esrosedotblog

I wasn't going to write about this but then it seems that I should.

Joan Rivers, a Comic Stiletto Quick to Skewer, Is Dead at 81

I laughed a lot at her but I also found her very annoying. Most comedians are, actually.

Insult humor is hard to do. Don Rickles is the king and Rivers would be the queen. The thing is, though, that she mostly told on herself. But the effect was that she was zinging others. Often unfairly.

I suppose this is because she had the instant mouth of a born hustler. Talk came easy right after the first thought. No impulse control. And of course that is a key to some comedians' success. Robin Williams comes to mind. Zero inhibitions and a quick wit.

Comedy is the toughest job I think. There is a documentary about her. I have seen it. She had thousands of "joke" cards and yet, she admitted, she rarely went in to look at them. But there they are.

I suspect that they are useless because they were all of the moment, the moment passed and they lost their zing. Now Rivers has passed. We only have the tapes.

Labels: comedy, obituary