'LARRY KING NOW' MOVING TRIBUTE FOR JOAN RIVERS

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A FAREWELL TO JOAN RIVERS
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Larry King's Tribute To Joan Rivers





Hollywood has been mourning the death of comedic legend Joan Rivers. There's no one like her. In a special episode of the Emmy nominated series “Larry King Now”, Larry welcomes Jane Lynch, Lily Tomlin, Regis Philbin, Ryan Seacrest, Margaret Cho and Don Rickles to pay tribute to their friend: the beloved, iconic, indefatigable Joan Rivers. The episode just premiered on Ora.tv and Hulu.com.



We’ve all heard about Joan’s personal wishes for her star-studded funeral where she said “ I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents…[and] I want to be buried in a Valentino gown.” Margaret Cho opened up to Larry King about Joan Rivers’ funeral, including Howard Stern’s hilarious eulogy and Hugh Jackman’s emotional performance. Cho explained “Joan Rivers Would Have Loved Her Funeral.” The special episode also features Regis Philbin sharing one of his favorite memories of Joan, about her grand entrance at her daughter Melissa’s wedding. Also Jane Lynch on the battle Joan fought to pave the way for female comedians, and how her work inspired Jane to follow in her footsteps. Plus her gratitude for the laughter Joan and Robin provided the world, and her thoughts on their energy living on “She may not be in that gorgeous package anymore but she’s right here.”



Joan Rivers Would Have Loved Her Funeral



Margaret Cho opens up about Joan Rivers’ funeral, including Howard Stern’s hilarious eulogy and Hugh Jackman’s emotional performance.



Regis Philbin Remembers Joan Rivers



Regis Philbin shares one of his favorite memories of Joan, about her grand entrance at her daughter Melissa’s wedding.



Joan Rivers Was So Pretty, So Alive, So Bright



Jane Lynch on the battles Joan fought to pave the way for female comedians, and how her work inspired Jane to follow in her footsteps.




Robin Williams and Joan Rivers Are The Greatest Gifts We Have



Jane Lynch shares her gratitude for the laughter Joan and Robin provided the world, and her thoughts on their energy living on.



Quotes:



JANE LYNCH


“In order for a woman to have a seat at the table, they had to knock themselves down as sex objects.” — Jane Lynch on what Joan’s generation of comics did to succeed.


“That’s kind of where her comedy started, was this severe self-deprecation. And I was always, as a kid, thinking ‘why is she saying she’s so ugly?’ I thought she was so pretty. She was so pretty, and she was so alive and so bright. You could see Johnny Carson just loved her.” — On Joan’s comedic past.


“You hope their energies met as she left this planet.” — Jane Lynch on Joan Rivers and Johnny Carson.


“She was an ally before many people were.” — Jane Lynch on Joan Rivers’ longtime support of the LGBT community.


“She might not be in that gorgeous package anymore but she’s right here.” 


“She always felt that she had to fight to get to the next level.”


“I think that Robin Williams and Joan Rivers, they’re the greatest gifts we have here on earth. And dogs. People who make us laugh and love us unconditionally.”


“She did pave the way. She took the machete and [makes chopping sound effects] so we could all skip along behind her.” — Jane Lynch on what Joan did for women in comedy.





MARGARET CHO



“Because she thought that I was funny, like her, we really became close.”


“She’d say ‘Margaret I know that you, just like me, were ugly in high school,’ and I was like, bitch, speak for yourself.” — The playful banter between Joan and Margaret Cho.



“I think she was incredibly brave.”



“If a joke is offensive but it’s also funny, it’s unassailable. As long as it’s funny, it doesn’t matter. And that was her brilliance.”



“She was -- in her comic way -- kind of immortal.”



“I’ve never been to a funeral like that. I think Joan Rivers really put the fun in funeral.”



“It was also the best place to be if you were a good-looking gay man, because there was the richest gay men in the world all coming together. If I was a gay man, I would have definitely kept my Grindr turned on.”



“She knew how bad it felt to have a bad show. She could lift you right up out of it. And I lost the person who can do that for me. “



“She’s just unafraid. And I think that is what youth is.” — On Joan connecting with a younger audience.



“I think her feeling was even if you weren’t born with it you could buy it.” — Margaret Cho on Joan Rivers’ stance on beauty and plastic surgery.



“She worked hard on maintaining her friendships.”



“Her legacy is really a gift to all the female comics who loved her and worshipped her and inspired her. Me being on here today is her final gift to me. And I think it’s true for all of us who are getting to talk to you and talk to the world about what an amazing woman she was.”



REGIS PHILBIN



“She never quit. She never gave up. She was always in there, you know. She loved it, she just loved it. And that’s what kept her going. And even when a few things went wrong in her life or her career, it didn’t stop her. She came back fighting.” 



“It made her feel good. That’s fine.” — Regis Philbin on Joan’s infamous plastic surgery.



“I can’t believe she’s gone. I just cannot believe that Joan Rivers is not with us anymore.”



LILY TOMLIN



“The history of her life, the ups and downs, the stuff she went through, and the fact that she just absolutely fought her way back every time. I can’t imagine how she endured as she did. And she’d still be enduring. It wasn’t like it was a challenge for her. I think she thrived on it.”



“I think Joan was always pretty isolated in terms of her own direction, how she was going to go for it, and she was fairly fearless.” — Lily Tomlin on Joan not being part of the boys’ club.



“She always seemed to get a show. No matter what she did, she’d figure it out. She’d get another show.”



“She fought her way back every time. Every time she had reversal. I mean to go through what she went through all those times, I mean with Edgar’s suicide, the whole fracas with Johnny Carson. All the things that went on and then she ended up, she made a fortune, she made an empire for Melissa. She wanted to make sure Melissa was taken care of.”



“She was so good at heart. She had a huge heart.”



DON RICKLES



“Knowing Joanie I’d imagine she said something that probably didn’t strike him right.” — Don Rickles on Joan’s lost friendship with Johnny Carson.



“It’s hard to believe that she’s gone because she was a dear friend to me.”



“She was very generous with her personality.”



RYAN SEACREST



“On those days when she would be in the office, the whole place was abuzz.” — Ryan Seacrest on working alongside Joan at E!



“She did, yeah. She did. But I’ll tell you, I think she was an equal opportunity maker funner of-er, if that’s an expression.” — Ryan Seacrest on whether Joan made fun of him.



“She would say whatever was on your mind that you probably wouldn’t say, and she would actually say it. I mean, the things that would come out of her mouth, the things you would feel terrible thinking about, you might think in your own head, but she had no issue. She was so brave. She would not only say it on the air, she would say it to your face.” — Ryan Seacrest on how Joan revolutionized red carpet reporting.


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