“Forgotten Hollywood”- Film Critic Roger Ebert Has Died…
Manny P. here… 
One of the most prolific critics of cinema passed away on Thursday. Roger Ebert was also a fine journalist and screenwriter, who was described by Forbes Magazine as the most powerful pundit in America. He was the initial film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize, as well as, the first to be awarded a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame.
Ebert began his career at the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. He first garnered attention by a national public for his 1969 review of Night of the Living Dead that was published in Reader’s Digest. In 1970, he co-wrote the screenplay for the Russ Meyer film, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, regarded as a cult classic. ROGER EBERT ->
When paired on a local television show with fellow Chicago newspaper critic, Gene Siskel, they proved to become a sensation. The show was picked up by PBS in 1978 for national distribution. Their trademark thumbs up or thumbs down could decide the fate of any given movie. After the death of Siskel in 1999, Ebert paired with his Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper. He continued to work tirelessly despite a 2002 diagnosis of thyroid cancer, which eventually left him unable to speak.
Ebert had compiled best of the year movie lists since the 1960s, which have helped to provide an overview of his critical preferences. His top choices included Bonnie and Clyde, Five Easy Pieces, The Last Picture Show, The Godfather, Sophie’s Choice, The Color Purple, Goodfellas, Schindler’s List, Fargo, Million Dollar Baby, The Hurt Locker, The Social Network, and last year, Argo. Roger’s all-time favorite motion picture was reportedly Citizen Kane. He additionally began profiles of notable actors and directors in addition to his film reviews — celebrating such legends as Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum.
Ebert founded his own film festival, Ebertfest, in his home town of Champaign, Illinois in 1999. His 1975 Pulitzer for distinguished criticism was the first, and one of only three, given to a film reviewer since the categorys creation in 1970. Ebert was made an honorary life member of the Directors Guild of America during the group’s annual awards ceremony on January 31, 2009. He appeared on Turner Classic Movies in 2010 during the network’s The Essentials series. Ebert chose Sweet Smell of Success to be shown.
Two thumbs up for the life of Roger Ebert. He was 70.
(photos courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times and Art Shirley)
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Friday, April 5th, 2013 at 1:03 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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