Roger Ebert (1942–2013)
Author of The Great Movies
About the Author
Roger Joseph Ebert was born on June 18, 1942 in Urbana, Illinois, and died on April 4, 2013. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was editor of the Daily Illini. He is best known for his film review column in the Chicago Sun Times since show more 1967 and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert and Siskel and Ebert and The Movies. After Gene Siskel's death in 1999, Roger Ebert teamed up with Ruchard Roeper for the television series Ebert and Roeper and The Movies which began airing in 2000. Ebert's movie reviews were in more than 200 newspapers in the U.S. and worldwide by Universal Press Syndicate. He wrote more than 15 books, including his annual movie yearbook which was a collection of his reviews for that specific year. He became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize. In June 2005, he was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame; he was the first professional critic to receive this award. He received honorary degrees from the University of Colorado, the AFI Conservatory, and the School of Art Institute of Chicago. Ebert died on April 4, 2013 at age 70. He had lost his voice and much of his jaw after battling thyroid and salivary gland cancer. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Image credit: By Sound Opinions - Flickr: Roger Ebert, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=73327672
Series
Works by Roger Ebert
Ebert's Little Movie Glossary: A Compendium of Movie Cliches, Stereotypes, Obligatory Scenes, Hackneyed Formulas, Shopwo (1994) 75 copies, 3 reviews
PELÍCULAS QUE NUNCA DEBERÍAS VER. Pero después de leer este libro tal vez lo hagas... (2011) 4 copies
Images at the Horizon: A Workshop With Werner Herzog Conducted by Roger Ebert at the Facets Multimedia Center, Chicago, Ill, Apr 17, 1979. (1980) 4 copies
Roger Ebert's movie yearbook 1 copy
Ebert Tarnation 1 copy
Associated Works
42 Up: "Give Me the Child Until He Is Seven and I Will Show You the Man" (1999) — Foreword — 41 copies, 2 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Ebert, Roger Joseph
- Birthdate
- 1942-06-18
- Date of death
- 2013-04-04
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
University of Capetown
University of Chicago - Occupations
- film critic
screenwriter - Organizations
- Chicago Sun-Times
Cliff Dwellers - Awards and honors
- Pulitzer Prize (Criticism, 1975)
Carl Sandburg Literary Award (2011) - Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Places of residence
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Place of death
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Associated Place (for map)
- Illinois, USA
Members
Discussions
We Lost Roger Ebert in Library of America Subscribers (April 2013)
Roger Ebert, 1942-2013 in Science Fiction Fans (April 2013)
Reviews
New hobby for us - we watch one of the films Ebert writes on in the evening, then read his essay aloud over coffee the next morning and discuss. It's a bit like attending a film seminar. First we form our own opinion, then we let Ebert tell us what he thinks made the movie under discussion great. Most of the time we would feel it was a great film without his input, a few times he was able to convince us. Once in a while, he doesn't convince us, but we can understand why he thinks so. In one show more case, Body Heat, we still felt this was not a good movie. But that's part of the fun of reading a book like this. Another bit of fun: in nearly every essay, there was a factual error as Ebert recounted the plot. Was this some form of hidden trivia contest? One last thing: Ebert knows how to construct an essay. He saves some valuable insight, or twist, or detail for the very end. Recommended. show less
I've had this on my shelf for a while, but in memorium to the great Mr Ebert, I read it cover to cover this month. Choosing just one paragraph to share with you was a nearly impossible task, let me tell you. This book, culled from Ebert's reviews, contains so much genius. The reviews (of movies he rated two stars or less) are full of snark; and yet it's a strangely regretful snark. You can see that Ebert loved movies, all movies, and when one was unforgivably bad, his response was not show more animosity, but deep disappointment and exasperation that his beloved medium was not being better used. He snarks only where snark is due. And, oh brother - for these movies, snark is due. I laughed my ass off in reading this book.
Review from my blog, This Space Intentionally Left Blank show less
Oh, and then there are New York's Mayor Ebert (gamely played by Michael Lerner) and his adviser, Gene (Lorry Goldman). The mayor of course makes every possible wrong decision (he is against evacuating Manhattan, etc.), and the adviser eventually gives thumbs-down to his reelection campaign. These characters are a reaction by Emmerich and Devlin to negative Siskel and Ebert reviews of their earlier movies (Stargate, Independence Day), but they let us off lightly; I fully expected to be squished like a bug by Godzilla. Now that I've inspired a character in a Godzilla movie, all I really still desire is for several Ingmar Bergman characters to sit in a circle and read my reviews to one another in hushed tones.
Review from my blog, This Space Intentionally Left Blank show less
Roger Ebert tells a damn fine story. His memoir is full of fond and unflinching recollections, an essential kindness and wonderfully entertaining encounters with friends and celebrities alike. His attitude toward life, looking back after painful lessons and his life-changing battle with cancer strikes a deep chord with me, a kindred spirit and admirable man who was much more than just a "movie critic." Really loved this book.
