Lunch Break Video: Joan Rivers hosting “The Tonight Show” in the 1980s

Before she began interviewing celebrities on thew red carpet or hawking jewelry on QVC, Joan Rivers was best-known for her many appearances on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.

By the early 80s, she was named Johnny’s permanent guest host and those were my favorite weeks during that era of the show. Joan still looked like Joan, had great material and was terrific at conducting interviews.

Here are a few clips from that period which ended in mid-1986 when J0an got her own late-night show on FOX which infuriated Carson who never spoke to her again.