Melissa Rivers has revealed how a twist of fate prevented a collection of her late mother's greatest treasures from being lost in the recent LA fires that destroyed her home in the Pacific Palisades.
The 56-year-old said Joan Rivers' priceless joke catalog was collected from the property just a few months before the fire broke out.
“The jokes and key archival pieces were fortunately picked up for a national comedy center about two and a half to three months ago,” the Group Text podcast host told People.
The filing cabinet where the materials were kept contained approximately 65,000 original jokes used by the iconic comedian and television host during her 64-year career.
Joan died due to complications during outpatient throat surgery in 2014. She was 81 years old.
Other items belonging to the former Fashion Police star, including her clothes, have been auctioned off over the years in support of the late comedian's favorite charity, God's Love We Deliver, which provides food to those suffering from serious illness and not can cook for themselves.
Melissa Rivers, 56, has revealed that the catalog of her late mother Joan Rivers' jokes was collected from her property just a few months before the LA fires destroyed her Pacific Palisades home
Melissa said Joan Rivers' priceless joke catalog was collected from the building just a few months before the fire broke out. (Pictured in Los Angeles in July 2013)
Joan's jewelry, Melissa reports, was stored in a safe at a bank, which she assumes was built to withstand fire.
Speaking about the loss of her home, Rivers, who is engaged to Steve Mitchel, said: “When we say we lost everything, you can't get that until you see the video.”
“It's not just my life, it's my son Cooper's.”
Rivers shares Cooper, 24, with her ex-husband John Endicott. “We were both only children, and everything is just gone,” she said, adding that it was surreal to see her entire life in three LL Bean boat bins.
The Joy actress previously shared that she was able to snag her mother's Emmy award before fleeing her home.
“We're all doing our best,” she told the publication.
'Cooper is made of the same tough stuff as I am. And we all lean on each other and deal with it.”
Her biggest regret is the loss of bathrobes that belonged to her mother and her late father, Edgar Rosenberg, but she was able to keep a photo of her father, who died in 1987.
“I had her bathrobe and my dad's bathrobe… I lost the only three things of theirs that I kept in the house because they reminded me so much of them,” she said.
Melissa previously revealed that she was able to save Joan's Emmy, revealing that she was able to escape with a photo of her later father, Edgar Rosenberg. (Joan pictured in Los Angeles in March 2006)
Rivers said she and her fiancé, Steve Mitchel, lost everything in the Palisades fire. “It's just all gone,” she said, adding that it was surreal to see her entire life sitting in three LL Bean booties (pictured in Beverly Hills in May 2024)
Rivers has found temporary housing, but is unsure when she and other community members will be able to rebuild and return.
“I mean, I can't even imagine what it's going to look like a year from now,” she said.
'The shops are gone. It was a complete decimation of an entire city. I keep thinking about all these people who owned stores or worked in the stores. Some of them have not only lost their homes, but also their livelihoods.
The former Joan & Melissa: Joan Know Best? The star has been dealing with checking in on friends and relying on humor to cope with the loss. “It's my superpower,” she explained, “I'm my parents' daughter.”
The Palisades Fire alone destroyed approximately 5,300 structures
