Sunday, September 14, 2014

Remembering Joan Rivers

Peggy Noonan penned this little memorial of her dear friend.  It is recommended reading.



There was nobody like her. Some people are knockoffs or imitations of other, stronger, more vivid figures, but there was never another Joan Rivers before her or while she lived. She was a seriously wonderful, self-invented woman.

She was completely open and immediately accessible. She had the warmth of a person who found others keenly and genuinely interesting. It was also the warmth of a person with no boundaries: She wanted to know everything about you and would tell you a great deal about herself, right away. She had no edit function, which in part allowed her gift. She would tell you what she thought. She loved to shock, not only an audience but a friend. I think from the beginning life startled her, and she enjoyed startling you. You only asked her advice or opinion if you wanted an honest reply.

Her intelligence was penetrating and original, her tastes refined. Her duplex apartment on the east side of Manhattan was full of books in beautiful bindings, of elegant gold things on the table, lacquered boxes, antique furniture. She liked everything just so. She read a lot. She was a doctor’s daughter.....

I was lucky to have known her. I owe it to Steve Forbes, the publisher and former presidential hopeful who, with his family, owned a chateau in France near the Normandy coast. It was the family’s custom once a year to invite friends and associates for a long weekend, and in the summer of 1992 I went, and met Joan. Talk about a life force.

We all stayed in beautiful rooms. Joan amused herself making believe she was stealing the furniture. It rained through the weekend, which Joan feared would make Steve and Sabina Forbes blue, so she organized a group of us to go into town to a costume-rental place so we could put on a show. All they had was French Revolution outfits, so we took them, got back to our rooms, and Joan and I wrote a play on what we announced were French revolutionary themes. Walter Cronkite, another guest, was chosen by Joan as narrator. I think the play consisted mostly of members of Louis XIV’s court doing Catskills stand-up. It was quite awful and a big success.

The highlight of the weekend was a balloon lift, a Forbes tradition—scores of huge balloons in brilliant colors and patterns would lift from the grounds of the chateau after dawn and travel over the countryside. It was so beautiful. I stood and watched, not meaning to participate, and was half pushed into a gondola. By luck Joan was there, full of good humor and information on what we were seeing below.

We held on hard as we experienced a hard and unplanned landing on a French farm. We were spilled out onto a field. As we scrambled and stood, an old farmer came out, spoke to us for a moment, ran into his farmhouse and came back with an old bottle of calvados. He then told us he hadn’t seen Americans since D-Day, and toasted us for what America had done for his country. No one was more moved than Joan, who never forgot it.....

I am not sure she ever felt accepted by the showbiz elite, or any elite. She was too raw, didn’t respect certain conventions, wasn’t careful, didn’t pretend to a false dignity. She took the celebrated and powerful down a peg. Her wit was broad and spoofing—she would play the fool—but it was also subversive and transgressive. People who weren’t powerful or well-known saw and understood what she was doing.

She thought a lot about how things work and what they mean.

She once told me she figured a career was like a shark, either it is going forward or it is dying and sinking to the ocean floor. She worked like someone who believed that, doing shows in houses big and small all over the country, hundreds a year, along with her cable programs, interviews, and books. She supported a lot of people. Many members of her staff stayed for decades and were like family. Because of that, when I visited the hospital last week, I got to witness a show-business moment Joan would have liked. A relative was scrolling down on her iPhone. “Listen to this,” she said, and read aloud something a young showbiz figure who had been lampooned by Joan had just tweeted. She said it was an honor to be made fun of by such a great lady. “Joan will be furious when she sees this,” said the relative, shaking her head. “She won’t be able to make fun of her in the act anymore.”...

