It isn't often that a film critic transcends his craft and becomes a truly integral part of his city, but then again, it isn't often that a film critic is named Roger Ebert. Somewhere between the first Pulitzer Prize ever given to a film critic and his 47-year career writing for the Sun Times, Ebert became a staple of Chicago.
Ebert was born in 1942, in the town of Urbana. He had a Catholic upbringing in Urbana, where he first discovered his knack for writing in High School by writing comment letters to sci-fi magazines. This led to an involvement in sci-fi fandom, and his first experience writing articles. He won the Illinois High School association speech championship in 1958. It was also during this time, where he learned to be a movie critic-by reading MAD Magazine's movie parodies, and seeing how they would lampoon the movies for all being the same. Soon afterwards, Ebert started at the University of Illinois, where he graduated from in 1964. After a stint at the University of Cape Town, he moved to Chicago, where he was pursuing a doctorate at the University of Chicago. Needing a job while in school, Ebert applied for a job at the Chicago Daily News, however the editor instead referred him to the Sun-Times, where he was hired as a reporter and feature writer in 1966. For the next year, Ebert pursued his PhD while reporting for the Sun-Times. Then, in April of 1967, Ebert was offered the job of film critic. After taking it, he figured that the work load was too heavy and so he ended his doctoral studies.
After a few years writing for the Sun-Times, Ebert began hosting a weekly film review show in 1975. 3 years after that, he was joined by a Tribune film critic named Gene Siskel on his show, and it became nationally televised via PBS. They would become very well known throughout the industry, making the term "Two Thumbs Up/Down" a household phrase. The show would continue on until Siskel's death in 1999. Just over a year later, Ebert was joined by fellow Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper, and the show continued for another 9 years.
As a consequence of his fame, Ebert became a pop culture icon, making appearances in episodes of The Critic and Early Edition. Ebert also started Ebertfest, a film festival in his hometown of Champaign. In the 1980s, he briefly dated Oprah Winfrey. That relationship didn't last, but Ebert convinced Winfrey to nationally syndicate The Oprah Winfrey Show. That's something that did last. Eventually he married his wife Chaz in 1992, and they would stay married until his death.
In 2002, Ebert faced the first of his many cancer diagnoses. The cancer was quickly removed via surgery and Ebert returned to his duties. However, the cancer came back a few years later and he required a second surgery in 2006. This time, the complications were more dire, and he lost the ability to eat, drink, and speak. Nonetheless, he bounced back and resumed his regular reviewing schedule. In 2008, he needed a third surgery to attempt to correct the first two surgeries. The surgery was unsuccessful in restoring his ability to speak, as well as in trying to reconstruct his jaw. Finally in 2010, Ebert decided to forgo any further surgeries to attempt to repair his voice.
On April 2, 2013, Ebert wrote a piece in the Sun-Times announcing that he was taking a leave of absence to deal with the cancer. Two days later, Roger Ebert died at the age of 70. On April 6, his final film review appeared in the Sun-Times, a critique of the movie To the Wonder. His funeral service was held at Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral on April 8, and was attended by fans, fellow critics, and even Governor Pat Quinn and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Ebert's "relative, not absolute" approach to reviewing movies endeared him to his fans and ensured that his legacy will always receive a strong "Two Thumbs Up"
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