(tiffany) ask yourself what your children or cigarettes. for as long as i can remember, my mother smoked. she died from lung cancer when i was 16. i could not take the chance of continuing smoking and not being here for my daughter. i know how much i needed my mom still, and i didn t realize it until i had lost her. you can quit. for free help, call 1-800-quit-now.
the day will come, and yes, melissa, everything still is in your name. i want my funeral to be, to be a huge show biz affair with lights and cameras and action. reporter: she died thursday afternoon surrounded by family at new york s mt. sinai hospital. her daughter melissa rivers releasing a statement that reads in part, my mother s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. although that is difficult to do right now, i know her final wish would be that we return to laughing soon. just hours earlier we learned the new york state department of health is investigating this outpatient clinic where rivers went into cardiac arrest last week during a routine procedure. no evidence of wrongdoing, the medical examiner is doing a separate investigation. the emmy winning and tony nominated comedienne brought more than 50 years of entertainment to her fans. she was just one of a kind. and i don t think there s going to be another one like her in a long time.
so full of life. so full of jokes. amber s outfit is almost as tacky as amber s seat was when she got up at the end of the show. reporter: still making people laugh. the iconic, groundbreaking and often controversial comic who managed to remain relevant for a half century, died less than a week after being rushed by an ambulance to mt. sinai hospital in new york city. she suffered cardiac arrest during throat surgery at an outpatient clinic and never regained consciousness. daughter melissa broke the news of her mother s passing to the world in a heartfelt statement. my mother s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. although that is difficult to do right now. she was nowhere near done. for decades she entertained us. can we talk? reporter: with that signature line. can we talk? can we talk? reporter: a woman who spent literally a lifetime performing from her start in stand-up.
i ve been reading so much about joan rivers. you kind of forget how hard she worked to get to where she is. always a funny woman. one quote that struck me is, my whole career has been one big rejection after another. going back and back and pushing against everyone and everything. she is a very funny woman. it is a friday, but a sad friday because of the loss of joan rivers. that is where we will begin this half hour, the loss of another hollywood luminary. after going into cardiac arrest last week, joan rivers has died at the age of 81. for five decades she reigned as the queen of caustic comedy. rising from the ranks of nightclubs to television to international fame. and now there s an investigation into her death. abc s mara schiavocampo begins our coverage. reporter: joan rivers only child daughter melissa broke the news of her mother s death. sharing that my mother s greatest joy in life was to make people laugh. although that is difficult to do right now, i know her fin
i want a wind machine so strong that even in the casket, my hair will be blowing more than beyonce s on stage. and we ll see on sunday if her wish comes true. that clip from her audio book published two years ago titled i hate everyone starting with me. and stay with abc news as the remembrances for joan rivers come in. in just a few moments comments from rivers about her greatest disappointments and how she stayed busy until the end. that s later in this half hour. look forward to that. now to a developing story. a flight from washington to beijing diverted for an unusual reason. the fbi said a mother who was aboard the flight was attempting to kidnap her child and asked the pilot to turn back. it s part of a custody battle. the united jet returned to dulles five hours after it took off. the child was reunited with his father. the mother is in custody and due in court today. an american missionary infected with ebola is expected in nebraska later today. dr. rick sacra contra