SPEAKER_03: If you're prescribed NERTEK® ODT,
or MedJapan® 75 mg for migraine attacks, does the fear of running out of medication stop you from treating every migraine attack? If so, ask about two eight-packs per month. That's 16 tablets, and most insurance plans cover it.
SPEAKER_02: NERTEK® ODT is approved for the acute treatment of migraine attacks and preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. Don't take if allergic to NERTEK® ODT or any of its ingredients. Allergic reactions can occur even days after using and include trouble breathing, rash, and swelling of the face, mouth, tongue, or throat. Most common side effects were nausea and indigestion stomach pain. A maximum dose of 75 mg can be taken daily to treat migraine attacks or every other day to prevent them. The safety of using more than 18 doses of NERTEK® ODT in a 30-day period has not been established. For full prescribing information, call 1-833-4-NERTEK® or visit nertek.com.
SPEAKER_03: Double the packs to treat more migraine attacks. Ask your doctor if two eight-packs of NERTEK® ODT is right for you.
SPEAKER_01: Before we get started, a quick warning that this episode contains mentions of suicide.
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica. This month, we're talking about comediennees, women throughout history who've made us laugh.
They transgressed societal norms through comedy and often spoke out against injustice using their sharp wit.
Some have derided today's Womanican as vicious. Others call her hilarious. One thing is certain. She didn't like to pull punches. Where do we start? Where do we start, my darlings?
SPEAKER_00: Call FEMA. This is a disaster. It's like Prince's old communion dresser. If Jim Henson did close.
SPEAKER_01: By the end of her five-decade career, she was probably best known for her cutting critiques of celebrities on the red carpet. But long before she was the head of the fashion police,
she was one of the only women carving out a space in the stand-up comedy world.
Let's talk about Joan Rivers.
Joan Molinsky was born in Brooklyn, New York, on June 8, 1933, to Jewish-Russian immigrant parents.
Her mother was dead set on ensuring that her daughters were married to accomplished men.
But Joan proved a disappointment in that area.
She remained single well after graduating from Barnard College.
Joan would later joke about her mother's waning efforts to help her catch a man.
What Joan really desired was to be an actress.
As a young woman in the late 1950s, she worked different temp jobs in New York City to earn cash while she pounded the pavement for auditions.
She earned small parts in off-Broadway productions, but she couldn't get much more.
So Joan turned to stand-up comedy to supplement her acting career.
She started off performing in grimy clubs under the stage name Pepper January.
She often stole routines from other comedians and alienated agents.
She managed to be booked on Jack Parr's Tonight Show, only to bomb in front of a national television audience.
But Joan was persistent.
In the early 1960s, she spent some time in Chicago performing with the Second City improv troupe.
She didn't like sharing the spotlight with other comedians, but it did reinvigorate her confidence.
She returned to stand-up with a new, more confessional style, inspired by contemporaries like Woody Allen and Lenny Bruce.
She was self-deprecating and sharp, poking fun at her small breasts, her lack of a husband,
turning insecurities into comedy fodder.
She won over audiences with quips like,
A peeping tom looked in my window and pulled down the shade.
She also got a few writing gigs in television comedy, including on The Phyllis Diller Show and Candid Camera.
Then, her big break.
After roughly a decade of starts and stops, Joan landed a spot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show in 1965.
She stood in front of the cameras, a small blonde in a demure black dress and pearls.
And she killed it.
Johnny Carson, who was well-known for his skepticism toward female comics, was so impressed that he exclaimed on camera,
God, you're funny. You're gonna be a star.
And he was right.
Joan's career took off. She booked better and better gigs. She started making more regular appearances on Carson's show.
The two comedians developed a friendship, and audiences enjoyed their banter.
Johnny might ask,
But don't you think men really like intelligence? And Joan would fire back, No man has put his hand up a woman's dress looking for a library card.
She married British producer Edgar Rosenberg, who she'd met through Carson.
Joan even became Carson's permanent guest host for a few years starting in 1983.
SPEAKER_02: And now, here's Joan Rivers!
SPEAKER_01:
But it all came crashing back down in 1986.
Johnny Carson was nearing retirement and was looking for a replacement host. Joan knew she had no chance. Only men were in the running.
So she signed a contract with Fox, a rival network, to host The Late Show starring Joan Rivers.
When she called Carson to give him the news, he hung up on her.
That was the last time they ever talked.
Carson never had Joan on his show again.
Meanwhile, her new show on Fox was canceled after just a year.
Overnight, she became a showbiz pariah.
No one wanted to book her.
Her husband Edgar's poor investments left them millions of dollars in debt.
It was a dark time made even darker when Edgar died by suicide in 1987.
The tragedy strained Joan's relationship with her only daughter, Melissa.
But Joan refused to let her days as a star come to an end. As always, she dealt with her personal tragedies by making jokes.
Of her late husband, she told audiences, My husband killed himself and it was my fault. It was my fault.
SPEAKER_00:
We were making love and I took the bag off my head.
SPEAKER_01: Starting in 1989 and continuing into the early 90s, Joan got her own daytime talk show, The Joan Rivers Show, and won a Daytime Emmy Award for the program.
She marketed fashion and jewelry lines on shopping channels.
She started appearing on the red carpet at award shows, asking dolled-up actresses and musicians, Who are you wearing?
Her daughter Melissa collaborated with Joan on various television and film projects.
In 2010, Joan began hosting E! Network's Fashion Police, where she'd tear into celebrities for every fashion faux pas.
Her persona as a public figure had transitioned from confessional standup to snarky cultural critic.
But Joan's cutting remarks about other famous women rubbed some the wrong way,
especially when it came to her attacks focused on weight or physical attractiveness.
Throughout her career, Joan defended these harsh quips.
She argued rich celebrity women could handle it.
Some fans embraced Joan's mean girl style. Others just thought it was in bad taste.
Joan kept on making television appearances right up until her death.
She passed away on September 4, 2014 at a New York City hospital. She was 81 years old.
All month we're talking about comedienne's. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica Podcast.
Special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister and co-creator. Talk to you tomorrow.
SPEAKER_03: plans cover it.
SPEAKER_02: Nurtec ODT is approved for the acute treatment of migraine attacks and preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. Don't take if allergic to Nurtec ODT or any of its ingredients. Allergic reactions can occur even days after using and include trouble breathing, rash and swelling of the face, mouth, tongue or throat. Most common side effects were nausea and indigestion stomach pain. A maximum dose of 75 milligrams can be taken daily to treat migraine attacks or every other day to prevent them. The safety of using more than 18 doses of Nurtec ODT in a 30-day period has not been established. For full prescribing information, call 1-833-4-NURTEC or visit NURTEC.com.
SPEAKER_03: Double the packs to treat more migraine attacks. Ask your doctor if two eight packs of Nurtec ODT is right for you.
