, later becoming its first permanent guest host. In 1986 she became the first woman to host a late-night network talk show, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers on Fox; she then won a Daytime Emmy for The Joan Rivers Show (1989–1993) and co-hosted E!'s Fashion Police (2010–2014). Known for blunt, self-deprecating humor and the catchphrase 'Can we talk?', she recorded the Grammy-nominated album What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? (1983) and won a posthumous Grammy for her book Diary of a Mad Diva.

At a glance

Born
1933
Died
2014
Style
Late-night force, Confession, Fearless personal comedy
Came up through
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Second City
Stand-up specials
An Audience with Joan Rivers, Live at the London Palladium and Don't Start With Me
Albums
Mr. Phyllis and Other Funny Stories, The Next to Last Joan Rivers Album, What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? and 2 more
Podcasts
Enter Talking, Still Talking, I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me and 1 more
On screen
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That Show with Joan Rivers, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers and 14 more
Official site
joanrivers.com ↗

Specials, shows and podcasts

Stand-up specials

Albums

On screen

Podcasts

Where they got their start

Came up the same way

Other comedians in SUCDb who came through The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and The Second City:

The Launching Pads: the shows the comedians came through →

Comedians like Joan Rivers

Each linked to them by something on the record — a stage they both came through, a bill, a show, a style or a home town.

Every stand-up comedian with a page, A to Z →

Career timeline

  1. 1933Born
  2. 1965The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (guest from 1965; permanent guest host from 1983) On screen
  3. 1965The Match Game (team captain, 1965–1968) On screen
  4. 1965Mr. Phyllis and Other Funny Stories (1965) Album
  5. 1968That Show with Joan Rivers (host, 1968) On screen
  6. 1969The Next to Last Joan Rivers Album (1969) Album
  7. 1970Hollywood Squares (panelist, 1970–1981, 1987–1989, 1999–2004) On screen
  8. 1978Rabbit Test (director and co-writer; second nurse, 1978) On screen
  9. 1983An Audience with Joan Rivers (1983, TV special) Special
  10. 1983What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? (1983) Album
  11. 1986The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers (host, Fox, 1986–1987) On screen
  12. 1986Enter Talking (memoir, 1986) Book
  13. 1987Spaceballs (Dot Matrix, voice, 1987) On screen
  14. 1989The Joan Rivers Show (host, 1989–1993) On screen
  15. 1989Look Who's Talking (Julie, voice, 1989) On screen
  16. 1991Still Talking (memoir, 1991) Book
  17. 1995E! Live from the Red Carpet (host, 1995–2004) On screen
  18. 2004Shrek 2 (herself, voice, 2004) On screen
  19. 2005Live at the London Palladium (2005, TV/video special) Special
  20. 2005Live at the London Palladium (2005) Album
  21. 2009The Celebrity Apprentice (winner, 2009) On screen
  22. 2009How'd You Get So Rich? (host, 2009–2010) On screen
  23. 2010Fashion Police (co-host, E!, 2010–2014) On screen
  24. 2010Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (documentary, 2010) On screen
  25. 2011Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? (2011–2014) On screen
  26. 2012I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me (book, 2012) Book
  27. 2013Don't Start With Me (2013, TV/video special) Special
  28. 2013In Bed with Joan (host; writer and executive producer, 2013–2014) On screen
  29. 2013Don't Start With Me (2013) Album
  30. 2014Diary of a Mad Diva (book, 2014) Book
  31. 2014Died

Questions about Joan Rivers

What stand-up specials has Joan Rivers released?

An Audience with Joan Rivers, Live at the London Palladium and Don't Start With Me.

What podcast do they host?

Enter Talking, Still Talking, I Hate Everyone...Starting with Me and Diary of a Mad Diva.

What TV shows and films are they in?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, That Show with Joan Rivers, The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers, The Joan Rivers Show, The Celebrity Apprentice and Fashion Police, among 17 credits.

Where did they get their start?

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (broke through there; later its first permanent guest host) and The Second City (came up through the Chicago company).

Who are some comedians like them?

David Steinberg (also came through The Second City), Buddy Hackett (also in Hollywood Squares), Elayne Boosler (also in Hollywood Squares), Totie Fields (also in Hollywood Squares) and Martin Short (also came through The Second City).

The full SUCDb record

The full record — the career in order, the specials and credits, and the sources for each — is on SUCDb, with their place on the Legends ballots.

Their SUCDb record →Their own site ↗

Sources

Updated 5 October 2026 · the record checked 27 September 2026