Having her say

There's really no middle ground when discussing comedienne Joan Rivers.

Either people love her brand of comedy, or they hate it.

But whether you like her, you have to admire her successful career in a business that is not kind to women, especially in an ever-present climate that reinforces the phrase: "Out with the old and in with the new."

When I chatted with Rivers last May when she did her stand-up comedy show with old pal Don Rickles at the Rialto Square Theatre in Joliet, she emphasized just how tough it is make a living when it feels like the world is fighting against you.

She said it was her own determination and a positive attitude that have remained two of the keys to surviving any of life's crises.

In fact, one of Rivers' favorite comments about life is: "I hold a I.B.T.I.A. degree, which stands for 'I've Been Through It All.' "

"I started the entire concept of working the red carpet at award shows to talk about the fashions and the show-business buzz," Rivers said.

"Now, everyone's doing it, and it's just not the same."

Rivers, who was interviewed by Kathie Lee Gifford Wednesday on the "Today" show, uses a recreation of her "red carpet days" as the opening scenario for her new critically acclaimed one-woman stage show "Joan Rivers: A Work in Progress by a Life in Progress."

The play, which Rivers wrote, stars in as herself and has been promoting, launched in Los Angeles last month at the Geffen Playhouse.

It finished its trial run last weekend, and now it's headed for a run in England before returning for its New York premiere.

The play opens with Rivers in her dressing room preparing for one of her award show red-carpet gigs and then unfolds with her talking about the trials and tribulations of her personal life and the entertainment money machine.

In fact, Rivers spends much more time these days in New York rather than Los Angeles, a city that doesn't hold all pleasant memories, even though it was her surroundings when her career became, as she describes it, "white hot" at its peak.

Rivers, late husband Edgar Rosenberg and their daughter Melissa were all living what Rivers has described in her books as "the Beverly Hills life" when Rosenberg killed himself while away on business on the East Coast.

Los Angeles also is the scene where she had her much-publicized feud with the late Johnny Carson, when she was his permanent guest host on "The Tonight Show" before she tried her own failed late-night show launch for Barry Diller on the new Fox network in 1986.

Rivers told Gifford that while in Los Angeles working on her play, one of the things she missed most were her beloved dogs, who remained back in New York cared for by her personal assistant. She introduced one of her canine companions to "Today" audiences, a small 12-year-old Boston Terrier named Lulu, who had to have one of her hindlegs amputated in January because of cancer.

Viewers may have another chance to meet Lulu this weekend, when Rivers turns up on her television home for the past 18 years, QVC, the cable home-shopping network, where she'll share the latest new pieces in her popular Joan Rivers Classics Collection jewelry line from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, and 10 a.m. to noon, and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday. She's been known to bring her canine friends with her to the QVC set for program tapings.

And while I'm giving Joan this shout out, I also recommend checking out her funny and personal daily blog journals on her Web site at www.joanriversblog.com.

The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer. He can be reached at ppotempa@nwitimes.com or 219.852.4327.

celebBirthdays

Actor Harry Morgan ("Dragnet," "MASH") is 93. Actress Jane Kean ("The Jackie Gleason Show" and "Pete's Dragon") is 84. Actor Max von Sydow is 79. Actress Liz Sheridan ("Seinfeld") is 79. Actor Omar Sharif is 76. Sportscaster John Madden and singer Bobbie Smith of The Spinners are 72. Sportscaster Don Meredith is 70. Reggae artist Bunny Wailer is 61. Actor Steven Seagal is 57. Singer Terre Roche of The Roches is 55. Actor Peter MacNicol ("Numb3rs," "Ally McBeal") and actress Deborah Rush ("Strangers With Candy" and Broadway's "Noises Off") are 54. Bassist Steven Gustafson of 10,000 Maniacs is 51. Singer-producer Babyface is 50. Musician Brian Setzer is 49. Rapper Afrika Bambaataa and singer Katrina Leskanich of Katrina and the Waves are 48. Drummer Tim "Herb" Alexander of Primus is 43. Comedian Orlando Jones is 40. Singer Kenny

Lattimore and rapper Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest are 38. Blues singer Shemekia Copeland is 29. Actress Chyler Leigh ("Grey's Anatomy") is 26. Actor Ryan Merriman ("The Pretender") is 25. Singer-actress Mandy Moore is 24. Actor Haley Joel Osment ("The Sixth Sense") is 20.