Of All Things, Joan Rivers Was A Comedian

To the uninformed, Joan Rivers was just a brash red carpet correspondent with a large plastic surgery bill. But if you're not familiar with her standup, you're missing what made Joan such a trailblazing legend. She was a pioneer who redefined success for female comedians and kept audiences in stitches for decades. Years before Vanity Fair was publishing idiotic think pieces about why women aren't funny, Joan was proving them wrong.

Here are some clips of Joan at the top of her game, showing why she deserves to be ranked right up at the very top in the comedy hall of fame:

In 1967, a young Joan Rivers appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show." Even then, she was applying her razor sharp wit to injustice against women and sexism in society. Most importantly though, she was already hilarious.

A staunch proponent of creative freedom, Joan destroys a heckler in Wisconsin who's offended by one of her jokes about the deaf. "You idiot! Comedy is about making people laugh and deal with things!"

Starting at 5:22, Joan gives a heartfelt and profound answer about why nothing is off-limits in her comedy. To make a joke about tragedy is to reclaim it and to be able to move on. Her story about talking to her 15-year-old daughter Melissa immediately after her husband (and Melissa's father) committed suicide is both heartbreaking and hilarious.

Even at 80, Joan was still putting out new material at a tremendous rate. Her webseries, "In Bed with Joan," showcased her influence on the new generation of comedians, as well as the fact that after more than 30 years in show business, Joan was still as hilarious as ever. Here's Joan in bed with Sarah Silverman, one of her most direct comedic descendants.

Chris Duffy is a comedian and writer in NYC. Find him online here.​