Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/297393
Yes, Carson banned me from The Tonight Show. I had the ner ve when my cont ract was up—the nerve—to go off and do my own show, which, by t he way, Cosby had done, Ca rlin had done, David Brenner had done. Everybody did it, but because I was a woman, he just didn't think I would ever leave the show. So how did it feel when you stepped back onto that stage for the first time in so long? It was very emotional because they put me in the orig inal dressing room, but the hot water still didn't work. [Laughs] It was amazing, but it was also by coincidence 49 years to the day that I had first walked on the Tonight Show stage—February 17th, which my agent told me. I didn't even real- ize t hat. It wa s rea lly g reat , a nd t hen Jim my inv ited me to come on. K nockout moment — knockout moment. That's great. What do you think of Jimmy? Wouldn't it be funny now if I said, "Oh, garbage! Oh my God"? [Laughs] I said this the first time I did The Late Late Show with him: He is so right for the job, he is so adorable, he is still a fan, he is so talented in so many ways, he's a big throw- back to Ca rson—he ca n do sk it s, he ca n play instruments.... He's terrific. Sea son 4 of your rea lit y show Joan and Melissa is currently airing. What has that experience been like, opening your life up to the cameras like that? Oh, it's been so easy. A fter t he K a rdashia ns, anything goes. It's been great because I get to live in Melissa's house with her half the week, so t hat 's ter r if ic—w it h [my g ra ndson] Cooper. Melissa's not quite a s happy because I keep redecorating, but I am beyond happy. It's a ter- rific season. We've just done ever yt hing from making a porn tape to auditioning zombies in Melissa's house, which is the final episode. How would you describe your relat ion- ship wit h Melissa? You t wo have worked together so much. She's very upset because she just found out she's not adopted. Really threw her. No, we do very well. Every time we have a big fight, though, I just strip naked and say, "One day, you're going to look like this," and that just kills her. We're very lucky. We have a very good mother-daugh- ter relationship. Of course we argue—we're very strong women. She's the executive producer of Fashion Police, she's the costar of Joan Knows Best, she's on my Internet show, In Bed with Joan.... We work toget her, a nd we have dif ferences, a nd we're a mother and daughter, so you have differ- ences over that. And she gets upset when I bring sa ilors home — she hates when I come to get a condom. [Laughs] Speaking of In Bed with Joan, what gave you the inspiration for that show? I just love to interview people, and I love to get stuff out of them that others don't. Ever ything now is a two-minute interview, or a one-minute inter v iew, a nd when t hey go on Fallon or Letterman or Jimmy Kimmel, they're always plug- ging something—everyone's got an agenda. I just wanted to get people to sit in bed in a tiny room, and they're very relaxed because they're in bed. If you look at where we shoot it, you know no one is watching, so they tell me a lot more than they would tell automatically. I've had great people on—Kathy [Griffin], Nick Kroll.... I had Margaret Cho give me a recipe for dog. I mean, that's great. And of course, Fashion Police has been huge. My da rling Fashion Police —it 's so much f un.… The nice thing is we all still really like each other. George [Kotsiopoulos] is terrific—he knows fash- ion and he has fun. Giuliana [Rancic] is smart and clever; she's great. And Kelly [Osbourne]— my darling Kelly—is a whole different generation with a whole different viewpoint. You're also an author, and you've got a new book coming out in July, Diary of a Mad Diva. What was the inspiration behind that book? My editor sa id, "You need a not her book." I wanted to do a continuation of my book that was on the best-seller list, I Hate Everyone... Starting with Me, and she said, "Continuations don't do " I'm tired of you people saying, 'We're not New York.' F--- New York. Chicago is a great city, so shut up, and you got a beach." —JOAN RIVERS At her Comedy Central roast, with Kathy Griffin. Kimora Lee Simmons, Kelly Osbourne, Jenny Packham, Joan Rivers, George Kotsiopoulos, and Melissa Rivers on the set of Fashion Police. In her Second City days, with Avery Schreiber and Bill Alton. PHOTOGRAPHY BY KEVIN WINTER/GETTY IMAGES (GRIFFIN); ANDREW H. WALKER/GETTY IMAGES FOR MERCEDES-BENZ FASHION WEEK (FASHION POLICE ); COURTESY OF SECOND CITY (SECOND CITY) MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 131 128-133_MA_FEAT_CS_May/June_14.indd 131 4/14/14 1:34 PM