Stand-up comedy has become a pillar of popular culture in the late twentieth century. Among the pioneers of contemporary stand-up was Joan Rivers, whose bold, bitchy, self-deprecating humor broke new ground for women comics. Like Lenny Bruce, whose outrageous routines set the tone for a wave of new comedy in the 1960s, Rivers' bravura flew in the face of acceptable female behavior and paved the way for future generations of tough-talking, straight-shooting comediennes.

The daughter of a successful doctor and his hardworking wife, Joan Molinsky was born on June 8, 1933, in Brooklyn, New York. A smart girl, Rivers' grades were good enough to get her into competitive Barnard College. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in English, Joan ended up working as a publicist at Lord & Taylor. But her dream was to become an actress, and so she auditioned for agents all over...