An unstoppable comic force to the end
Just as we long suspected, the only thing that could stop Joan Rivers was death. Abrasive, raunchy, self-immolating and often unapologetically offensive, Rivers changed comedy, courted controversy, survived catastrophe and refused to give up or give in, even when either of those might have seemed the best option. Known best for her grating, New York-afflicted tones, penchant for plastic surgery and willingness to tell anyone that they looked terrible, Rivers created a kind of in-your-face, self-deprecation that both exploited the tendency toward self-hatred in comedy, particularly women's comedy, and satirized it. If as she grew older Rivers developed a reputation for being more mean than funny — in recent months, she was criticized for, among other things, her remarks regarding Adele's weight, Palestinians and the Holocaust — she remained true to the brassy image and take-no-prisoners attitude that allowed her to rise during a time when the term "female comedia...