Joan Rivers Dead at 81

"It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers," Melissa Rivers said in a written statement today. "She passed peacefully at 1:17 p.m. surrounded by family and close friends. My son and I would like to thank the doctors, nurses, and staff of Mount Sinai Hospital for the amazing care they provided for my mother. My mother’s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. Although that is difficult to do right now, I know her final wish would be that we return to laughing too.”

Joan Rivers was in New York City having surgery on August 28th when she suffered cardiac arrest. She was rushed to the hospital, where she arrived unconscious and doctors kept her sedated. On Sept. 2nd, Joan's daughter, Melissa, revealed that she had been placed on life support.

The New York Daily News reports that it seems Joan's daughter Melissa had to make the difficult decision to remove her mother from life support at the Mount Sinai Hospital eight days after she was admitted.

Joan Rivers, originally named Joan Alexandra Molinsky  was born on June 8, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. She was the youngest of two girls. Her father was a doctor who was said to have had a great personality.

Joan attended Barnard College, where she studied performance and eventually landed in some small plays, including one in which she played opposite a then unknown Barbara Streisand. Joan wasn't meant to act and she recognized that and focused on comedy.

Joan's big break came in 1965 when she was booked on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and became an instant sensation.

CNN reports the outpatient clinic where Joan was undergoing a procedure and stopped breathing is now under investigation as told to them by  New York State Department of Health, spokesman James O'Hara.

Joan is survived by her daughter, Melissa who joined in on her red-carpet fashion interviews and reviews and was her producer on the weekly YouTube series In Bed With Joan. Joan is also survived by her grandson, 13-year-old Cooper Endicott.