The comedic legend Joan Rivers has been honored by the late-show genre which defined so much of her 50-year career. From Jimmy Kimmel through to Conan O’Brien, host after host paid tribute to Rivers’ work, sharp tongue and outrageous humor. The performer died on Thursday night, aged 81, from complications due to throat surgery. It was just this year, Rivers made her late-night comeback with Jimmy Fallon on NBC’s The Tonight Show after a 28-year ban. In 1986, her mentor and then- The Tonight Show host Johnny Carson famously didn’t speak to her again after he discovered she was going out on her own.
