Perhaps the most famous film critic of all time, Roger Ebert reviewed, commented on, and debated film from his Midwestern post in Chicago for decades. His approval – “thumbs up” – or disapproval – “thumbs down” – foretold many a commercial success or failure for untold thousands of films throughout his career. For years, Ebert shared his powerful status with fellow Chicago film critic Gene Siskel; both of whom brought the idea of film criticism into mainstream consciousness with their weekly television review show – the perfect yin to the other’s yang. Upon Siskel’s untimely death in 1999, Ebert carried on, reviewing movies alongside several other critics, before finding the ideal person to fill Siskel’s big shoes – another fellow Chicagoan, Richard Roeper.Born June 18, 1942 and raised in Urbana, IL, Ebert developed an interest early on in movies and writing, contributing to science fiction fanzines in his teens. At Urbana High School, he was a sports writer for The News-Gazette in Champaign, IL. During his senior year, he was co-editor of his school newspaper, The Echo. He was already demonstrating outstanding talent in 1958, when he won the Illinois High School Association state speech championship in Radio Speaking, with his mock broadcast. While Ebert was best known later on for his work in television, he was a consummate newsman, cultivating strong interests in all facets of journalism, beginning with newspapers and radio.
Ebert went on to college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Illini. He was also a member of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Upon earning his degree, he continued with a graduate study in English under a fellowship at the University of Cape Town. He was a candidate for an English doctorate when fate intervened, setting the course for his life from that point on. He was offered a job as film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times – one of the Windy City’s two major newspapers (the other being The Chicago Tribune) – a job he continued to hold through all the decades of his television notoriety. As his popularity grew with the high-profile position, Ebert became a powerful local voice for film studies and criticism, serving as a guest lecturer for the University of Chicago by teaching a night class on film.
Like all film followers, Ebert eventually stuck his toe into the screenwriting pool, teaming up in 1970 with fabled flesh-peddling filmmaker Russ Meyer to co-write his only produced feature film screenplay, “Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.” Meyer had helmed the original camp classic, based on the novel by Jacqueline Susann. Both films told the story of starlets coming into their own in show business; the second film was considered a pastiche of the first, more than a sequel. Although the follow-up was a critical failure, both had a cult following.
In 1975, his work earned him the honor of being the first film critic to earn the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. The following year, he began co-hosting a weekly movie review TV show, “Sneak Previews,” along with Gene Siskel, the critic for the rival newspaper, The Chicago Tribune. The show aired on the local WTTW Chicago station, and was picked up by PBS for national distribution in 1978, where it went on to garner the highest ratings for a weekly public television show. In 1982, Ebert and Siskel became so popular that they moved on to a syndicated, commercial version of the show with a similar format, called, “At the Movies.” After a few years, the Emmy-nominated show switched to “Siskel & Ebert” (1986-1999), with their “thumbs up/thumbs down” reviewing style beginning to catch on and become part of the cultural lexicon.
Almost a bigger draw for viewers than the actual criticisms, was the constant on-air bickering between the polar opposite critics – one being short and rotund; the other tall and balding. Their appearances, coupled with their sometime catty back-and-forth, often became fodder for comedy sketch programs. They were even encouraged to debate each other when serving as guests on late night talk shows. The two were so conjoined in the public’s mind that they were rarely asked to appear apart from each other. At times their banter seemed to verge on the edge of real hostility, as each joked that he couldn’t stand the other outside of work.
While this may or may not have been true, Ebert was one of the people most devastated when his partner unexpectedly fell ill at the peak of their TV success. In 1998, Siskel underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. He announced in early 1999 that he was taking a leave of absence, but that he expected to be back by the fall, writing in his column, "I'm in a hurry to get well because I don't want Roger to get more screen time than I." Unfortunately, he died from complications of the surgery two weeks later, at the age of 53. Ebert, who attended the funeral, was rattled far more than perhaps even he had thought possible at the loss of his professional sparring partner of over two decades.
Following Siskel’s painful death, Ebert hosted the show on his own, under the title, “Roger Ebert & the Movies” on ABC, with a variety of revolving co-hosts, until fellow columnist Richard Roeper was selected as permanent co-host in the fall of 2000. Both would go on to host annual Oscar pre and post-ceremony telecasts on ABC each year, while at the same time, their new partnership christened a new show title, “Ebert & Roeper” (2000- ).Ebert’s newspaper reviews were reprinted in a series of collections, and he also wrote both serious analyses of movies, such as both volumes of The Great Movies and humorous critiques, such as I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Ebert’s Bigger Little Movie Glossary, which featured common movie clichés.
With the success of “Ebert & Roeper” – as well as the satisfaction of being the only film critic to ever receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June of 2005 – Ebert maintained a highly public profile, not only in print, but also online. On his website, he interacted with readers in a question/answer format, and was often taken to task by film buffs who pointed out inconsistencies in his views. He defended himself by pointing out that his reviews are all relative, and that only movies of similar styles and genres should be compared with one another. He has also provided audio commentary tracks on the DVDs of a number of movies for which he felt strongly, including 1941’s “Citizen Kane” (the one movie he declared as his pick if stranded on an island), “Casablanca” (1942), “Dark City” (1998) and “Crumb” (1994).
As he upped his visibility in all mediums, his personal life had always remained relatively low key. In 1993, Ebert had married trial attorney Chaz Hammelsmith, gaining a step-daughter and two step-grandchildren with the union. Unfortunately, beginning in 2002, Ebert began suffering from a series of health problems. He underwent surgery to remove cancer of his thyroid gland and again a year later for cancer in his salivary gland. In late 2003, he also underwent radiation treatment for several weeks as a follow-up, but despite a slightly noticeable change in his voice, he stayed on the job and continued to review movies on his show. In the late spring of 2006, Ebert again underwent surgery for cancer of his salivary gland, which had reoccurred. He was then hospitalized a short time later when a blood vessel burst near the place of his surgery. By mid-summer he was reported to be stabilized and doing well, but Ebert filmed enough TV programs with his co-host, to keep him on the air for several weeks. However, his extended convalescence necessitated a series of "guest critics" to co-host with Roeper, including Jay Leno, Kevin Smith, John Ridley, and Toni Senecal.
