By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 14:15 EST, 9 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:51 EST, 10 July 2012 . Hollywood's elite came out in force today to honour late writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron. Meg Ryan, who starred in her favourites When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, joined a host of other . famous faces at the Alice Tully Hall at the at Lincoln Center in New York. The 50-year-old cut a gaunt figure as she arrived in a short black dress, heels and dark sunglasses. Scroll down for video . Paying tribute: Meg Ryan, who starred in When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, arrived for Nora Ephron's memorial service in New York today . Paying respects: Jon Hamm was accompanied by his wife Jennifer Westfeldt and right, Steven Spielberg was also in attendance . Tom Hanks, who appeared alongside . Meg in several of Ephron's films, put his 56th birthday celebrations on . hold for the ceremony. Director . Steven Spielberg, Mad Men star Jon . Hamm, actresses Sally Field and Shirley McClaine and comedians Steve Martin, Martin Short and Larry David were also among the . mourners. Industry veterans Bette Midler, Regis . Philbin, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer and Martha Stewart attended . along with Matthew Broderick and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. A brilliant writer and humorist: Ephron is famous for penning romantic comedies . Julie and Julia star Meryl Streep is understood to have been at the gathering, but was not photographed. Frank Sinatra's classic I've Got the World on a String was among the songs played during the service, which Ephron had planned down to the last moment prior to her death. She had selected the song list, chosen who would speak and had stipulated that the service be finished in under 47 minutes. Ephron . passed away in a New York hospital on June 26 from . pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 71. She leaves behind her third husband Nicholas Pileggi, and two sons Jacob and Max from her second marriage. Stars were quick to pay tribute in the wake of her death. 'Nora was an era,' Meg wrote in a poetic statement. 'We pictured ourselves inside her . dreams and they became ours,' she continued. 'All wisdom, wit and . sparkle lights, what a treat she was, what a bless. I marvel again and . again, what a life... to have created a simple happiness in people, to . have added to the sum of delight in the world.' Billy . Crystal, who also starred in When Harry Met Sally said: 'I am very sad . to learn of Nora's passing. She was a brilliant writer and humorist. 'Being her Harry to Meg's Sally will always have a special place in my heart. I was very lucky to get to say her words.' Memories shared: Meg Ryan, left, and her You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle co-star Tom Hanks, right, who was also in attendance, and said Ephron 'knew what was important to know; how things really worked' Emotional day: Bette Midler, Sally Field and Shirley MaClaine arrived at the service . Industry stalwarts: Martha Stewart, Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters  also paid their respects . Tom Hanks, Meg's co-star in You've Got . Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, said Ephron 'knew what was important to . know; how things really worked, what was worthwhile, who was fascinating . and why.' Three-time Oscar nominee made her . playwriting debut in 2002 with Imaginary Friends and co-wrote 2008's . off-Broadway play adopted from the book Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Nora had a . penchant for romantic comedies, penning iconic scripts and most recently . worked on Julie & Julia in 2009. Committed to her work until the end, Ephron was working on a new play, entitled Lucky Guy, at the time of her death. A sad day for comedy: Martin Short and Steve Martin with his wife, Anne Stringfield, paid their respects . Memorial service: Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Broderick arrive at the Alice Tully Hall . Power players: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, and Regis Philbin with wife Joy Philbin, right, passed by photographers on their way in . A lead producer of the stage work, . Colin Callender, said he is 'committed' to getting the piece - a . biography of a newspaper columnist - on a Broadway stage despite her . passing. Callender said his team 'can think of . no more fitting tribute to her extraordinary writing and remarkable . body of work' than to proceed with plans to produce Ephron's play. In a statement released after her death, . he said: 'We are honored to be part of her legacy and remain committed . to seeing her magnificent work Lucky Guy' shine on Broadway.' Day of mourning: Al Franken, left, Paul Simon, front right, and Lorne Michaels, back right, were also at the service . Remembrance: Joy Behar, left, and Diane Von Furstenberg, right, with her husband, Barry Diller, exit the service . Lucky Guy follows the story of tabloid reporter Mike McAlary, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his coverage on the New York City police brutalization of Abner Louima. McAlary died that same year of colon cancer at age 41. When word of the potential production first surfaced this spring, Tom Hanks was reported to be in negotiations to play McAlary next year on stage. No new timetable has been revealed or whether Hanks or potential director George C Wolfe were still attached to the project. Hollywood hit: Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in Ephron's 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle . Watch video here .
Beloved writer passed away on June 26, aged 71 .
Suffered from .
pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia .
Planned memorial to the final detail prior to her death .
Frank Sinatra's I've Got the World on a String among songs she selected .
Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Sally Field, Shirley McClaine, Steve Martin, Martin Short, Bette Midler, Jon Hamm also in attendance .
