Stars rally round Joan Rivers after health scare

Comedienne Joan Rivers (R) and her daughter Melissa Rivers. Picture: Getty

Melissa Rivers said in a statement today that her mother was “receiving the best treatment and care possible.”

She also thanked Rivers’ fans and friends for their support.

“My mother would be so touched by the tributes and prayers that we have received from around the world,” Melissa Rivers said. “Her condition remains serious. We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts as we pray for her recovery.”

New York City police said she was taken to the hospital just after 9.30 am on Thursday. It was unclear why she was visiting the doctor’s.

A comedian with a half-century of showbusiness under her belt, she has spawned a reputation for snarky red carpet fashion commentary.

A show she had scheduled today at the Count Basie Theatre in New Jersey, has been postponed.

An early and outspoken proponent of cosmetic surgery, Rivers’ drastically altered her appearance over the years - and found plenty of material for jokes.

“I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware”, is the collection of Rivers, who looks far younger than her 81 years.

The host of Fashion Police on E! network, Rivers also presides over an online talk show, In Bed With Joan and co-stars with her daughter on the WEtv reality show, Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?

Her latest book, Diary of a Mad Diva, was released this summer.

The New York native originally entered showbusiness with the dream of a theatrical career, but comedy became a way to pay the bills while she auditioned for acting roles.

“Somebody said, `You can make six dollars standing up in a club,”’ she told said in 2013, “and I said, `Here I go!’ It was better than typing all day.”

After proving herself in comedy clubs as a rarity at the time - a woman comedian - Rivers was a smash on her first booking on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in 1965. “God, you’re funny,” Carson told her.