Late night hosts remember Joan Rivers, one of their own
Pioneering and sharp-tongued comedian Joan Rivers, who died on Thursday at age 81, gained a national audience on the Ed Sullivan Show and other late-night TV programs. She was one of Johnny Carson's stand-in hosts on The Tonight Show, and she even had her own late-night show in the 1980s. So on Thursday night, her successors paid tribute to the woman credited with blazing a path for women in comedy, and inspiring men in comedy, too. Here are some of their tributes. --Peter Weber
David Letterman: "Talk about guts!"
Jimmy Kimmel: "She loved her job so much she never wanted to stop, and she didn't have to stop because she was so great at it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Seth Meyers: "If she were here right now, she'd make a joke about how she just passed away, and she would get away with it."
Conan O'Brien: When Rivers filled in for Johnny Carson, "it was an event — everybody in the country would talk about it the next day."
(If the Conan video doesn't work, you can watch it here.)
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Baltimore bridge disaster: Who is going to pay and how?
Today's Big Question Politicians, legal experts, and the insurance industry are all grappling with the financial fallout of America's worst infrastructure tragedy in years
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Melting polar ice is messing with global timekeeping
Speed Read Ice loss caused by climate change is slowing the Earth's rotation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Week contest: Stick guitar
Puzzles and Quizzes
By The Week US Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published