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Make Em Laugh

Joan Rivers on Audience Flops

Joan recounts a tepid audience response to her more taboo material.

Aired 01/08/2009 | Rating NR

Make Em Laugh

Joan Rivers on Audience Flops

Clip: Season 1 | 1m 25s

Joan recounts a tepid audience response to her more taboo material.

“It was all about, ‘we don’t talk about these things,’” explains comedian Joan Rivers. In this interview outtake, Joan recounts a series of flops and failures, and the tepid audience response to her material. Her frank attitude on then-taboo subjects such as pregnancy, marital affairs, and sex was met with gasps, but later proved to be fundamental to her groundbreaking career in the industry.

Aired 01/08/2009 | Rating NR

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Joan Rivers: Road Comic

Joan Rivers recalls her experience as a young comedian on the road. (1m 21s)

Joan Rivers on Second City

Rivers recalls her experiences as a member of The Second City improvisational comedy team. (2m 2s)

Joan Rivers on her Contemporaries

Rivers and her cohort were the 1st generation of American-born comedians. (1m 47s)

Joan Rivers on Comedic Success

Joan Rivers outlines a guide to success in the entertainment industry in the late 1960’s. (1m 29s)

Joan Rivers on Audience Flops

Joan recounts a tepid audience response to her more taboo material. (1m 25s)

Joan Rivers' "False Starts"

Rivers began her career in a period when female performers were given rigid expectations. (1m 26s)

Joan Rivers' Early Inspiration

Comedian Joan Rivers recalls her early inspirations towards comedy. (55s)

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