ShareThisJoan Rivers is the author of "Murder on the Red Carpet" and "Men are Stupid ... And They Like Big Boobs." With a career that spans decades, the comedian, television personality and now author loves her life and her work. Two tomes -- one fiction, one nonfiction -- by Rivers are now available in bookstores. "Murder on the Red Carpet" is a mystery that she hopes to spin into a series. "Men are Stupid" is all about plastic surgery, something she knows a lot about from firsthand experience.
She also has her own jewelry line, which she sells on QVC The Shopping Channel, and is in the cast of NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice" with daughter Melissa.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q: What was the motivation to write "Murder on the Red Carpet"?
A: To be able to tell all the stories you can't tell or you'll get sued. I thought that it would be fun to do a murder on the carpet and see how it gets solved.
Q: But it's not like you have ever been shy about your opinions.
A: Well, you know, you really can't say what you really want to say. I've been careful, not careful, but this way you can say what you want to say and it's so much fun. I love the stories. I take you into a rehab place and backstage and into the Vanity Fair party and places people are very curious about.
Q: Did you write the other book, "Men Are Stupid ... And They Like Big Boobs," as a kind of self-help book?
A: It really should be called "Plastic Surgery for Dummies." It tells you everything you ever wanted to know. I interviewed over 25 doctors. It's very serious, it's very clinical, but done (in a way) not to scare you.
Q: Is there an age past which you should just forget about plastic surgery?
A: I think it is absolutely the person's choice. Plastic surgery should not be about what others think. It's what the person wants for themselves.
Q: Don't you think one of the things that concern people who might be considering plastic surgery is looking like you've been "done"?
A: Who cares if they like it? It is not about what you or I think. It really is about them looking in the mirror and liking themselves. I remember in high school a girl in my class got her nose done and you could tell when she was going to sneeze two weeks ahead of time. It was such a bad job, but she thought she was gorgeous and it changed her personality and her attitude toward herself. It changed her life. It was an amazing transformation.
Q: What about people under the microscope like celebrities who go under the knife and come out unrecognizable?
A: This is a business totally about beauty and we know it, and anyone who says it's not is a liar. It's about thin and beauty. Just look what comes down that red carpet at you! If you need chin, the way Marilyn Monroe did, she got a chin. This is not a new thing. Priscilla Presley went to a very bad doctor and admits it. She should have done much more detailed research.
Q: So you think it's better to just be up-front about having had surgery?
A: Oh, I think so. This goes back to women. You can talk all you want to about women's liberation and sisterhood. We are not telling each other what we don't want each other to know.
Q: Do you like watching yourself on television?
A: I never watch myself on television. I ran in and out of the room (for "Celebrity Apprentice") because I don't like watching myself on television. I don't like what I see. I get very self-conscious. I really watched Melissa.
Q: How about Melissa? Does she have these same insecurities?
A: Do you have a mother? You do exactly the opposite. I don't know how confident she is, but we dress totally differently. Our houses are totally different, which is good because she is very much her own person.
Q: You have so many things going on with the books, the standup ...
A: And "How'd you Get So Rich," which is a new show coming out in September on TV Land. It's about people who have made it in this economy. I can't wait for that. We started to film already.
(E-mail Patricia Sheridan at psheridan(at)post-gazette.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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