The death at 83 of Eppie Lederer, who as Ann Landers dispensed what was often called "no-nonsense" advice to newspaper readers for almost half a century, deprives journalism of a shrewd and sensitive woman who, as the cliche goes, transcended her genre.
When Eppie Lederer became Ann Landers in 1955, the newspaper advice column long had been a target of satire. In Britain the authors of such columns were called "agony aunts," although some were agony uncles hiding behind a female byline.
In "Miss Lonelyhearts," a 1933 American novel by Nathanael West, the titular character, an agony uncle, is haunted by the pathos he finds in Miss Lonelyhearts' mailbag. A girl born without a nose writes: "I sit and look at myself all day and cry. I have a big hole in the middle of my face that scares people, even myself, so I can't blame the boys for not wanting to take me out."
In the caricature of Ann Landers, popularized by television parodies, she would advise the girl with no nose to "wake up and smell the coffee."
But the real Ann Landers likely would have steered the girl to a reconstructive surgeon, for good measure suggesting that Congress pass legislation to make such operations affordable. For all her pithy personal advice, Ann Landers in her later years often referred readers in pain to professionals and political activists.
That wasn't the only evidence of evolution in the "Ann Landers" column. As social change transformed America, it was reflected in Ann Landers' advice -- which increasingly urged tolerance, understanding and adaptation. This more nuanced advice had its roots in personal experience: In 1975 Ms. Landers disclosed to her readers that, after years of advising troubled couples to stay together for their children's sake, she herself was seeking a divorce. But her column reflected an increasing open-mindedness that was probably all the more influential because it came from a "no-nonsense" woman raised in the Midwest.
In a column published in the Post-Gazette in January of this year, Ann Landers had this advice for a writer who was reluctant to take her daughter to a wedding at a "known gay church":
"Of course your daughter should attend the wedding. Make no mention of the sexual orientation of any of the guests. To poison your daughter's mind against any segment of society would be wrong, wrong, wrong. P.S. I hope you are able to overcome your own prejudice and enjoy the evening. If you feel you cannot do so, stay home, and do everyone a favor."
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