Nora Ephron passed away yesterday from complications related to Leukemia. She was 71. Ms. Ephron will be mostly remembered for her success in the Romantic Comedy genre thanks to the brilliant When Harry Met Sally … (1989), and others like Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and You’ve Got Mail (1998). That description would be selling her talents short.
Born to two screenwriter parents, Ephron’s career included time spent as a reporter, essayist, novelist, screenwriter, playwright, and film director. She was a famed humorist 
and described by her friends as very generous with her time and advice, and clearly a confident person as she succeeded in a male-dominated industry. She was thrice-married: to novelist/screenwriter Dan Greenburg, to Watergate investigative reporter Carl Bernstein, and for the past 20 years to writer Nicholas Pileggi (pictured left, known for Goodfellas, Casino). It was well known within the film industry that Ephron was often asked to help fine tune scripts … and she always refused screen credit. She was especially likely to offer career guidance and assistance to women trying to make it in the business. Katie Goodman wrote a blog entry just yesterday discussing Ephron’s recent generosity to her.
Her film career is what made her famous and When Harry Met Sally … was her crowning achievement. The script is brilliant and insightfully captured the male/female struggle with friendship vs. relationship. She worked closely with director Rob Reiner and the actors Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan to ensure we could relate to the ongoing struggles of these two everyday people. The script was one of the three Oscar nominations she received.
Ephron wrote the screenplay for Silkwood (1983) and it remains one of her most underrated efforts. Based on a powerful, true story, it’s a film I highly recommend almost 30 years later and is another example of how she was attracted to strong women – both real and imagined. I have always had a bit of a problem with Ephron’s next two biggest hits. Sleepless in Seattle was really an updated version of An Affair to Remember (1957) and You’ve Got Mail was a re-working of The Shop Around the Corner (1940). Proper credit was never really given to the original works. Her directing career never really matched her writing success, but her final film Julie & Julia (2009) was well made and captured Ephron’s lifelong love of food … which she often wrote about in her essays.
So when you hear the name Nora Ephron, remember that she was more than queen of the Rom-Com. She was a multi-talented, creative and generous woman who influenced the life and career of many others.
In what may be her best written sequence – the last 5 minutes of When Harry Met Sally … – she captures the essence of male and female psyche. If you have never seen the film, make a point to. If you have seen it, re-visit those glorious last 5 minutes:
Movie Reviews from the Dark 
Favorite. Movie. Ever. We danced to “It Had to Be You” at our wedding, and I can’t tell you how many times hubby quotes the “love how you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out” line. Ms. Ephron was indeed brilliant with this movie.
Sandy, it’s always nice when a movie finds a special place in “real” life.