Roger Ebert
- Born:
- June 18, 1942, Urbana, Illinois, USA
- Died:
- April 4, 2013, Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Nationality:
- American
- Profession(s):
- Film Critic, Journalist, Screenwriter, Author
Early Life and Education
- Graduated from Urbana High School in 1960.
- Served as sports editor of The Daily Illini, the student newspaper at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
- Briefly worked as a copy editor for The News-Gazette in Champaign-Urbana.
- Graduated with a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois in 1964.
Career and Major Achievements
- Began working as a copy editor at the Chicago Sun-Times in 1966.
- Became the Chicago Sun-Times' film critic in 1967.
- Won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 1975, the first film critic to do so.
- Co-hosted the television show Sneak Previews (later At the Movies) with Gene Siskel starting in 1975.
- Popularized the "thumbs up/thumbs down" rating system for films.
- Continued writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times until his death in 2013.
- Maintained an active presence online through his website, rogerebert.com.
Notable Works
| Type | Title | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Film (Screenwriter) | Beyond the Valley of the Dolls | 1970 |
| Film (Screenwriter) | Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens | 1979 |
| Book | Roger Ebert's Movie Home Companion (series) | Various |
| Book | Life Itself: A Memoir | 2011 |
Legacy and Impact
Roger Ebert is widely regarded as one of the most influential film critics of all time. His approachable writing style and accessible television presence made film criticism popular with a broad audience. His work, including analysis of films like McCabe & Mrs. Miller, established a high standard for accessible and insightful movie reviews. He championed independent and foreign films, helping to bring them to a wider audience. His online presence continued his legacy and made film criticism accessible to future generations.