Joan Rivers in Critical Condition — Stops Breathing During Surgery
Joan Rivers Image by Getty Images
Joan Rivers stopped breathing during surgery Thursday morning and was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, TMZ.com reported.
The 81-year old comedian and actress was undergoing surgery on her vocal chords at Yorkville Endoscopy on East 93rd Street when she stopped breathing and an emergency 911 call was placed.
There was no official word on her condition, but TMZ reports that she is currently in critical condition. Her daughter Melissa Rivers is on her way to New York.
Ken Baker, an entertainment journalist at E! News, said on his Twitter account that Rivers was in stable condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. The E! cable TV network features Rivers as host of its show “Fashion Police.”
A representative for E! could not immediately be reached for comment.
Representatives for Rivers, 81, did not immediately return calls or emails, and a representative for her daughter, Melissa Rivers, declined to comment. A Mount Sinai official also declined comment, citing patient privacy rules.
The Brooklyn-born Rivers is one of America’s best known comedians and is considered a pioneer for women in stand-up comedy.
Rivers’ peers in the 1960s comedy club scene of New York’s Greenwich Village included Bill Cosby, Richard Pryor, Woody Allen and George Carlin, but she said she never felt like she was part of their clique.
In 1983, she earned one of the biggest gigs in the business when “The Tonight Show” host, the late Johnny Carson, crowned her as his regular guest host.
Her brash and self-deprecating routine found new life on the awards show circuit and in recent years she trained her acerbic wit and profanity-laced comment on the fashion faux pas of Hollywood’s celebrities.
In an age of political correctness, Rivers’ no-holds-barred style has stood out in the crowded world of celebrity TV, as did her ability to make fun of herself, including her penchant for plastic surgery.
Aside from her role on “Fashion Police,” she also has in recent years starred alongside her daughter in the WE TV reality show “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?”
With Reuters
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