JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — The National Comedy Center, located in Jamestown, NY, will soon become the home of comedian Joan Rivers' career archive.
The archive includes a file cabinet with over 65,000 original jokes spanning from the start of her career in the 1950s to 2014 when Rivers' passed away.
Rivers began her career in the 1950s doing standup comedy in clubs and on late night television. Later in life, she became the face of celebrity interviews and fashion commentary with her daughter Melissa.
"I am so honored that my mother's archives will have a home at the National Comedy Center. To be included with the legends of comedy who are represented at the National Comedy Center is amazing. My mother would have been thrilled to be seated at the best table,” said Melissa Rivers in a released statement.
Among the collection are Rivers' earliest handwritten jokes, personal scrapbooks, a never-before-heard autobiographical audio recordings, hundreds of pre-show preparatory notes, intimate correspondence with peers in entertainment, the guest books from her storied run as host of “The Late Show with Joan Rivers."
The collection also includes some of Rivers' iconic gowns, boas, and jewelry that defined her inimitable style.
“Joan Rivers was a master of evolution who ascended—again and again—to the heights of success in an industry that was not structured in her favor, blazing a wide and clear trail for generations of artists who would follow,” stated National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson. “She is not only a role model for women in comedy, but for all artists who desire to wield comedy's expressive power to communicate something vital about the human condition.”
"Joan was one of the funniest people I ever met, and a friend for decades. It’s wonderful to know that her archives will join the National Comedy Center, a one-of-a-kind museum dreamed up by none other than Lucille Ball: a woman whom Joan and I both loved and admired very much,” said comedy legend Carol Burnett.
“This archive is priceless not only for the history of comedy but also for women in art. Joan was a trailblazer, an icon, a true legend,” said comedian Margaret Cho. “I was lucky enough to know her and call her a friend. To be able to see her life in jokes is a tremendous honor.”
The National Comedy Center will debut an interactive exhibit in 2023, which will also visitors to explore the joke file and look back at Rivers' storied career.
For more information on the National Comedy Center, check out their website: https://comedycenter.org/
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