this is "nightline" -- >> tonight, joan rivers' final moments. as the investigation into her death gets under way, new details from her long-time friend, deborah norville, about that last procedure. >> shouldn't have happened. shouldn't have happened. >> worth an estimated $150 million and going strong on "fashion police." >> these two on the red carpet, go back to the trailer park. >> the world remembers a comic legend, who showed no signs of slowing down. >> this is what my career has come to. the white snake that stalked los angeles. but can killer cobras actually be tamed? we're tracking down the snake charmers of india.

♪ to uncover their secrets. but first, "the nightline five." >> this is connolly. cameron, zach. >> serious hair ball issue. >> we clean it up. and turn around and there it is again. it's scary. >> underneath the kitchen table. underneath my work desk. what is that? it's the swiffer sweep per. >> it sucks in all of the dog hair. >> i would pick up after other dogs. >> really?

good evening. and thanks for joining us. tonight, new details emerging about joan rivers during her

last days. and even final minutes. now, as her daughter, melissa, prepares for the funeral and loved ones remember the comedic legend, some are now questioning exactly what happened during what was supposed to be a routine procedure. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: the procedure that ended joan rivers' life at this outpatient clinic, was not another round of plastic surgery. nor was it a treatment for anything life-threatening. according to family friends, it was routine stuff. a diagnostic procedure to treat her raspy voice. >> this wasn't to fix anything. it was to get in there and see why her voice has gotten raspy. >> reporter: among those last to see her alive was deborah norville, a close friend for 20 years. >> shouldn't have happened. >> reporter: rivers was under general anesthesia when she went into cardiac arest.

the staff called 911 by 9:41 a.m. they rushed her mt. sinai medical center, arriving at 10:08. she was on life support. >> by the time i got up to the hospital, she was in this medically-induced coma, which is the standard medical protocol for someone who has gone through a period during which the brain may have been deprived of oxygen. >> reporter: the tv anchor, norville, among a small group of family and friends, holding rivers' hand in the intensive care unit. and cracking jokes. >> she wouldn't want to be -- that would be horrible. she would kick you out. and i had thought about being -- if she would punch me. >> reporter: this was not your typical sendoff. typical didn't fit joan rivers. >> joan did it her way. joan has this -- had this -- it's hard to talk in the past tense about her, i'll be honest

with you. this was not an 81-year-old woman who was on the verge of dementia or something. this was an 81-year-old woman who was running circles around people a third of her age. >> these two on the red carpet, who is back at the trailer park making the nest? >> reporter: 81 still going strong as a performer. >> it's ugly. >> reporter: skewering celebrities on "fashion police" just two weeks ago. >> i hate it. something to wash the [ bleep ] off my car. >> there was every reason to hope this would be a different outcome because joan was so vibrant. because joan's mind is so sharp. >> every day around the united states, thousands of people who are over age 80 are getting anesthesia safely. and so, the fact that she died having anesthesia is an unusual event for someone of that age. >> reporter: the new york state health department is investigating, as a matter of

course. >> if someone dies in a setting where you don't expect there to be a death, a simple outpatient procedure, it's not at all unusual to conduct an investigation. you want to see, was it a procedure that they should have been doing at that clinic? and was it done based on the current standard of care? >> i'm personally really grateful to the health department of new york for launching an investigation and asking these questions, so there will be answers. >> reporter: today, the yorkville clinic reseriesed a statement, saying they have an exceptional safety record, that far exceeds the national average. >> this clinic may have done everything, single thing correctly. and still, a rare event could happen that could lead to death. >> reporter: rivers' only child, her daughter, melissa, was by her side in the icu. and today, was making funeral arrangements. >> what's the outpouring been like? >> humbling. >> reporter: the two were very close. and worked side-by-side for

years. >> in the last week, when joan went into the hospital, i believe that one of the reasons we have become so fascinated by the story and so invested in joan's health is because of melissa. we know so much about the relationship. we know about melissa. we're concerned about melissa. it's very easy for people in the public to put yourself in melissa's place. >> reporter: joan's career spanned five decades. the details of her life on display in her comedy. >> i'm sit tong stool that's covered in barf. >> reporter: and in the documentary, "joan rivers: a piece of work." >> i was never a natural beauty. no man has ever, ever told me i'm beautiful. >> reporter: she was famous for her work ethic. still doing the standup circuit, late into her 70s. >> so, you all saw the golden globes, yes? oh, please. how boring can you get? >> reporter: and it paid off.

