

Joan Rivers admitted in 1985 that she suffered from heart arrhythmias, which causes the heart to beat irregularly. The 81-year-old comedienne passed away on Sept. 4 after she went into cardiac arrest during a routine surgery. In the interview, Joan confessed to Joan Lunden that the condition “scared the hell of out her.”
Joan was fully open to the Good Morning America co-host in 1985 about her heart arrhythmias. The comedienne explained that every so often she would hear a “tha-thump” on stage that made her worry.
When Joan Lunden asked if the condition scared her, Joan first remarked with a joke before getting serious.
“Well, that I hear anything from my chest scares me because there’s nothing down there,” she joked.
After a pause, she continued, “It scares the hell out of me.”
Joan also revealed that going under for plastic surgery or something similar could cause the heart to “go out of kilter,” but she stressed that she’s always “very careful.”
This interview definitely sheds some light on what may or may not have caused Joan’s untimely death.
The New York City medical examiner’s office announced on Sept. 5 that the Fashion Police co-host’s autopsy results were “inconclusive,” and that more tests needed to be run.
Before her death, Joan outlined exactly what she wanted for her funeral in her 2012 book, I Hate Everyone…Starting with Me. In the book, she detailed that she wanted lights, cameras, action and Meryl Streep.
“I want my funeral to be a huge showbiz affair with lights, cameras, action,” she wrote, according to E! “I want Craft services, I want paparazzi and I want publicists making a scene! I want it to be Hollywood all the way.”
Joan continued, ”I don’t want some rabbi rambling on; I want Meryl Streep crying, in five different accents.”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.”
Well, Joan may be getting her wish. Melissa wants to make it all happen and she will have a red carpet at her funeral in New York City on Sept. 7 at Temple Emanu-El. Joan’s friends and family will walk the carpet before it is buried alongside Joan.
Our thoughts and prayers continue to go out to Joan’s family and friends during this difficult time.
— Avery Thompson