Name: Nora Ephron
Age: 69
Neighborhood: Upper East Side
Occupation: Writer/director. Her play Love, Loss, and What I Wore (co-written with her sister Delia) just celebrated its one-year anniversary at the Westside Theatre. Next Tuesday at 7 p.m. she’ll be appearing at Barnes & Noble Union Square to discuss her new collection of comic essays, I Remember Nothing: and Other Reflections, also out next Tuesday.
Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
J.J. Hunsecker.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York?
Roast duck with candied orange peel at The Four Seasons.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I try to write, I think about food, I eat something, I check my e-mail, I try to write — it’s a continuous loop until it’s time for dinner.
What was your first job in New York?
I was a mail girl at Newsweek magazine
What’s the last thing you saw on Broadway?
La Bête.
Do you give money to panhandlers?
No, but my husband does.
What’s your drink?
A glass of California red, preferably something that tastes like cherries. Or a kir with ice on the side. Great wine is wasted on me.
How often do you prepare your own meals?
All day, every day.
What’s your favorite medication?
Ambien.
What’s hanging above your sofa?
A Lautrec poster.
How much is too much to spend on a haircut?
$200. The real question is how much is too much to spend on your colorist.
When’s bedtime?
Midnight-ish.
Which do you prefer, the old Times Square or the new Times Square?
Old. The first time I saw it, I was with my mother, and she said, “If you couldn’t read, it would be fairyland.” She was quoting someone, but I can’t remember who.
What do you think of Donald Trump?
I’m interested that he apparently made a decision many years ago never to smile in a photograph. I myself made the opposite decision.
What do you hate most about living in New York?
Bicycle messengers. I’m fairly sure I’m going to be killed by one. Other than that, nothing.
Who is your mortal enemy?
The clock.
When’s the last time you drove a car?
Last week on a business trip to Los Angeles. It was a Prius, of course.
How has the Wall Street crash affected you?
Nothing we own is worth what it used to be.
Times, Post, or Daily News?
All three.
Where do you go to be alone?
My head.
What makes someone a New Yorker?
You’re a New Yorker if you (a) live here, and (b) could never ever live anywhere else.