she lived lavishly in this antiques-filled apartment just off new york's fifth avenue. the apartment, worth close to $30 million. >> i live very, very, very well. i enjoy my creature comforts. and i know i have to work for it. >> reporter: but her career had plenty of ups and downs. at one point, she was close to financial ruin. >> after those years, i was fired from fox. fired from fox. my husband committed suicide. my husband invested all our money. and it was all lost. and i couldn't -- i couldn't get a rest. it was a terrible year. a terrible year. >> and the winner is -- >> reporter: she clawed her way back to the top with an emmy-winning daytime talk show. >> two years ago, i couldn't get a job in this business. >> reporter: and by winning "celebrity apprentice." >> joan, congratulations. >> reporter: she became the qvc queen, selling 1.2 million

items. >> it's our number one beauty product. >> reporter: all with her trademark brand of mockery. >> this is as subtle as a tobasco enema. >> reporter: tonight, her c co-host giuliana rancic, remembered her wit. >> she loved the jokes. they were great jokes that people were going to laugh at. she didn't phone it in. she cared so much about her craft. it was beautiful to see. >> reporter: she was a powerful brand. as the documentary film shows, she was generous with her staff. >> most people that work with me, their children, i send the children to private schools. >> reporter: family friend, ricky stern, correct directed "a piece of work." >> there's a moment in the film where she's writing checks. stacks of checks that go to pay for people's education. things that no one ever really talked about. so, she had to be business smart. >> she was as successful as a

businesswoman because she was really smart. and because i think she wanted to work so much that she looked for opportunity. money was important to her. she wanted to provide for her family. she wanted to live well. >> reporter: the private memorial service will be held sunday at manhattan's temple emanuel. the house, sure to be packed. outside her apartment, wreaths of flowers from fans. her friends say she would have loved this kind of attention. >> yesterday, everybody came home to the apartment. and i was speaking to one of the people in the group. and i said, how was it? was there a ton of paparazzi. she said, it was awful. i said, you know, it's a testament to how big joan was. and she said, yeah. you know, the awful thing is, the one person who would think this is fabulous isn't here to enjoy it. >> reporter: altogether, the sort of ending that rivers herself could have easily found

some humor in. a snarky joke, perhaps at her own expense. >> oh, it's the next-to-last show. who gives a [ bleep ]? i never made a [ bleep ] in this place. >> it was part of her act, you know? if you ever saw her show, when she would get into the part when she talked about being 81 and blah, blah, blah. she joked about the night before she died. >> reporter: her family and friends like to think that somewhere, she must be having the last laugh. i'm david wright, for "nightline," in new york. next, these snakes have venom. but they've also got moves. can they really be tamed?y get , they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country,

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venomous vipers are rarely a welcome sight. but tonight, you're going to meet a group of people who claim they can handle it. snake charmers appear to control cobras so deadly, that just one bite can be lethal. we sent our gloria riviera, to face her fears and find their secrets. >> reporter: it was the snake that stalked los angeles. a killer albino cobra on the loose, terrifying neighbors. >> a terrifying experience. >> i think it's a cobra. >> reporter: its bite so deadly, it can kill within an hour. last night, the snake finally captured. where it came from, still a history. hollywood has a long tradition of being afraid of snakes. from indiana jones' worst nightmare. >> snakes. why did it have to be snakes?

