Ribbon Cut On Joan Rivers’ Legendary Joke File Exhibit At National Comedy Center

Members of Joan Rivers’ team and National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson cut the ribbon on the exhibit about Rivers’ legendary joke file (August 9, 2025)

Members of Joan Rivers’ team joined National Comedy Center officials in cutting the ribbon on exhibit that feature’s the late comedian’s legendary joke file.

Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson said the collection of nearly 70,000 original jokes was created by Rivers and meticulously organized into hundreds of categories,  “There are 390 about New York, 538 about quote ‘guys she dated,’ 989 about politics, and 1,434 jokes about aging. But this exhibit is more than about one-liners. It’s about an artist who learned to thrive within a society and an industry that was not designed to support women with opinions or microphones.”

Originally installed in her home office, the file reflects Rivers’ precise craftsmanship, sharp wit, and tireless dedication to refining her material over the course of seven decades, from her earliest handwritten jokes through 2014.

Visitors to the museum can view original joke cards from the file up close and even browse through a curated set on their own, offering a rare opportunity to experience Rivers’ comedic process exactly as she crafted it – one card, one punchline at a time.

Joan Rivers headlined the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in 2011 during Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday celebration. This was also the year the concept of a national museum and archive for comedy was first introduced. Rivers’ daughter, Melissa, participated in the groundbreaking ceremony for the National Comedy Center in 2015.

The Joan Rivers Joke File joins the National Comedy Center’s permanent collection of over 150,000 artifacts, documents, and recordings from comedy’s most significant artists, including Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz, George Carlin, Carl Reiner, Richard Pryor, Johnny Carson, The Smothers Brothers, Lenny Bruce, Don Rickles as well as the creative minds behind Saturday Night Live, In Living Color, Laugh-In, and many more.