Rivers Mourns Dog's Death

Comedienne JOAN RIVERS tried to save her dying dog by taking inspiration from the BURT LANCASTER movie ELMER GANTRY.

Rivers was convinced she could save her beloved pet pooch, LuLu, after watching the 1960 movie, where Lancaster plays a salesmen trying to sell religion to America in the 1920s.

But her efforts were to no avail.

She explains, "When we were alone in the apartment I spent 10 minutes laying on hands the way healers do. I would touch LuLu and say 'heal' and 'feel the heat'.

"I must have looked like a total loony toon but I just watched the movie Elmer Gantry and I figured that if Burt Lancaster could do it, so could I."