The Short of It:
Written with humor and heart.
The Rest of It:
Everyone is familiar with Roger Ebert, right? His characteristic “thumbs-up” rating for movies he enjoyed, his battle with cancer that destroyed his face and took his voice forever, his antagonistic but often funny interactions with Gene Siskel? I grew up watching him. I spent hours in theaters watching the movies he recommended and he was probably one of the main reasons I entered college as a film major. But what I didn’t show more know and really didn’t begin to know, was the man behind the famous rating system. I didn’t really get to know him until his battle with cancer and I didn’t read this book until he passed away this past April. What a life.
Life Itself is a treat for anyone who enjoys small town life and nostalgia in general. Ebert’s small town of Urbana, Illinois provided a safe, comforting backdrop for his childhood. His trips to the local movie theater are written about with the care and gentle handling of a man in love with his childhood. He was always a wonderful writer, but the sense of place he conveys in this memoir will bring tears to your eyes for what once was. I loved these glimpses into Ebert’s life. His funny perspective, his awkwardness and his ability to break it all down into pleasant digestible bits.
There are some things I learned that I was not aware of before reading his book. I had no idea that he was a recovering alcoholic. The section on him joining Alcoholics Anonymous was told with such honestly, that I wanted to just reach through the pages and offer him a gentle, guiding hand. I also didn’t know that Gene Siskel, the critic that was forever (in my mind) arguing with Ebert over the movies they reviewed, was actually a very close friend and that their success on TV came quite accidentally. Additionally, I had no idea that Ebert was such a reader! Lots of book love in this one.
What I did expect and did not get was more insight into his battle with cancer. This part of his life is told in a very matter-of-fact way and details are kept to a minimum. He doesn’t dwell on what he lost. In fact, I’m not sure I expected him to be as optimistic as he was in the book, but in the end, I am glad that the cancer did not rule his life even though on the outside looking in, it certainly seemed that way.
I don’t read many memoirs but this book was a real treat. There’s quite a bit of humor and the stories from his youth are told with a lot of heart. I found myself yearning for simpler times and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the man is missed. I never look at movies quite the same way. His sense of wonder, his ability to appreciate the small, creative nuances that directors injected into their films and his knack for saying exactly what he means is what made him a favorite in my eye.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter show less
Written with humor and heart.
The Rest of It:
Everyone is familiar with Roger Ebert, right? His characteristic “thumbs-up” rating for movies he enjoyed, his battle with cancer that destroyed his face and took his voice forever, his antagonistic but often funny interactions with Gene Siskel? I grew up watching him. I spent hours in theaters watching the movies he recommended and he was probably one of the main reasons I entered college as a film major. But what I didn’t show more know and really didn’t begin to know, was the man behind the famous rating system. I didn’t really get to know him until his battle with cancer and I didn’t read this book until he passed away this past April. What a life.
Life Itself is a treat for anyone who enjoys small town life and nostalgia in general. Ebert’s small town of Urbana, Illinois provided a safe, comforting backdrop for his childhood. His trips to the local movie theater are written about with the care and gentle handling of a man in love with his childhood. He was always a wonderful writer, but the sense of place he conveys in this memoir will bring tears to your eyes for what once was. I loved these glimpses into Ebert’s life. His funny perspective, his awkwardness and his ability to break it all down into pleasant digestible bits.
There are some things I learned that I was not aware of before reading his book. I had no idea that he was a recovering alcoholic. The section on him joining Alcoholics Anonymous was told with such honestly, that I wanted to just reach through the pages and offer him a gentle, guiding hand. I also didn’t know that Gene Siskel, the critic that was forever (in my mind) arguing with Ebert over the movies they reviewed, was actually a very close friend and that their success on TV came quite accidentally. Additionally, I had no idea that Ebert was such a reader! Lots of book love in this one.
What I did expect and did not get was more insight into his battle with cancer. This part of his life is told in a very matter-of-fact way and details are kept to a minimum. He doesn’t dwell on what he lost. In fact, I’m not sure I expected him to be as optimistic as he was in the book, but in the end, I am glad that the cancer did not rule his life even though on the outside looking in, it certainly seemed that way.
I don’t read many memoirs but this book was a real treat. There’s quite a bit of humor and the stories from his youth are told with a lot of heart. I found myself yearning for simpler times and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the man is missed. I never look at movies quite the same way. His sense of wonder, his ability to appreciate the small, creative nuances that directors injected into their films and his knack for saying exactly what he means is what made him a favorite in my eye.
For more reviews, visit my blog: Book Chatter show less
Lists
Film (1)
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 76
- Also by
- 15
- Members
- 5,241
- Popularity
- #4,755
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 72
- ISBNs
- 137
- Languages
- 4
- Favorited
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