Private memorial service for Joan Rivers held at Temple Emanu-El
UPPER EAST SIDE (WABC) -- Mourners gathered in Manhattan Sunday for a star-studded memorial service remembering comedy legend Joan Rivers.
Howard Stern delivered the eulogy and Broadway singer-actress Audra McDonald sang "Smile" at the private service at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.
A men's choir singing Broadway hits kicked off the 10 a.m. ceremony before six-time Tony Award-winner McDonald sang her tribute to Rivers, a champion of theater for decades.
A legion of notables turned out to remember Rivers, who died Thursday at 81: Kathy Griffin, whose edgy, biting comedy career was largely made possible by Rivers; Sarah Jessica Parker, and Whoopie Goldberg.
Theater stars Bernadette Peters, Alan Cumming and Tommy Tune were there. Record producer Clive Davis arrived, too. Fashion designers Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors were there. Stars from TV such as Barbara Walters, Geraldo Rivera, Diane Sawyer, Kathie Lee, Hoda Kotb and Andy Cohen. And moguls Barry Diller, Donald Trump and Steve Forbes.
Tributes and reminiscences were delivered by TV anchor Deborah Norville, close friend Margie Stern, columnist Cindy Adams and Rivers' daughter, Melissa, who spoke about how she respected her mother and appreciated everyone's support.
"It was uplifting. We were celebrating her life," said fashion designer Dennis Basso.
Hugh Jackman sang "Quiet Please, There's A Lady On Stage" at the end of the ceremony and bagpipers from the New York City Police Department played on the streets as mourners filed out of Temple Emanu-El, many dabbing their eyes.
The funeral program included a page with three classic Rivers' lines printed out: "Can we talk?" ''Who are you wearing?" and "Because I'm a funny person."
Mourners lined up outside the Fifth Avenue synagogue and waited for their names to be checked against a list before entering.
In the hours before the funeral, barricades lined several blocks of 5th Avenue and a crowd of fans and media stood watch across the street.
Rivers died a week after going into cardiac arrest at an Upper East Side clinic. Eyewitness News has learned she was undergoing a diagnostic procedure to examine raspiness in her voice, and was under anesthesia.
The New York State Health Department is investigating the clnic, which is a source of comfort to her family.
Spokesman James O'Hare said the department is looking into "the whole matter," declining to discuss specifics.
Rivers, who broke down barriers with her take-no-prisoners brand of comedy, died Thursday afternoon at Mount Sinai Hospital.
Her daughter, Melissa Rivers, paused for just a moment to see the flowers fans had left at her door Friday, before getting on with the grim business at hand.
"What has the outpouring been like?" Eyewitness News asked.
"Humbling," Melissa Rivers said.
One word. It is all we heard from Melissa Rivers Friday, though some friends are talking.
"By the time I got to the hospital, she was in the medically induced coma," said Deborah Norville in an interview with ABC News for their 20/20 special.
Her close friend Deborah Norville said in an exclusive interview with ABC news that the star went into that Upper East Side clinic for a diagnostic procedure that wasn't to be at all dangerous.
"I personally am really grateful to the health department of New York for launching an investigation, and asking these questions so that that there will be answers. And so that Joan's family is not in the position of having to wonder or of having to drive the process. It's appropriate that the health department should do this," Norville said.
Indeed, the State Health Department is investigating the circumstances that lead to Rivers death, and has interviewed people Yorkville Endoscopy where she stopped breathing during that endoscopy.
TIMELINE
- 9:39 a.m. August 28 - Call to 911 from Yorkville Endoscopy came in.
- 9:46 a.m. August 28 - Paramedics and other first responders were on scene.
- 10:08 a.m. August 28 - Joan Rivers arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital. She was already on life support and her condition at the time, we are told, was near death.
- 1:14 p.m. September 4 - Rivers remained on life support until she was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital.
The Medical Examiners Office performed an autopsy, but they have more questions as well.
Melissa Rivers spent Saturday making arrangements for her mother's funeral and visited the funeral home that is making the arrangements.
The funeral was private, despite Rivers once famously saying she wanted to go out with a "showbiz affair."
"I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action," she said. "I want Craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene. I want it to be Hollywood all the way. I don't want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Street crying, in five different accents. I don't want a eulogy; I want Bobby Vinton to pick up my head and sing "Mr. Lonely." I want to look gorgeous, better dead than I do alive. I want to be buried in a Valentino gown, and I want Harry Winston to make me a toe tag. And I want a wind machine so that even in the casket my hair is blowing just like Beyonce's."
Ms. Rivers' assistants meanwhile ordered pizza for the media gathered outside her apartment, saying that is what Joan Rivers did when she was here and the paparazzi were hounding her.
During an illustrative career that last the five decades, she busted through the glass ceiling for female comics in a male-dominated industry.
About a month ago, Rivers tweeted that comedy is truth and we should not apologize for it. They are certainly words that spoke to her absolute fearlessness as a comedian.
Her New York roots gave her a fierce zest for getting laughs, from her own insecurities to the red carpet fashion that was so easy to target. Her final audience was the family members who gathered around her hospital bed.
Rivers was known for her raspy voice and penchant for plastic surgery, as well as for comeback after comeback, from standup to hosting talk shows to writing a dozen books. Rivers said she would never retire, that she would fight to the end.
A spokesperson for Yorkville Endoscopy released a statement saying, "HIPAA laws prevent us from disclosing any information about patients. In the event of an adverse incident,
(Some information from the Associated Press.)
Yorkville Endoscopy would promptly report to appropriate government and regulatory agencies and would proactively cooperate with any governmental review."