Her eye was original. Twenty years ago, when everyone was talking about how wonderful it was that Vegas had been cleaned up and the mob had been thrown out, Joan said no, no, no, they are ruining the mystique. First of all, she said, those mobsters knew how to care for a lady, those guys with bent noses were respectful and gentlemen, except when they were killing you. Second, she said, organized crime is better than disorganized crime, which will replace it. Third, the mobsters had a patina of class, they dressed well and saw that everyone else did, so Vegas wasn’t a slobocracy, which is what it is becoming with men in shorts playing the slots in the lobby of the hotel. The old Vegas had dignity. She hated the bluenoses who’d clean up what wasn’t mean to be clean. No one wanted Sin City cleaned up, she said, they wanted to go there and visit sin and then go home.... Rest of essay

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not sure what folks found to be so funny about Joan Rivers. She appeared to be a cross of Don Rickles & Phyllis Diller, only nastier, and more insulting, without the humor factor. But then, some folks enjoy Jerry Lewis, I guess it's like eating poop, it's an acquired taste.
(about eating the poop remark, I am only guessing many people eat poop because I see or hear them when they compare food to tasting like poop)

Anonymous said...

11:47
I never found Joan Rivers that interesting either, but god knows I can't stand snobbery. Especially those ( upper) middle class snobs with more debt on their credit cards and loans out the wazoo that in all honesty, have no right to be snobby. All those people are, are an eventual charge off, a bankruptcy, and a future tab on the national debt.

In your quest for all things grand and tasteful, you have sh*t on everything to find such things instead of enjoying life.
Go eat that.

Anonymous said...

4:81
Bad day at the nursing home?
Got some corn mixed in with your denture cream?
Somebody got your favorite rocking chair?
Please use the "Call Nurse" feature and someone will be right in to help you change your adult diaper.

Anonymous said...

ROTFLMAO
try again
I'm guessing the next hurl will be to go take " my medicine."
No respect on that ivory tower I see, for anyone.
Not even for yourself.
In all reality, you'll be in the nursing home before I.
And boogey man Obama is a comin to get ya!
Oh, Fox News says he's worse than Clayton Kelly.
Good luck!
You're going to need it from what I hear.
All of those death panels and such.


Anonymous said...

Speaking ill of the dead does not add any points to your heavenly boarding ticket.

Wad Cutter Ammo said...

Why does a man with a federal firearms license (to sell) need the help of a blog to help him sell rifles? If he's so broke he can't advertise or conduct business, should he really be in possession of the rifles?

Anonymous said...

Speaking ill of the dead does not add any points to your heavenly boarding ticket.
......................................
Seems like the discussion was not based on personal matters, rather the lack of true talent.

Spot said...

Who shivs a git about this worthless Jew bitch. She's a female clone of Jerry Lewis, another worthless Jew who shat on this state.

Anonymous said...

Reading these vicious, off-topic comments explains why 49 states look down on the racists and anti-Semites here.

This was the first decent article I've seen Noonan write since she endorsed Obama six years ago.

As for the pinhead commenters above - we'll see how many of you are the lead story every night on the news for a week when you lay dying.



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In the spirit of helping those who are less fortunate, Trollfest '09 adopts a cause for which a portion of the proceeds and donations will be donated: Keeping Frank Melton in his home. The “Keep Frank Melton From Being Homeless” booth will sell chances for five dollars to pin the tail on the jackass. John Reeves has graciously volunteered to be the jackass for this honorable excursion into saving Frank's ass. What's an ass between two friends after all? If Mr. Reeves is unable to um, perform, Speaker Billy McCoy has also volunteered as when the word “jackass” was mentioned he immediately ran as fast as he could to sign up.


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There will be a hugging booth where in exchange for your young son, Frank Melton will give you a loooong hug. Trollfest will have a dunking booth where Muhammed the terrorist will curse you to Allah as you try to hit a target that will drop him into a vat of pig grease. However, in the true spirit of Separate But Equal, Don Imus and someone from NE Jackson will also sit in the dunking booth for an equal amount of time. Tom Head will give a reading for two hours on why he can't figure out who the hell he is. Cliff Cargill will give lessons with his .80 caliber desert eagle, using Frank Melton photos as targets. Tackleberry will be on hand for an autograph session. KIM Waaaaaade will be passing out free titles and deeds to crackhouses formerly owned by The Wood Street Players.

If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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