Joan Rivers

US actress and comedian Phyllis Diller -- who in the 1960s helped pave the way for female comics in Hollywood -- died Monday at her Los Angeles home at age 95, her manager told AFP.

Comedian Joan Rivers is thrilled with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper's announcement that he is gay. Comedian Joan Rivers is thrilled with CNN anchor Anderson Cooper's announcement that he is gay. The 45-year-old Cooper discussed his sexual orientation for the first time in a lengthy e-mail published Monday on Andrew Sullivan's blog The Dish, which is hosted by The Daily Beast. ?The fact is, I'm gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn't be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud,? Cooper wrote. ?I am thrilled that Anderson Cooper finally came out,? Rivers, 79, told The Huffington Post, ?because this explains why he never tried to date me. I saw him as the perfect package. I would have loved Gloria Vanderbilt as a mother-in-law. This explains everything.? Rivers also made a joke about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' divorce: ?She gets to keep the mansions and Tom gets the clothes!? Cooper, who had long been rumored to be gay, received support for coming out from Ellen DeG

Comedian Joan Rivers has taken a swipe at Fox's musical-comedy 'Glee'. Comedian Joan Rivers has taken a swipe at Fox's musical-comedy Glee. The 78-year-old Rivers knocks how the show portrays gay students in her upcoming book I Hate Everybody ? Starting with Me. Glee's numerous gay characters has earned it the nickname ?The gayest show on television.? The show includes a gay male couple (played by Darren Criss and Chris Colfer), a lesbian couple (Naya Rivera and Heather Morris), a formerly closeted football player (Max Adler) and a transgender student (Alex Newell). Other secondary characters are also gay, such as Rachel Berry's (Lea Michele) two dads. Rivers took aim at the show, saying it wasn't based on reality. ?You know that cute Asian boy who plays a freshman? In real life he's a thirty-year-old man and he's upside down on a mortgage in Burbank,? Rivers wrote. ?The only way Lea Michele is in high school is if she's part of some bizarre religious cult and she's come back to school

Comedian Joan Rivers has said she doesn't 'give a shit' if people think her Chaz Bono remarks are transphobic. Comedian Joan Rivers has said she doesn't ?give a shit? if people think her Chaz Bono remarks are transphobic, The Huffington Post reported. During the season 2 debut of WE tv's Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, Rivers dismisses her daughter's concerns over a cosmetic procedure by saying she's not going in for ?a Chaz Bono.? The 42-year-old Bono's gender reassignment surgery was chronicled in the Emmy-nominated documentary Becoming Chaz. A follow up film, Being Chaz, focused on his now-ended 6-year relationship with Jennifer Elia and the controversy that surrounded his appearance on ABC's Dancing with the Stars. (Related: Chaz Bono tells Rolling Stone he's saving for more surgery.) ?We all need to just relax,? Rivers told The Huffington Post at the show's New York premiere party. ?Is Chaz happy? Yes. Did Cher pay for it? Yes. Move on!? Responding to claims her remarks might be

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Comedy elite like David Letterman, Eddie Murphy, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Will Ferrell, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Louis C.K. turned out for last year's inaugural Comedy Central "Comedy Awards," and the network has announced the show will return to New York in 2012.

Adam Lambert, Ricky Martin, Tyra Banks and Ellen DeGeneres are among the celebrities expressing support for gay teens on Spirit Day. ?Adam Lambert, Ricky Martin, Tyra Banks and Ellen DeGeneres are among the celebrities expressing support for gay teens on Spirit Day, the day set aside to remember troubled gay teens who have been bullied to death. The 39-year-old Martin turned his Twitter profile picture purple, then tweeted to his more than 4 million followers: ?End anti-LGBT bullying ? wear purple & make your profile pic purple for #SpiritDay 10/20.? ?Join me 2show ur support 4 the LGBT community on #SpiritDay ? Oct 20! Change ur profile pic 2 one w/fierce purple!? talk show host Tyra Banks messaged. According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which organizes the event, purple will also be visible on television. The hosts of The Talk and The View, Wendy Williams, Craig Ferguson, Regis Philbin & Kelly Ripa, Conan O'Brien, Ellen DeGeneres, Tyra Banks and Dr. Drew

Ellen DeGeneres, Serene Williams, John Stamos, Joan Rivers, Cheyenne Jackson, Don Lemon and Pauley Perrette on 9/11. Ellen DeGeneres, Serene Williams, John Stamos, Joan Rivers, Cheyenne Jackson, Don Lemon and Pauley Perrette tweeted on the tenth anniversary of 9/11. Singer Sam Harris, who married his husband Danny Jacobsen in 2008, wrote on Facebook: ?Thinking about 10 years ago. I was to take a flight, and make my official move, to LA from NY on Sept 11th, and changed my flight to the 10th as I had finished working on Liza?s [Minnelli] segments of the Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary show. On this day, my phone rang and rang at the crack of dawn. It was Liza saying 'they?re bombing NY' and I turned on the TV and watched the world change forever. Danny was stuck in Las Vegas. Wherever I live, NY is the home in my heart. Our hearts are heavy today.? Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres tweeted: ?Ten years ago today, the world changed. I hope everyone finds time to remember those we lost... an

JAMESTOWN, New York (Reuters) - More than 900 red-lipsticked, redheaded women -- and men -- gathered near a "Vitameatavegamin" sign in the hometown of "I Love Lucy" star Lucille Ball to mark her 100th birthday on Saturday with a world record for most Lucy look-alikes.

