Eppie Lederer
Encyclopedia
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
Ann Landers, was an American advice columnist and eventually a nationwide media celebrity who began her career writing the 'Ask Ann Landers
Ask Ann Landers
Ann Landers was a pen name created by Chicago Sun-Times advice columnist Ruth Crowley in 1943 and taken over by Eppie Lederer in 1955. For 56 years, the Ask Ann Landers syndicated advice column was a regular feature in many newspapers across North America...
' column in 1955, soon after the death of its creator, Ruth Crowley. Lederer not only wrote the column for 47 years, but publicly assumed the 'Ann Landers' name. As 'Landers', Lederer became a profile-raiser for several medical charities, via both her columns and media appearances. In 1977, President Carter appointed her to a six-year term on a cancer advisory board.
Early life and relationship with sister Pauline
Born Esther Pauline Friedman in Sioux City, IowaSioux City, Iowa
Sioux City is a city in Plymouth and Woodbury counties in the western part of the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 82,684 in the 2010 census, a decline from 85,013 in the 2000 census, which makes it currently the fourth largest city in the state....
, Esther Pauline and her identical twin sister, Pauline Esther ("Popo", who was 17 minutes younger than Eppie) were daughters of Russian Jewish emigrants Rebecca Friedman (nee Rushall) and Abraham B. Friedman. The sisters grew up in Sioux City, attending Morningside College
Morningside College
Morningside College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church located in Sioux City, Iowa. Founded in 1894 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, Morningside College is a private, four-year, co-educational liberal arts institution. Morningside has 21 buildings on a ...
for three and a half years (1936-9), where they wrote a gossip column for the college's newspaper. Eppie majored in journalism
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
.
While Lederer wrote the "Ann Landers" column, her twin sister wrote a similar personal advice column, "Dear Abby
Dear Abby
Dear Abby is the name of the advice column founded in 1956 by Pauline Phillips under the pen name Abigail Van Buren and carried on today by her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, who now owns the legal rights to the pen name....
", under the name Abigail Van Buren, which she began a few months after Eppie took over as Ann Landers. As competing columnists, the two sisters had a discordant relationship. They publicly reconciled in 1964, but acrimony between them persisted. Just a few years before Eppie's death, they were not on speaking terms. They were said to have reconciled before Lederer's death.
In her later years, Lederer wrote her column at home, sometimes while in the bathtub. She had numerous friends and was a regular part of the Chicago social scene.
Marriage and family life
In July 1939, at the age of 21, Eppie and Popo had a joint wedding ceremony. Lederer was married to Julius Lederer, a business executive. For many years, the Lederers' home was in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, where they owned a large, well-furnished apartment. Lederer often said that she exercised regularly by walking the length of her apartment several times a day.
In March 1940, she gave birth to her first and only child, Margo
Margo Coleman
Margo Howard is an American advice columnist, and the only child of advice columnist Eppie Lederer and business executive Julius Lederer.-Early life and education:...
. In 1944, at the age of 56, Lederer's mother, Rebecca Friedman, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. Julius had been conscripted for the war then, and Lederer and Margo had been living with Lederer's parents.
Between 1945 and 1949, Lederer was chairwoman of the Minnesota-Wisconsin council of the Anti Defamation League.
Eppie becomes 'Ann'
When Ruth Crowley, the creator of the Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
s 'Ask Ann Landers' column, died in 1955, Lederer took over. Whereas during Crowley's nine years writing the column, the writer's true identity had been kept secret, after taking on the column Lederer also took on the identity. By the end of her 47 years as 'Ann Landers', Lederer had become a notable North American media celebrity, having appeared on television and travelled around the country attending media and charity events. In her later years, Lederer began answering questions about homosexuality and other topics that had once been taboo. In a 1993 interview, she stated that she was happy the restrictions she had to work under in the '50s no longer existed.
From the early 1970s until her death, Lederer lived at 209 East Lake Shore Drive in a 14-room, high-rise apartment.
Julius and Eppie divorced in 1975. In her 'Ask Ann Landers' 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.
Death and legacy
Lederer was in good health almost all her life. She was diagnosed with multiple myelomaMultiple myeloma
Multiple myeloma , also known as plasma cell myeloma or Kahler's disease , is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell normally responsible for the production of antibodies...
(a form of bone cancer) in January 2002 and died on June 22, having refused any medical treatment for her condition. Her ex-husband, Julius, had died on January 21, 1999.
After her death, the longtime editors of the "Ann Landers" column, Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, started writing the "Annie's Mailbox" column. Her desk was purchased by Dan Savage
Dan Savage
Daniel Keenan "Dan" Savage is an American author, media pundit, journalist and newspaper editor. Savage writes the internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column Savage Love. Its tone is frank in its discussion of sexuality, often humorous, and hostile to social conservatives, as in...
, author of the relationship and sex advice column, Savage Love
Savage Love
Savage Love is a syndicated sex-advice column by Dan Savage. The column appears weekly in several dozen newspapers, mainly free newspapers in the US and Canada, but also newspapers in Europe and Asia...
.
In 2002, the Chicago City Council passed a two-page resolution to honor Lederer for epitomizing Chicago "with her strong opinion, her sage advice, her impeccable manners, and quick wit", and announced that a street sign, "Ann 'Eppie' Landers Way", would be installed at the corner of North Michigan Avenue
Michigan Avenue (Chicago)
Michigan Avenue is a major north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east south of the Chicago River and at 132 East north of the river from 12628 south to 950 north in the Chicago street address system...
and East Illinois Street, in front of the Chicago Tribune Tower, the headquarters of her home paper since 1987. The opening of the street was celebrated with a parade and lot of sparklers -- a favorite of hers.
In 2003, a collection of correspondence between Lederer and her daughter was published.
In 2006, playwright David Rambo wrote a play about the life and work of Lederer as Ann Landers, called "The Lady With All the Answers". The production was revived in 2008 at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in California, starring Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy
Mimi Kennedy is an American actress, author and activist.-Early life:Kennedy was born Mary Claire Kennedy in Rochester, New York, the daughter of Nancy Helen and Daniel Gerald Kennedy. She got her start in theater with the Rochester Community Players, appearing in Agatha Christie's "Spider Web"...
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