Tragedy to comedy, 'Everything is copy'

 

“My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be comic stories the next.” – Nora Ephron

Ephron, born in May of 1941, was a journalist, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, director, and blogger born into a family of writers.  She popularized the term "Everything is copy" when asked where she got her writing ideas.  

 

Ephron's parents were both writers, and she was the first of 4 sisters to follow the profession.  One of her three marriages was to Washington Post writer Carl Bernstein - with who she had two sons (one, Jacob, also becoming a writer).   Ephron died from pneumonia in 2012, a complication brought on by leukemia. 

 

A three-time Academy Award nomineee for her writing of Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally, and Sleepless in Seattle, she won numerous writing awards in many different genres.  And for When Harry Met Sally, had there had been an award for best original scene, she probably would have taken that home too.  It depicts an elderly woman sitting in a restaurant watching Sally and telling the waitress “I’ll have what she’s having.”   If you haven’t seen it, take a look on You Tube to brighten your day.

 

“I try to write parts for women that are complicated and interesting,” Ephron said.  “Just as women actually are.”