Eppie Lederer
Eppie Lederer | |
---|---|
Ann Landers | |
Alma mater | Morningside College |
Occupation(s) | Personal advice columnist, author, radio host |
Spouse | |
Children | Margo Howard |
Relatives | Pauline Phillips (twin sister) |
Esther Pauline "Eppie" Lederer (née Friedman; July 4, 1918 – June 22, 2002), better known by the
Lederer was a profile-raiser for several medical charities, and in 1977 President Jimmy Carter appointed her to a six-year term on a cancer advisory board.
Early life and relationship with sister Pauline
Born in
During Lederer's career writing the Ann Landers column, her sister wrote a similar personal advice column,
Marriage and family life
Eppie and Popo were married to their husbands in a double-wedding ceremony on July 2, 1939, two days before their 21st birthday.[5] There were 750 guests, and hundreds more who stood outside to watch.[6] Eppie was married to Jules Lederer, who became a business executive; Popo married Morton Phillips of Minneapolis.[7]
Between 1945 and 1949, Lederer was chairwoman of the Minnesota-Wisconsin council of the
Eppie becomes Ann
Ruth Crowley, the creator of the Chicago Sun-Times' Ask Ann Landers column, died in 1955. During her nine years writing the column, intermittently from 1943, Crowley's identity had been kept secret. Lederer won a contest to take over the column later that year, and took on the identity.[clarification needed] Long before the end of her 47 years as Ann Landers, she had become a North American media celebrity, having appeared on television[2] and traveled the continent to media and charity events. In her later years, Lederer began answering questions about homosexuality and other topics that had once been taboo in print. In a 1993 interview, she said she was happy for the dissolution of restrictions she had to work under in the 1950s.[citation needed]
She appeared on the March 18, 1956, episode of What's My Line?, signing in as Mrs. Jules Lederer.[8]
From the early 1970s until her death, Lederer lived at 209 East Lake Shore Drive, in a 14-room, high-rise apartment.[citation needed]
Jules and Eppie divorced in 1975. In her column of July 1, 1975, Lederer wrote, "The sad, incredible fact is, that after 36 years of marriage, Jules and I are being divorced." She received 30,000 sympathetic letters in response.[9]
Death
Lederer was in good health almost all her life. She was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in January 2002 and died on June 22, two weeks before what would have been her 84th birthday, having refused any medical treatment for her condition. Her former husband had died on January 21, 1999.[10]
Legacy
After Lederer's death, her longtime editors Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar started writing the
In 2003, a collection of correspondence between Lederer and her daughter was published.[12]
In 2006, David Rambo wrote a play about the life and work of Lederer as Ann Landers.[13] The production was revived in 2008 at the Pasadena Playhouse in California, starring Mimi Kennedy.[14]
References
- ^ "Ann Landers, Advice Giver To the Millions, Is Dead at 83", New York Times, June 23, 2002.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4128-0688-6.
- ^ Judd, Robin. "Ann Landers biography". Jewish Virtual Library.
- Uexpress. Retrieved 2017-07-08.
- ^ Eppie: The Story of Ann Landers, by Margo Howard (her daughter), p. 45
- ^ Eppie, p. 46
- ^ Ewing, Jody (August 23, 2001). "Daughter Helps Keep 'Abby' Ink Flowing". Ewing, Jody. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
- ^ What's My Line? - Tribute to Fred Allen; Cyd Charisse; Steve Allen [panel] (Mar 18, 1956)
- TIME. Archived from the originalon November 17, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011.
- ^ Rochman, Sue (Fall 2010). "Dear Ann Landers". CR Magazine. Archived from the original on 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
- ^ "Columnist Dan Savage on Valentine's Day, sex and monogamy". CBS News. February 15, 2015.
- ]
- ^ "The Lady With All the Answers". Pasadena Playhouse. Archived from the original on 2009-07-06.
- ^ "The Lady With All the Answers". Los Angeles Times. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
External links
- Media related to Eppie Lederer at Wikimedia Commons
- Felsenthal, Carol (February 2003). "Dear Ann". Chicago Magazine. p. 17. Archived from the original on 2011-11-20. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
- Judd, Robin. "Landers Biography". Jewish Virtual Library.
- "Obituary". Chicago Tribune. June 2002.
- Ann Landers at Library of Congress, with 9 library catalog records