To see a true, hardworking entertainment legend, one has to look no further than comedienne Joan Rivers. This funny lady came into her own at a time when stand-up comedy was male dominated, save for her predecessor, Phyllis Diller.

“Fortunately, I’m a lesbian,” she quipped. “It’s still male dominated, and stand-up is a very strong field, and that’s why so many lesbians – and I’m not making a joke – are so good at stand-up. It’s a very masculine, very butch field.”

Rivers is set to hit the stage Friday, June 22, at Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay.

The Gay & Lesbian Times chatted with Rivers about her career, plastic surgery and the celebs that will be caught in her comic crosshairs during her upcoming show. She addressed these subjects with typical Rivers aplomb and the acerbic tongue that has defined her public persona and career.

Although her career has definitely seen its share of ups and downs during her four-plus decades in the biz, Rivers has always been able to bounce back.

“I’m at one of the lowest points, yet again,” she said candidly. “I go up and down like a yo-yo in my career – up and down, up and down, up and down. And I just keep coming back because I love the business and I just keep moving forward. I think everything is almost like a test; nobody ever said it was going to be an easy ride.”

Fortunately for Rivers, there always seems to be steady work in celebrity bashing.

“Brad and Angelina 20 years ago were Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, and 20 years before that it was Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks Jr,” she said. “I mean, it repeats itself over and over and over. There will always be tramps! In the ’50s, there was Joan Collins; there’s always been a slut around.”

But one change to the industry doesn’t sit well with Rivers.

“The only trend which I don’t like is reality shows. I find them boring, and I find the people that become ‘stars’ out of them aren’t necessarily stars,” she lamented. “Star quality went away with high heels and dressing up. In the old days, a star looked like a star. Nowadays, I really don’t want to see a star pushing a stroller in cut-off jeans. A star should not look like Lindsay Lohan in a T-shirt with a hood. And there’s no glamour. Glamour is gone.”

And Rivers should know. She practically invented the red carpet query, “Who are you wearing?” Those words, however, may not be slipping out of her mouth anytime soon. Her latest stint covering red carpet events for the TV Guide Channel has come to an unceremonious end, with Rivers and her daughter, Melissa, being replaced by former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Lisa Rinna. Unfortunately, Rivers was not able to discuss anything about the parting of ways with the cable channel. Although she did state she has a “deal pending.”

Another thing that gets under Rivers’ skin is that she has not shied away from discussing her use of plastic surgery, yet, ironically, she is taken to task for doing so in a town obsessed with youth and appearance.

“It’s ridiculous because they have all done it. When ‘Ugly Betty’ [star America Ferrera] won her Emmy last year, and she stood there and said, ‘This is for all of the girls that have inner beauty and that’s what counts,’ none of the women [in the audience] could cry because they’ve all been so Botoxed!” she said. “And it made me laugh because they were all applauding. Why are you all applauding? You’ve got fake breasts, fake faces, fake everything – and you’re all going, ‘That’s right, that’s right, inner beauty!’ It’s a business of looks and, of course, everybody does anything and everything to make themselves look better. That’s what it’s about. But the hypocrisy of [them] saying, ‘I’ve done nothing,’ makes me laugh. But they all do it. Show me a woman over 60 who doesn’t have jowls and she’s a liar when she says she’s done nothing.”

As far as her own experience with improving her outward appearance, Rivers had this to say.

“I’ve only had two [surgeries], and everyone thinks I’ve had 175 because I am the only one who talks about it. And it’s funny, the only ones who talk about it are comediennes. Goldie Hawn talks about it. Carol Burnett talks about it. I talk about it. I guess it’s just the ones that realize that we have more than that to offer.”

With her pedigree in talk shows, starting with guest hosting “The Tonight Show” in the ’80s, which she parlayed into two “can we talk” vehicles for herself (“The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers” and “The Joan Rivers Show”), one has to wonder if Rivers would have an interest in filling Rosie O’Donnell’s seat on the morning gab fest, “The View”?

“I’m on the short list, but I really don’t think they need two little old ladies. They’ve already got Barbara,” she joked. “I think that Rosie was a breath of fresh air for “The View,” and I think they were foolish not to make a better deal and keep her.”

Even if entertaining the morning masses doesn’t materialize for Rivers, there is another type of audience that she is always happy to see at her shows, and that is a gay one. And you can bet there will be more than a few “family members” in attendance at her upcoming show in San Diego, a fact that pleases the comedienne.

“I think they just like strong women who are very upfront,” she said of her gay audience. “They usually get everything. I always want my gays in front, and I always say, ‘If you’re gay, get in front!’ Because 60 gay men in an audience and you’re set. It’s just neat and you’re going to have fun, and that’s really the truth.”

Humphrey’s Concerts by the Bay is located at 2241 Shelter Island Drive. For tickets, visit www.humphreysconcerts.com