Officials: Joan Rivers hospitalized after cardiac arrest

NEW YORK – Joan Rivers was hospitalized Thursday after she was rushed from a doctor’s office when she went into cardiac arrest, police and hospital officials said.

In a statement, Melissa Rivers said her mother was “resting comfortably” with family. She did not elaborate on the 81-year-old comedian’s condition.

“We ask that you continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayers,” Melissa Rivers said. She offered thanks for the “overwhelming love and support for my mother.”

New York City police officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to publicly name Rivers, said she was taken to the hospital just after 9:30 a.m. Thursday. It was unclear why she was visiting the doctor’s office.

The entertainer has logged a half-century in show business and gave rise to red carpet commentary – and the snarky criticism that often accompanies it. She continues to maintain a busy schedule and was to perform a show today at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey. That show was postponed because of her hospitalization.

Rivers spoke at an event at Time Inc. in New York on Wednesday night and appeared healthy, practically jogging when she walked in to take her seat, said Shira Blum, an online project manager.