Legendary film critic, and film lover, Roger Ebert has died
Legendary film critic, and film lover, Roger Ebert has died at the age of 70 following a lengthy battle with cancer.
Ebert was the first journalist to win the Pulitzer Prize for film criticism, and inspired budding film journalists around the world. Ebert was best known for his film review column, which was first published in the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967, and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The Movies, all of which he co-hosted for a combined 23 years with Gene Siskel.
Famed for his often scathing, witty but expertly written reviews, Ebert started a film festival in his home town, and turned his hand to screenwriting with Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 1970, Up! (1976) and Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens in 1979. Ebert was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2005.
Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002, and underwent surgery again in 2006. Complications from the surgery left the writer unable to speak, but he continued to write with passion about film. Surgery in 2008 to restore Ebert’s voice was also unsucessful. in 2010, Ebert announced that he was done with surgery, and in an interview with Esquire Magazine, said he did not fear death; “I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris”.
Only a day before his death, Ebert posted a blog saying his cancer had returned, and he would be taking a ‘Leave of Presence’, meaning he would only review the movies he felt passionate about. Sadly, Ebert passed away before he had the chance.
Roger Ebert is survived by his wife Chaz, and Movies.ie are sending her our best wishes at this sad time.
Rest in Peace, Rogert Ebert, thank you for everything and we’ll see you at the movies.