Joan Rivers To Host New Orleans Comedy Show

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — When comedian Joan Rivers thought her New York apartment was haunted about 15 years ago, she called on New Orleans voodoo priestess Sallie Ann Glassman to perform a "spiritual cleansing" of the brownstone.

Glassman says the pair became friends during that meeting, at which Glassman wore a flowing white gown and chased off the disturbing spirits in a night of rituals.

Rivers says Glassman's efforts worked.

Next month, the comedian is heading to New Orleans to return the favor.

The sharp-tongued Rivers will host two standup shows benefiting Glassman's New Orleans Healing Center — an incubator for about two dozen businesses and organizations focused on what Glassman describes as the "environmental, spiritual, economic, cultural, emotional and physical healing of New Orleans" after Hurricane Katrina.

Both shows are sold out.