During the 1980s and 1990s , Rivers served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute . A friend of Nancy and President Ronald Reagan , Rivers attended a state dinner in 1983 , and later , at the invitation of Nancy , spoke at a luncheon at the 1984 Republican National Convention . In 1984 , Rivers published a best-selling humor book , '' The Life and Hard Times of Heidi Abramowitz '' , a mock memoir of her brassy , loose comedy character , which was mostly jokes about promiscuity - of a type that would have been considered unacceptable even in burlesque a generation earlier . A television special based on the character , a mock tribute called '' Joan Rivers and Friends Salute Heidi Abramowitz , '' later aired on Showtime . She later wrote her next book , '' Enter Talking '' , which was released in 1986 , and described her rise to stardom and the evolution of her comedic persona
1984 Republican National Convention
1984 Republican National Convention
Joan Rivers