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Joan Rivers, Forever Making Trouble

Joan Rivers at Musto's 25th Anniversary, New York City, 2010.
Courtesy of David Shankbone/Wikimedia.

I began writing this blogpost by typing, "When someone like Joan Rivers dies..."

Then I quickly backspaced. Joan would have been furious with me: someone like Joan Rivers? "Please", she'd say, "there's never been anyone like me." 

Joan Rivers was an original: relentlessly hardworking, wildly competitive, resilient, and hilarious. We learned that firsthand when JWA filmed Joan for Making Trouble, a 2007 documentary about Jewish women comedians. Making Trouble tells the stories of the comedic legends who changed the rules, and features original footage of Joan Rivers speaking and performing. 

Here, exclusively, are some clips from Making Trouble that really capture Joan's spirit. We at JWA hope you enjoy them! 

First up, Joan and her writing partner Treva Silverman on her early jokes:

Joan has some choice words for Sarah Silverman and the red carpet:

Joan on aging and shocking her Jewish audiences:

 

 

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Before you close this article, please consider supporting the Jewish Women’s Archive and uplifting Jewish women’s voices.  

At JWA, we preserve the voices of Jewish women and gender-expansive people past and present, share them freely with millions online, and empower a new generation of Jewish feminists to lead with courage, creativity, and conviction. 

But none of this happens without you. JWA is an independent nonprofit— we rely on people, like you, who believe that history belongs to all of us and that the voices of Jewish women must remain powerful, and heard. 

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Judith Rosenbaum, CEO

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How to cite this page

Metal, Tara. "Joan Rivers, Forever Making Trouble." 12 September 2014. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on June 15, 2026) <https://qa.jwa.org/blog/joan-rivers-always-making-trouble>.