NEW YORK, Sept 6: Tributes poured in as comedians and friends mourned the loss of Joan Rivers, the sassy, sharp-tongued comedy legend who jokingly wrote about wanting an elaborate funeral and will be laid to rest in a private service on Sunday. But the cause of the death of the pioneering comedian, who passed away peacefully in a hospital on Thursday, a week after an outpatient procedure, was unclear.
After an initial examination, the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office yesterday said further tests were needed. Rivers, 81, will have an invitation-only funeral at Temple Emanu-El, a landmark synagogue on New York’s Fifth Avenue where she was a member of the congregation. ‘We mourn with her family, friends and all those millions to whom she brought laughter and joy,’ Senior Rabbi Joshua M. Davidson, who will conduct the service, said in a statement. No details of the service were released, but in her 2012 book ‘I Hate Everyone …Starting With Me,’ Rivers, ever the comedy star, wrote about wanting her funeral to be a big showbiz affair, complete with actress Meryl Streep crying in different accents. ‘I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene! I want it to be Hollywood all the way.’
Friends of the Brooklyn-born comedian, who helped pave the road for women in comedy, remembered her in statements, tweets and Facebook posts.
Late-night talk show host David Letterman said the force of her comedy was overpowering.
‘Here’s a woman, a real pioneer for other women looking for careers in stand-up comedy,’ he said. ‘And talk about guts – she would come out here and sit in this chair and say some things that were unbelievable, just where you would have to swallow pretty hard … but it was hilarious.’
(agencies)
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