The GRAMMY Museum Presents Joan Rivers: Can We Talk? The GRAMMY Museum will commemorate GRAMMY-winning comedian Joan Rivers with a new display opening Monday, June 8, 2015 on the Museum’s third floor.
“Earlier this year, The Recording Academy awarded my mother her very first GRAMMY, which was truly an honor. On this occasion, which celebrates her 82nd birthday, it’s also an honor to have her incredible legacy included in the GRAMMY Museum’s ongoing tribute to the greatest comedic icons of all time,” said Melissa Rivers, Joan Rivers’ daughter. “To her, comedy was music. There was a rhythm, but instead of notes, there were words. And just like any of her fellow GRAMMY Award winners who have been on exhibition in the museum, you know she loved to play.”
“Joan Rivers’ unapologetic one-liners and brave, biting commentary on her personal life opened doors for other female comedians,” said Bob Santelli, Executive Director of the GRAMMY Museum. “With this latest display in our comedy series, we continue to spotlight some of the greatest comedic performers, many of whom have been recognized by the GRAMMY Awards.”
“My mother devoted her life and career to making the world laugh,” continued Melissa Rivers. “And on behalf of my son Cooper and I, we want to thank our dedicated project producer Brian Edwards, Team Rivers, as well as the staff at the GRAMMY Museum for their support of this exhibit, which respectfully highlights my mother’s amazing 50-year-plus career.”
WHEN & WHERE:
Joan Rivers: Can We Talk? will be on display on the GRAMMY Museum’s third floor through Sept. 20, 2015.
The GRAMMY Museum is located at 800 West Olympic Boulevard, Suite A245, Los Angeles, CA 90015. With
an entrance off of Figueroa Street, the Museum resides within the L.A. LIVE district, at the intersection of
Olympic Boulevard and Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles.
WHAT:
Artifacts on display in Joan Rivers: Can We Talk? will include:
· Various stage costumes worn by the comedian, including several Bob Mackie originals
· One of her vintage Louis Vuitton travel trunks
· Rivers’ 1990 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host
· Family photographs
· Her 1984 Harvard Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Award
· Rivers’ hardcover book collection, including several of her New York Times bestsellers
· Gold record award for her 1983 classic comedy album, What Becomes A Semi-Legend Most
· And Rivers’ Hollywood Walk of Fame Star award
About Joan Rivers
An unparalleled legend in the entertainment industry, Joan Rivers was more than just a comedian — she was a force of nature. An internationally recognized celebrity, Emmy-winning talk show host, GRAMMY-winning performer, Tony-nominated actress, bestselling author, playwright, screenwriter, film director, columnist, lecturer, radio host, jewelry designer, entrepreneur, and the renowned creator of the modern day “red carpet,” Rivers was also the first woman to break the glass ceiling of male-hosted late-night television. For more than 50 years, Rivers pioneered her own brand of irreverent, unconventional comedy, first enduring tawdry clubs, Borscht Belt showrooms, and grimy Greenwich Village cabarets.
Her fame skyrocketed in 1968 when she first appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.” Within three years she was hosting “That Show with Joan Rivers,” one of the first syndicated daytime talk shows on air, and made television history as the permanent guest host of “The Tonight Show,” where she coined her iconic catchphrase, “Can we talk?” In 1983 Rivers received her first GRAMMY nomination for her gold-selling comedy album, What Becomes a Semi-Legend Most? Rivers helped launch the nascent Fox Network in 1986 with the debut of “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers,” and in 1989 she triumphantly made her mark on daytime TV with “The Joan Rivers Show,” winning an Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk/Service Show Host.
In 1990, Rivers launched the Joan Rivers Classics Collection of fashion jewelry, apparel and accessories on QVC. Her love and admiration of fashion didn’t stop with QVC. Armed with a microphone and her signature question, “Who are you wearing?” she turned walking the red carpet into a star-studded event. Years after creating and hosting “Live from the Red Carpet” for the E! Network (1996–2004), Rivers later returned to anchor their hugely successful franchise “Fashion Police,” hosting both its hour-long weekly broadcasts and its awards season specials, reaching more than 10 million people worldwide. Rivers was also an accomplished author, penning 12 celebrated books. Her most recent work, Diary of a Mad Diva, was published in 2014 and instantly became a New York Times bestseller. A recording of the audiobook version of Diva also earned Joan a posthumous GRAMMY Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Rivers passed away on Sept. 4, 2014, in New York. Her enduring legacy as an entertainer and as a humanitarian lives on.
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