>> reporter: to the enemies that nearly finished samuel jackson off on "snakes on a plane." >> we have to put a barrier between us and the snake. >> reporter: why on earth would we travel all the way to india, to come face-to-face with this. a cobra so deadly, one bite and you're done. in india, snakes aren't reviled, they're revered. icons in their religion. we're looking for their modern-day keepers, the charmers. men able to hypetize these creatures in a dance. we're going to a snake charmer village. their art, they're a marginalized community. hi. gloria. hi. we meet shiva, a man helping snake charmers survive. not easy. the wildlife protection act of

1972, banned owning a snake. snake charming, viewed as inhumane. but he says the men he knows, treat the snakes like family. before we go on, there's just one thing. like indy, i also hate snakes. >> i told you it would be all right. >> reporter: i need to be prepared for how big these things are. which is a small problem because shiva is taking me to meet men who live with cobras. getting on the motorcycle to head out and meet the snake charmers and the snakes. if you're in india, you have to ride on a motorcycle. good idea. when we reach mondi, it's quiet. almost deserted. this is an illegal community. they're not supposed to be here. but they have no other option. nowhere to go. like gypsies, snake charmers today live in fringe colonies.

we're going to talk to one of the guys that agreed to show us. thank you. we meet a snake charmer who tells us, god blessed his family with the ability to charm snakes. you're taking that out right now? he's taking the snake out right now. should i stay right here? me, now off the bed, he said he caught this one just ten days ago. he's been feeding it milk and chicken. he says cobras are actually quite shy animals. only attacking when provoked. when they do bite, their fangs deliver a deadly toxin from their venom gland. just then, unfazed, he says he has a medicine that neutralizes the poison. but i'm not so sure. >> the poison won't go inside your body. >> reporter: has he ever been bitten?

>> so many times. >> reporter: so many times you've been bitten? i wouldn't mind a stash of that medicine myself. but before i can ask, he proves his point. oh. definitely don't do that. wow. wow. wow. heading out to meet more snakes, great, i'm starting to wonder if there's more to this. even the children here don't bat an eyelash. that's me hiding behind a toddler, we see what has captivated audiences for centuries. this killer cobra, swaying to the music, in a tranquil dance. just briefly, i'm as beguiled as the snake swaying to music. that is, until i talk to this guy. >> the music is really for you. this is not -- >> reporter: wait a minute.

what? turns out cobras are essentially deaf. snake charming, a sham. >> and the pipe is to get the snake to look up. >> reporter: this is the co-founder of wildlife s.o.s. he's been rallying against snake charmers for years. it's not the music, he says. >> look at his knee. can you see his knee moving? that's what is keeping the snake engrossed. >> reporter: and that deadly venom, not so much. right there, the venom is gone? >> absolutely. >> reporter: wish i had known that earlier. >> they get bitten and they get killed. >> reporter: snake charmers remove the fangs and often, the venom glands. a painfully inprecise procedure that can kill the snake. >> you see that depression. that's where the venom gland would have kept it.

no snake charmer will ever have a cobra that is not defanged. that does not have the venom glands intact. it does not happen. >> reporter: as for the medicine the snake charmer claimed he had on-hand, he says that's highly unlikely. you look at this and in two seconds, you said this is not close to truth. >> absolutely. >> reporter: i was the most gullible tourist in deli. he tries to rescue as many cobras as he can, convincing some charmers to turn in their flutes and help him. in the village, shiva is trying to educate the next generation, so they have options. >> reporter: snakes are beautiful. and you're not afraid at all? i'm afraid. i'm afraid. for now, snake charming is still their family business. for "nightline," gloria riviera. >> congrats to gloria for making it through that story. we'll be right back.

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and finally tonight,

remember the texas state senator that became the national sensation in pink sneakers. wendy davis brought a filibuster that lasted 11 hours. it's no surprise her new memoir is called "forgetting to be afraid." now, the controversial senator is running for governor of texas, speaking out to us about her political battles. abc's robin roberts has all of the details monday on "good morning america." thanks for watching abc news. as always, we're online at abcnews.com. have a great weekend.

♪ good morning, usher! hey! did you know bees communicate through dance? me too... we're practically twins!