Movie critic Roger Ebert dies | April 4, 2013 | HISTORY (2024)

FAQs

What were Roger Ebert's final words? ›

Sometime ago, I heard that Roger Ebert's wife, Chaz, talked about Roger's last words. He died of cancer in 2013. “Life is but a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Roger Ebert continued to review movies until the end of his life, despite the challenges of his cancer, which inspired others facing the same disease. Terrence Malick's To the Wonder was Ebert's last review and showcased the director's iconic style and departure from his previous period pieces.

On April 4, 2013, one of America's best-known and most influential movie critics, Roger Ebert, who reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, dies at age 70 after battling cancer.

After Siskel's death, Ebert reminisced about their close relationship saying: Gene Siskel and I were like tuning forks, Strike one, and the other would pick up the same frequency. When we were in a group together, we were always intensely aware of one another.

Roger Joseph Ebert was born on June 18, 1942, in Urbana, Illinois, the only child of Annabel (née Stumm), a bookkeeper, and Walter Harry Ebert, an electrician. He was raised Roman Catholic, attending St. Mary's elementary school and serving as an altar boy in Urbana.

Famous Last Words is a documentary that examines what happens when a person talks with a loved one for the very last time. While this is a movie that focuses on "loss," it has a very uplifting and inspirational message about living each day to the fullest. This includes the 90 minute feature film only.

He was teased for years about his weight, but the jokes stopped abruptly when Ebert lost portions of his jaw and the ability to speak, eat and drink after cancer surgeries in 2006.

In 2013 we've said goodbye to some of Hollywood's most legendary entertainers and biggest personalities. Among the stars we've lost are Roger Ebert, Cory Monteith, James Gandolfini, and Gia Allemand.

Roger Ebert, the renowned film critic, battled alcoholism throughout his life. However, his journey towards sobriety was a remarkable one, marked by his involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) and the support he found through attending A.A. meetings.

Is Roger Ebert still living? ›

Roger Ebert, the popular film critic and television co-host who along with his fellow reviewer and sometime sparring partner Gene Siskel could lift or sink the fortunes of a movie with their trademark thumbs up or thumbs down, died on Thursday in Chicago. He was 70.

When film critic Roger Ebert lost his lower jaw to cancer, he lost the ability to eat and speak. But he did not lose his voice.

5. Why does Jones use the word "savoring" to describe Ebert's quiet pause after the film ends? It seems as if Ebert is overcome with happiness after witnessing such a good picture.

Roger Ebert: 'I'm an optimistic person'

Roger Ebert started writing reviews in 1967. As a professional, he watched over 500 movies and he reviewed about 300 movies each year. Over his 40 year career, he published about 10,000 movie reviews.

"The Cottage and a Complete Set of Dickens"

Eight years before writing the reviews that would earn him the first Pulitzer for film criticism in 1975, Roger Ebert took an entry-level position at the Chicago Sun-Times to support his doctoral studies in English at the University of Chicago.