By . Daily Mail Reporter . PUBLISHED: . 14:15 EST, 9 July 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 04:51 EST, 10 July 2012 . Hollywood's elite came out in force today to honour late writer and filmmaker Nora Ephron. Meg Ryan, who starred in her favourites When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, joined a host of other . famous faces at the Alice Tully Hall at the at Lincoln Center in New York. The 50-year-old cut a gaunt figure as she arrived in a short black dress, heels and dark sunglasses. Scroll down for video . Paying tribute: Meg Ryan, who starred in When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You've Got Mail, arrived for Nora Ephron's memorial service in New York today . Paying respects: Jon Hamm was accompanied by his wife Jennifer Westfeldt and right, Steven Spielberg was also in attendance . Tom Hanks, who appeared alongside . Meg in several of Ephron's films, put his 56th birthday celebrations on . hold for the ceremony. Director . Steven Spielberg, Mad Men star Jon . Hamm, actresses Sally Field and Shirley McClaine and comedians Steve Martin, Martin Short and Larry David were also among the . mourners. Industry veterans Bette Midler, Regis . Philbin, Barbara Walters, Diane Sawyer and Martha Stewart attended . along with Matthew Broderick and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth. A brilliant writer and humorist: Ephron is famous for penning romantic comedies . Julie and Julia star Meryl Streep is understood to have been at the gathering, but was not photographed. Frank Sinatra's classic I've Got the World on a String was among the songs played during the service, which Ephron had planned down to the last moment prior to her death. She had selected the song list, chosen who would speak and had stipulated that the service be finished in under 47 minutes. Ephron . passed away in a New York hospital on June 26 from . pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 71. She leaves behind her third husband Nicholas Pileggi, and two sons Jacob and Max from her second marriage. Stars were quick to pay tribute in the wake of her death. 'Nora was an era,' Meg wrote in a poetic statement. 'We pictured ourselves inside her . dreams and they became ours,' she continued. 'All wisdom, wit and . sparkle lights, what a treat she was, what a bless. I marvel again and . again, what a life... to have created a simple happiness in people, to . have added to the sum of delight in the world.' Billy . Crystal, who also starred in When Harry Met Sally said: 'I am very sad . to learn of Nora's passing. She was a brilliant writer and humorist. 'Being her Harry to Meg's Sally will always have a special place in my heart. I was very lucky to get to say her words.' Memories shared: Meg Ryan, left, and her You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle co-star Tom Hanks, right, who was also in attendance, and said Ephron 'knew what was important to know; how things really worked' Emotional day: Bette Midler, Sally Field and Shirley MaClaine arrived at the service . Industry stalwarts: Martha Stewart, Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters  also paid their respects . Tom Hanks, Meg's co-star in You've Got . Mail and Sleepless in Seattle, said Ephron 'knew what was important to . know; how things really worked, what was worthwhile, who was fascinating . and why.' Three-time Oscar nominee made her . playwriting debut in 2002 with Imaginary Friends and co-wrote 2008's . off-Broadway play adopted from the book Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Nora had a . penchant for romantic comedies, penning iconic scripts and most recently . worked on Julie & Julia in 2009. Committed to her work until the end, Ephron was working on a new play, entitled Lucky Guy, at the time of her death. A sad day for comedy: Martin Short and Steve Martin with his wife, Anne Stringfield, paid their respects . Memorial service: Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Broderick arrive at the Alice Tully Hall . Power players: Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, and Regis Philbin with wife Joy Philbin, right, passed by photographers on their way in . A lead producer of the stage work, . Colin Callender, said he is 'committed' to getting the piece - a . biography of a newspaper columnist - on a Broadway stage despite her . passing. Callender said his team 'can think of . no more fitting tribute to her extraordinary writing and remarkable . body of work' than to proceed with plans to produce Ephron's play. In a statement released after her death, . he said: 'We are honored to be part of her legacy and remain committed . to seeing her magnificent work Lucky Guy' shine on Broadway.' Day of mourning: Al Franken, left, Paul Simon, front right, and Lorne Michaels, back right, were also at the service . Remembrance: Joy Behar, left, and Diane Von Furstenberg, right, with her husband, Barry Diller, exit the service . Lucky Guy follows the story of tabloid reporter Mike McAlary, who won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for his coverage on the New York City police brutalization of Abner Louima. McAlary died that same year of colon cancer at age 41. When word of the potential production first surfaced this spring, Tom Hanks was reported to be in negotiations to play McAlary next year on stage. No new timetable has been revealed or whether Hanks or potential director George C Wolfe were still attached to the project. Hollywood hit: Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks in Ephron's 1993 film Sleepless in Seattle . Watch video here .
right, Steven Spielberg was also in attendance . . Steven Spielberg, Mad Men star Jon . Hamm, actresses Sally Field and Shirley McClaine and comedians Steve Martin, Martin Short and Larry not photographed. Frank Sinatra's classic I've Got the World on a String was among the songs planned down to the last moment prior to her away in a New York hospital on June 26 from . pneumonia brought on by acute myeloid leukemia at and Sleepless in Seattle co-star Tom Hanks,