Screenwriter Nora Ephron Is 'Gravely Ill'

'When Harry Met Sally ... ' and 'Sleepless In Seattle' writer is not expected to survive the night, TMZ reports.
By Josh Wigler

Nora Ephron
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Nora Ephron, the writer of iconic romantic comedies "When Harry Met Sally ... " and "Sleepless in Seattle" among other hit films, is reportedly "gravely ill" and "not expected to make it through the night."

TMZ reports that family members are currently telling close friends of the writer/director "there is little hope that [Ephron] will recover from her current condition." The nature of her illness is not currently known, though it's been reported that Ephron is suffering from leukemia.

Word of Ephron's condition first hit the Internet on Tuesday (June 26) by way of an article published by journalist Liz Smith, a close friend of the legendary Hollywood screenwriter. In the column, Smith writes about Ephron as though she has already passed away, praising her friend's "grave" and "unexpected" humor.

"She never gave the answer I expected to anything. She was grave in her humor, which made it deadly, unexpected, truly funny and dauntingly intelligent," wrote Smith. "She seemed never to want or expect anything, while always demanding the best from the rest of us. She was — always — right and somehow left the smartest, most ambitious and silliest of us in the dust at her feet."

Shortly after publication of Smith's column, Ephron's former close friend Margo Howard wrote on Twitter: "A very accomplished writer died. Nora Ephron, from cancer."

Ephron's publisher Knopf later told The New York Times that Ephron is "still alive," according to a tweet from Times writer Julie Bosman. Knopf rep Elizabeth Lindsay said as much in a statement to the Atlantic Wire: "It's pretty critical. She's not doing well, but she's certainly alive ... The report she has passed away is not correct."

Stay tuned to MTV News for further updates on Ephron's condition.

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