Monthly Archives: October 2011

Roger Ebert : June 18, 1942, Urbana to April 4, 2013

” Our dead are never dead to us, until we have forgotten them. ”

Writer : George Eliot

For most movie magic is an elusive thing. It takes a bit of talent to combine a quality production and a comparable cast into an exceptional film. Often it is a mixture that comes about by the combined efforts of filmmakers: directors, casting crews, producers, writers and special effects people. A movie critic is usually never mentioned but Roger Ebert was one critic that surely hung heavy on many a filmmaker’s mind. At one time he was touted as ” the nation’s most prominent film critic” or “the best known film critic in America.” He died last Thursday April 5th. He had been diagnosed with cancer, had two surgeries to get rid of it and had just announced its unwelcome return.
Roger Joseph Ebert was a screenwriter, journalist, a film critic a film lover and an indefatigable supporter of what he classified as good films. It is even more ironic how the only child of Annabel and Walter Ebert of Urbana , IL. nurtured his writing interest as a teen to achieve worldwide notoriety. Before he graduated from high school his penchant for writing sports and science fiction articles blossomed into an appointment as Editor and Chief at his high school newspaper. Believe it or not at the time of his death Ebert’s career as a critic spanned over 52 years. His last printed review appears in syndication this week. In 2005 he was the first movie critic to receive a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. A timely Funeral Note sent in respect and gratitude would surely honor his memory and his life.

Siskel and Ebert’s original show captivated audiences. It went through a couple of incarnations: Sneak Previews and At The Movies. Their “thumbs up” classification would become his and Siskel’s trademark long after he died. Their contrasting personalities and points of view seemed to offer something for everybody, conservatives and liberals. The 1978 pairing of the two critics produced what was at the time the most highly rated show in PBS’ history. In 1999 their show went off the air only to be replaced by Ebert and a new found partner Richard Roeper,” At The Movies with Ebert and Roeper. ” It aired from 2006-2011.

Mr. Ebert could be identified by his passions that shaped and molded his career. He liked to write and he liked connecting with people, whether it was something trivial, mundane or surreal he found a voice. He found a voice that answered many questions his readers wanted answered. He realized there was a time to laugh, to cry, to think and to stand and readers merely wanted to know the who, what, where and why. He felt most at ease providing that vital function. He said his newspaper job was his”identity.”Throughout his lifetime he connected with audiences on various levels through that identity. He won a Pullitzer Prize for that type of dogmatic belief in 1975. The syndicated movie review shows followed. He never lost sight of the simple principle of speaking to his audience and getting them what they wanted.
Roger Ebert was a “work horse.” He was at his best when he wasn’t working and reviewing. At the peak of his career he reviewed as many as 306 movies a year. He worked as a film critic for the Chicago Sun Times from 1967 until he died. His recent bouts with cancer and surgeries robbed him of his ability to speak, eat and drink in 2006. Cancer in his salivary glands and jaw forced him to use a feeding tube but he continued to write and review. He refused to let his misfortune rob him of his wings. He continued to write, read and breathe life into movies as they had done for him until he died. He still produced his syndicated column for the Sun Times and 200 newspapers until he died. He also published more than twenty collections of film reviews.
Mr. Ebert truly believed by continuing to do what he did he could change how people viewed films, how films viewed the world and all of those little connecting points and sockets in between. He relished the reality that what he said and did, did make filmmakers more attentive to the standards of their craft and the stories that they told. His wife laments, “we were getting ready to go home” last Thursday, April 5th when he just “smiled and passed away.” “There was no struggle, no pain.” Maybe he felt he had finally written enough, maybe he had endured enough. The only honorable thing for his audience to acknowledge is how they have been affected by his life, work and his relentless undertaking. A Funeral Note as a thank surely is in order. Let your conscience way heavy in your decision.

I recently learned that my manager lost his wife in her fight with brain cancer. It will so hard for me to even open up to him and discuss how he was feeling considering he has to be in store almost every day of the week.