I am a 59-year-old stand-up comedian. I am female. I am Jewish. I am a mother. I don’t have a vast selection of shoulders to stand on when it comes to my livelihood, but all you need is one set.
And that set belongs to Joan Rivers. Joan was the funniest. She broke down barriers. She advocated for free speech. She spoke truth to power. She never said no to anything. And perhaps, most importantly, she NEVER gave up – even at her nadir.
In a Vanity Fair interview about her documentary A Piece of Work when asked about how she deals with rejection, she definitively replied, “Move forward.” She went on, “I give myself a 24-hour pity party, and then I just move on.” Conceivably, this is why Joan was never more relevant than when she tragically died at 81.
I think about Joan daily as I sit at my desk trying to write, create, and as this sometimes-cruel business requires – reinvent myself. I once told Joan, “I wouldn’t be here without you.” She replied, “Oh baloney! I did nothing. You are funny. That’s all that matters.” But Joan mattered, and for me she still does – every single day.
Judy Gold is an American stand-up comedian, actress, podcaster, television writer, author, producer. and winner of two Emmy Awards. www.judygold.com
