Queen of Comedy Joy Behar Celebrates 20 Years on 'The View'

The View’s beloved co-host, Sag Harborite Joy Behar celebrated two decades starring on the ABC talk show this past Thursday. Behar’s co-stars, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Meghan McCain and Abby Huntsman christened the day “20 Years of Joy,” paying tribute to her career both on the show and at a celebratory lunch afterward.

A touching video was shown on the November 29 episode of The View, encapsulating Behar’s 20 years on the show, including nostalgic memories, backstage snapshots and celebrity interviews. The View Twitter account also posted several clips and photos from her reign as queen of the morning talk show.

THIS MORNING: We’re celebrating @JoyVBehar‘s 20 years on @TheView! ???? pic.twitter.com/6Cwv9DJVyv

— The View (@TheView) November 29, 2018

ABC7NY reports that lunch was served at Manhattan’s Café Fiorello on the Upper West Side, where friends including, Regis Philbin and Alan Alda, gathered to celebrate the anniversary. The lunch was filled with lots of laughs and gratitude as Behar was gifted with a plaque to mark her 20 years as co-host.

As the last remaining host from The View’s original lineup, Behar’s sharp wit and biting political comedy have been a constant throughout the show’s history. Philbin admires the comedienne, saying, “Nobody’s writing it for her, she knows where the laugh is and she goes for it. And she gets it.”

Qualities such as these are what Behar is best known and loved for, and she’s become an expert at poking fun at serious topics without diminishing their importance, as expertly displayed during her panel at the 2018 Dan’s Papers Literary Festival and Awards Ceremony. Behar explains, “You have to cut through the seriousness of a conversation. I think that’s my role. It was my role in the family when Aunt Rose would yell at Uncle Joe and my mother and father would start fighting, I’d just say something to cut, cut the tension.”