Joan Rivers, legendary comedianne, dies at 81

After being in the hospital for cardiac arrest last week, Emmy-winning comedian Joan Rivers died today in New York.

She was 81.

“It is with great sadness that I announce the death of my mother, Joan Rivers,” Melissa Rivers said in a statement.

“She passed peacefully at 1:17 PM surrounded by family and close friends.”

During a minor endoscopic procedure last Thursday to check her vocal cords at an Upper East Side clinic, Rivers stopped breathing and was rushed to Mount Sinai, where she was put into a medically induced coma.

Yesterday, she was moved from intensive care to a private room at the Manhattan hospital.

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