Joan Rivers Had 65,000 Jokes in Her Card Catalog

Today marks the 90th birthday of the late, great Joan Rivers. This morning, in recognition of the date, Rivers’ daughter Melissa announced that the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York will be the new home of Rivers’ legendary "joke file," a cabinet full of written cards containing every original joke Rivers ever wrote — all 65,0000 of them.

Throughout her 60-year career, Rivers was one of comedy's most diligent archivists, chronicling every crack she ever made, ranging from her bits on the stages of Second City in the 1950s to her brief inaugural run on her own late-night talk show in the late 1980s. Now, those carefully crafted cards will find a permanent home alongside numerous relics from another pioneer, Lucille Ball, in the museum established in Ball's hometown.

"I am so honored that my mother's archives will have a home at the National Comedy Center," Melissa Rivers stated. "To be included with the legends of comedy who are represented at the National Comedy Center is amazing. My mother would have been thrilled to be seated at the best table." More than that, I think she would have been thrilled to see what everyone else at the table was wearing.