By now, the unfortunate news confirming the death of comedienne Joan Rivers has begun to sink in. There has been an enormous outpouring of love and support for the witty 81-year-old. Rivers made her mark in fashion, television, and theater for over 50 years, so it came as a surprise that Broadway Theater executives were hesitant to dim their lights for the late star.

According to USA Today, Broadway League executive director Charlotte St. Martin said, “Under our criteria people need to have been very active recently in the theater, or else be synonymous with Broadway – people who made their careers here, or kept it up."

She also added that Rivers had not been active on Broadway for almost 20 years. Fortunately, Rivers’ inactivity on Broadway did not diminish the reputation of her work; Rivers took part in three Broadway plays and had written two of her own early in her career.

Although the latter part of Rivers’ career was spent on our television screens every Friday night for E!’s hit show Fashion Police, the Broadway community has banded together to pay their last respects. Jordan Roth, owner of Jujamcyn Theaters, who currently has Kinky Boots and several other plays in production, tweeted that he would in fact dim the lights of all five productions at 6:45 p.m. on Tuesday as his last respect to Rivers.

His tweet on Monday night set off a chain-reaction, leading to Rock of Ages and Aladdin signing on to dim their lights. Fortunately, the amount of love and respect Joan Rivers has received over the past week has led to a reverse in Martin’s decision, now the Broadway theater community will be able to honor Rivers collectively.

Rivers is often remembered for her quick-witted jokes and lively personality, however, her passion for theater did not go unnoticed. Joan Rivers has left behind a daughter, Melissa Rivers, and grandson Cooper. According to CBS News Melissa Rivers said, "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."

Photo Courtesy of: Roger Wong/INFphoto.com