Boy have I got a treat for you. As you know, every week I interview someone with a new book out for the Iain Dale Book Club podcast. Well, sometimes we pull one out of the LBC archive, and that's what we've done this week.
Back in October 2012 I interviewed the wonderful Joan Rivers, less than two years before her death at the age of 81. She had recently published a book called I Hate Everyone, Starting With Me. In all honesty, it was a pretty terrible book, but I knew she'd be a brilliant interviewee. Given her tendency to be outrageous we decided it might be safest to pre-record (!) but she was absolutely charming. I don’t mind admitting I was petrified. Little old me interviewing a comic legend. Who’d have thought?
I needn’t have worried. My strategy of letting Joan be Joan worked liked a treat. I just teed up the lines for her and off she went.
Joan Rivers blazed a trail for female comedians both in the US and the UK. I found her humour cheek-achingly funny. Yes, she could be cruel and acid tongued and I think that kind of humour came as a shock to a lot of Americans who were more used to the likes of Bob Hope.
She was also multi-talented. She wasn’t just a stand-up comedian, she could turn her hand to a lot of other things. You don’t get to report from the red carpet at the Oscars if you’re not good. She was also a great talk-show host. She knew that in that format, it wasn’t all about her.
Joan Rivers is a legend, and that legend will live on through her humour. Do enjoy this podcast. I promise you won't be disappointed.
You can download it from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts or on the Global Player App, or wherever you get your podcasts from.
