The When Harry Met Sally screenwriter passed away in a New York hospital on
Tuesday evening from pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia.
Billy Crystal, who starred opposite Meg Ryan the classic rom-com said: "I
am very sad to learn of Nora's passing. She was a brilliant writer and
humorist.
"Being her Harry to Meg's Sally will always have a special place in my
heart. I was very lucky to get to say her words."
Nicole Kidman commented: "She was so smart, warm and funny. I am so
grateful that she was my friend and we had the opportunity to work together.
Nicole Kidman, who worked with her on Bewitched, said: "She was so smart,
warm and funny. I am so grateful that she was my friend and we had the
opportunity to work together.
Meryl Streep, who collaborated with Nora on Silkwood, Heartburn and more
recently Julie and Julia, said: "Nora just looked at every situation
and cocked her head and thought: 'Hmmmm, how can I make this more fun?'
"You could call on her for anything: doctors, restaurants, recipes,
speeches, or just a few jokes, and we all did it, constantly. She was an
expert in all the departments of living well."
Nora, who was nominated for three Oscars, began her career as a journalist and
moved into screenwriting in the 1980s, penning Silkwood, which starred Meryl
and Jack Nicholson.
Her second marriage, to Watergate journalist Carl Bernstein, produced two
sons, Jacob and Max, but ended when she discovered his affair with British
politician Margaret Jay, the daughter of James Callaghan.
She used the break up as the basis for her novel Heartburn whcih became a hit
movie in 1986.
In 1992, she made her directorial debut with This Is My Life, written with her
sister Delia, before taking the helm for the Tom Hanks rom-com Sleepless in
Seattle.
The actor said in a tribute: "Nora Ephron was a journalist/artist who
knew what was important to know: how things really worked, what was
worthwhile, who was fascinating and why.
"At a dinner table and on a film set she lifted us all with wisdom and
wit mixed with love for us and love for life."