JAMESTOWN, New York (Reuters) - More than 900 red-lipsticked, redheaded women -- and men -- gathered near a "Vitameatavegamin" sign in the hometown of "I Love Lucy" star Lucille Ball to mark her 100th birthday over the weekend, setting a world record for most Lucy look-alikes.

BUFFALO, New York (Reuters) - "I Love Lucy" star Lucille Ball's New York hometown will be filled with red-lipsticked, redheaded lookalikes on Saturday to try to break a world record in honor of what would have been the actress' 100th birthday.

Lucy Liu, Whoopi Goldberg, Joan Rivers and Ethan Hawke featured in the final New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign. Actors Ethan Hawke, Lucy Liu and Whoopi Goldberg are among the celebrities featured in the final Human Rights Campaign's (HRC) New Yorkers for Marriage Equality campaign. ?Everyone should have the right to marry the person they love,? says hip-hop mogul and gay rights ally Russell Simmons in the one-minute-thirty-nine-second video released Tuesday. ?Fair is fair,? comedian Joan Rivers says. ?I treat everyone the way I expect to be treated and that includes marriage,? says New York Rangers winger Sean Avery, the first professional athlete to join the campaign. Avery was later joined by Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash and former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan. ?Come on, I'm a New Yorker, you're a New Yorker, I support marriage equality, where are you?? Goldberg says. ?Because government shouldn't tell you who to love or who to marry,? says New York M

Reacting to fellow comedian Tracy Morgan's anti-gay rant and subsequent apology, Joan Rivers joked he's lost his gay fan. Reacting to fellow comedian Tracy Morgan's anti-gay rant and subsequent apology, Joan Rivers joked he's lost his only gay fan. ?Gay fans? What are they doing seeing him anyhow? Why aren't they watching me and Kathy Griffin? What are they doing at his show?? Rivers told The Daily Beast. She then joked, ?He's lost his gay fan.? In a routine delivered last weekend in Nashville, Morgan, the star of NBC's 30 Rock, condoned anti-gay bullying and said he would stab his son to death if he found out he was gay. On Monday, the 42-year-old Morgan agreed to meet with troubled LGBT youth from the Ali Forney Center in New York City and committed to participate in GLAAD's upcoming Amplify Your Voice video campaign to combat anti-LGBT bullying. He'll also return to Nashville with hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons to make a public statement in support of gay rights. Several celebrities,

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Joan Rivers, the host of E!'s "Fashion Police" and WE's "Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?," lets loose on Charlie Sheen's "Torpedo of Truth" tour and other hot topics.

Comedian Joan Rivers has praised her large gay following. Comedian Joan Rivers has praised her large gay following. In an interview with Los Angeles-based gay weekly Frontiers in LA, Rivers said gays were the first ?to laugh at me.? When asked, ?Joan, you have such a strong fanbase among the gays. What is your take on why that is?? Rivers answered: ?Because I think gay men are brighter and smarter and more open, and they always ? even in the beginning ? got my comedy. I remember the first one to say, 'she's funny.'? The 77-year-old Rivers added: ?The first ones in Greenwich Village to laugh at me were the gays.? Rivers, who won Donald Trump's Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, recently backed down a bit on her advice that gay actors should remain closeted. ?Yes. You are supposed to be a heartthrob, and you want the little teenage girls' hearts to go pitter-patter. That's what brings in the money. You know what? Let them stay in the closet and send big checks to AIDS research. Let them come

Comedian Joan Rivers has recorded a video urging New Yorkers to support the legalization of gay marriage . Comedian Joan Rivers has recorded a video urging New Yorkers to support the legalization of gay marriage. ?I'm Joan Rivers and I'm a native New Yorker and I totally support marriage equality,? Rivers says in the video. ?What is it?? she then asks. ?Only kidding,? she adds, and then, with an exaggerated look of indifference, she says, ?Do what you want, I got my own problems.? (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.) The 77-year-old entertainer, a strong ally for gay rights, raised eyebrows last year when she said gay actors who play romantic leads should not reveal their sexuality. Rivers' ad is part of an ongoing campaign that features prominent celebrities and politicians. The campaign, backed by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest gay advocate, has previously featured singer-songwriter Moby, actresses Fran Drescher and Julianne Moore, fashion d

Comedienne Joan Rivers has backed down a bit on her advice that gay stars should remain closeted. ?Comedienne Joan Rivers has backed down a bit on her advice that gay stars should remain closeted. The 2009 Celebrity Apprentice winner insisted last year that gay celebrities should not reveal their sexuality because it could damage their career. ?If you're going to be a romantic idol and try to get every teenage girl to love you, then you'd be an ass to come out and say you're gay,? the outspoken comedienne told gay glossy The Advocate last year. Rivers called Ricky Martin's decision to come out gay after making his wealth ?so smart.? ?He did what he did, made his millions, and then he said, 'Guess what, everybody? I'm gay, I'm having this life, and here are my children.' It didn't matter anymore because he didn't have to bring in 16-year-old girls,? she said. In a new interview with the same publication, Rivers backed down a bit. ?Yes. You are supposed to be a heartthrob, and you want t

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson and singers Dionne Warwick and Meat Loaf are among the cast of the new season of "The Celebrity Apprentice", NBC announced on Friday.

Toni Braxton to star in reality series on TV's WE network. Toni Braxton is the latest celebrity to open her home to reality television cameras.

Oprah Winfrey's entry into the market followed closely by other networks aimed at women. One advantage Oprah Winfrey might have in establishing an identity for her new television network is that many of her competitors are in the same situation, even if they've been around for a while.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Americans would invite comedian Ellen DeGeneres to a holiday party, take a vacation with actor George Clooney and ask first lady Michelle Obama to decorate their Christmas tree, a survey released on Thursday suggests.