The legendary Joan Rivers, though no longer with us, continues to be remembered as a relentless force in the world of comedy — a woman whose work ethic, sharp wit, and unapologetic humour set her apart in a male-dominated industry. As highlighted in NBC’s Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute, the special aims to honour her unmatched legacy by showcasing just how tireless and brilliant she truly was. Rivers wasn’t simply telling jokes — she was constantly crafting, refining, and fearlessly delivering punchline after punchline, always pushing boundaries and redefining what it meant to be a female comedian. Known for her razor-sharp tongue and unfiltered honesty, she never stopped working, writing, and performing — and she documented everything. In fact, Rivers famously kept detailed records of her jokes, proof of a mind that never switched off and a career built not on luck, but on sheer determination and comedic genius. Her influence remains as powerful today as ever.
The trailblazing comedian, famous for her razor-sharp wit and unabashed humor, curated an archive of over 70,000 original jokes and punchlines throughout her illustrious career. That’s right — her collection of jokes span from the start of her career in the ’50s to her passing in 2014. The cabinet is a comedic time capsule spanning decades, offering an unrivaled glimpse into the mind of a comedy genius.
And make no mistake; this is no haphazard pile of punchlines. Rivers’ joke collection is a meticulously organized system housed in several file cabinets. Each time a joke popped into Rivers’ head, she’d write it down on an index card and file it away based on category. From hysterical jokes about aging to barbed jabs about celebrities, Rivers’ entire comedic career can be explored within that cabinet.
Years later, many of those jokes still hit, a testament to Rivers’ timeless charm and hysterical instincts. Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute revisits Rivers’ legendary cabinet of jokes as a dynamite lineup of comedians honor a pioneer who forever changed the comedic game.
Melissa Rivers says Joan Rivers preserved “72,000” different jokes
Joan Rivers attends the Tie The Knot Spring Collection launch hosted by Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Justin Mikita and Thetiebar.com at Avenue on February 27, 2013. Photo: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Tie the Knot
Ahead of the NBC special, Rivers’ daughter Melissa stopped by TODAY to reveal that, despite her mother’s unfortunate yet obvious absence at the tribute, Rivers remained the funniest person in the room thanks to her jaw-dropping collection of cackle-worthy one-liners. As the TODAY co-anchors chatted about celebrating the comedic icon, they were keen to learn how the NBC special weaves in some of Rivers’ own material.
“I hear there’s a file cabinet full of like 70,000 jokes,” Dylan Dreyer marveled.
“Yeah, I think it’s 72 [thousand],” Melissa confirmed.
“Have you actually read all 72,000 jokes?” Dreyer asked.
“Um, No. Because I don’t hate myself,” Melissa teased. “You know, I’m not like the walking repository, but it’s exciting because it is all now moved to the National Comedy Center.”
While the file cabinets were formerly housed in Rivers’ home office, the incredible collection has since been moved to the National Comedy Center for intellectual and academic purposes, a notion Rivers’ daughter finds entertainingly “bizarre.”
“Well, look, the history of comedy can’t be written without your mom being part of it,” Al Roker said, adding that despite the years, Rivers’ impact in entertainment remains “a cultural touchstone.”
Jimmy Fallon has one of Joan Rivers’ joke cards framed in his dressing room
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During a May 2025 appearance on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon revealed that he has one of Rivers’ joke cards hanging in his dressing room — and showed the audience how he has it framed. And it’s a joke that her daughter had no idea existed.
“After she passed, you said something that she actually had a joke on Tony Danza,” Melissa said on The Tonight Show, adding that she found the card and sent it to Fallon.
“And I have it hanging in my dressing room. I took it off the wall just to show everybody. I look at this every day,” Fallon said while holding Rivers’ joke. “This says, ‘Wouldn’t it be a major letdown to find out Tony Danza is Irish?'”
Joan Rivers’ joke cabinet was organized by categories
Joan Rivers onstage during the “Roast of Joan Rivers” at on July 26, 2009. Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
The National Comedy Center’s website gives us some insight into the contents of Rivers’ massive joke archive, which runs the gamut of comedic subjects. Famous for her prolific nature, the entertainment icon wrote jokes about virtually anything and everything. For example, Rivers’ archive of jokes includes 564 jokes filed under “Parents Hated Me (see: NOT WANTED),” 300 jokes centered around “STEWARDESSES,” and another category simply called “28 AND SINGLE (see: WEDDINGS).”
In the “COOKING” section, Rivers included a punchline from a famous Ed Sullivan set: “If the Lord wanted me to cook, I’d have aluminum hands. These hands were meant to hold charge cards.”
Those interested in exploring Rivers’ extensive body of work can visit the National Comedy Center, which is debuting an interactive Joan Rivers exhibit in its Jamestown, New York galleries sometime in 2025. According to the website, “the exhibit will offer a deep dive into the artistic process of a culture-shifting innovator whose singular body of work exemplifies extraordinary craftsmanship and professional resilience.”
But those who can’t visit the National Comedy Center exhibit are in luck because Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute is shining a spotlight on some of the biggest hits from the archive. Rivers is sorely missed, but her spirit lives on in the thousands of punchlines and jokes she so carefully preserved.
How to watch Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute
Joan Rivers: A Dead Funny All-Star Tribute airs on Tuesday, May 13 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, and will be available to stream the next day on Peacock.
“This tribute is everything my mother would have wanted — hilarious, unfiltered, and filled with people she respected (and roasted),” Melissa Rivers said. “And as usual, she was still the funniest person in the room. It’s incredibly moving to see so many iconic comedians come together to celebrate her legacy, especially the women whose careers she helped make possible by breaking down so many doors. I know she’d be thrilled to see how far things have come, and she’d still have notes.”
