'As A Woman, I Went Up Against Him': Joan Rivers & Johnny Carson's One-Sided Feud, Explained

It's possible that many of the people who watch HBO's "Hacks," starring the amazing Jean Smart, aren't aware of the show's true origins (and if you are aware, it is likely time to schedule a colonoscopy). Believe it or not, the hit series takes a lot of its cues from the life of Joan Rivers. Both Deborah Vance in "Hacks" and Rivers ran QVC lines, lived a lavish life, and, most importantly, dreamed of having their own late-night talk show.

For Rivers, the dream came true two decades after first appearing on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," which she would return to many times. She was given her very own show on Fox, which was, at the time, a quirky and immature broadcast station that seemed destined for failure before "Married... With Children" became a controversial hit. "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers" debuted on October 9, 1986, and would end her decades-long friendship with Johnny Carson.

Rivers, who also feuded with Michelle Obama, started off as a New York comedian and auditioned for "The Tonight Show" seven times before the show finally booked her. "But they didn't bring me on as a stand-up comic," Rivers explained in an essay for the Hollywood Reporter. "They brought me on as a funny girl writer. I'm the only stand-up that never did a stand-up routine on the Carson show." Still, Carson recognized Rivers' talent and had her on regularly.

In time, Rivers became one of the regular fill-in hosts for the show when Carson went on vacation. In 1983, she was named the main guest host, ultimately hosting the show more than 80 times. According to her Hollywood Reporter piece, when Rivers was offered her own show, "The first person I called was Johnny, and he hung up on me — and never, ever spoke to me again. And then denied that I called him."

As "The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers" prepared to make its debut, word spread that Johnny Carson was upset, and the press played it as if Carson was the one being wronged. Carson's wife, Joanne Copeland, told The Los Angeles Times, "With Joan it's all career. Johnny's different." Carson's spokesperson, Jim Mahoney, gave Carson the credit for Rivers' success, telling The Washington Post, "He put her on the show and gave her her biggest break. This is a shabby way of doing things."

Rivers was banned from the show, while David Brenner, another "Tonight Show" regular who got his own talk show in 1986, was welcomed back a year later. To Rivers, the reason was clear, writing in the Hollywood Reporter, "He didn't like that as a woman, I went up against him."

"The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers" ended on May 15, 1987. For her final show, Rivers had Howie Mandel, Pee Wee Herman, punk rocker Wendy O. Williams, and Chris Rock as her guests. Together, they destroyed the set, covering it with shaving cream and toilet paper. It seemed like Rivers' career was over, but her outside-the-box thinking saved it.

Rivers began to sell her own fashion line on QVC, which, as she told the Staten Island Advance (via Forbes), "In those days, only dead celebrities went on [QVC]." The move worked, though, and her line became a billion dollar business. In 1994 she hosted E!'s Academy Awards preshow and became infamous for her cutting jabs about the styles the celebrities wore. Finally, in 2014, Rivers returned to "The Tonight Show" when, Jimmy Fallon invited her for his first night as host. Tragically, Rivers would die later that year while undergoing a plastic surgery procedure.