Joan Rivers, groundbreaking comedian, dies at the age of 81.

On Wednesday, September 4th, 2014 Melissa Rivers announced that her mother, Joan Rivers, had passed away.

“My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh,” Melissa Rivers said. “Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon.”

And with that, a single exclamation point was put a on an entertainment career that spanned more than half a century. On Aug. 28 Joan suffered cardiac arrest during a minor throat procedure. She was rushed to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Doctors put her in a medically induced coma. She would later be put on life support but she would never recover.

Joan was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, NY as Joan Alexandra Molinsky. She graduated from Barnard College in 1954 with a degree in English. Her original goal was to become an actress but she later moved to comedy. Joan is survived by her daughter, Melissa, and grandson, Cooper.

Read our recent post on The Most Important Thing We Can Learn from Joan Rivers

Joan made her first television appearance in 1965 on the Johnny Carson Show. She went on to be an award winning talk show host, reality TV star, fashion critic, and author. Hailed as a pioneer, her humor was considered groundbreaking, edgy, and risky.  While she was extremely popular and widely respected, her acerbic and irreverent one liners were not appreciated by everyone. She was outspoken on issues that many felt were never humorous. She also spoke openly about the ups and downs of her career.  Her life is highly chronicled. In 2010 a documentary about Joan titled “A Piece of Work” was released.

Read the New York Times in depth story on Joan’s death: Joan Rivers, a Comic Stiletto Quick to Skewer, Is Dead at 81

Read more from the NY Times: Relentless with No Off Switch

Read the NBC News report of Joan’s Death (with video): Joan Rivers, Comedy Pioneer and TV Host, Dies at 81