Sad news to report to the film buffs of the world: Roger Ebert has died, he was 70. Ebert’s former employer, The Chicago Sun Times, broke the news of his passing via Twitter.
“It is with a heavy heart we report that legendary film critic Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) has passed away,” the Sun-Times tweeted. “There is a hole that can’t be filled. One of the greats has left us.”
The Illinois native passed away at his Chicago home earlier today, and had been dealing with health issues over the last decade. He battled both cancer of the thyroid and salivary gland, resulting in having a portion of his lower jaw removed.
Yet. even with the change in his physical appearance and speech ability, he remained a staunch, sometimes brutally honest, critic of films. His career with The Sun-Times lasted 46 years, but it was his show Siskel & Ebert that brought him the most notoriety (Drake even shouted him out on “Over”).
In 1999 his co-host, Gene Siskel, died after a bought with brain cancer, and was replaced by Ebert’s’ Sun-Times colleague, Richard Roper.
In memory of Roger Ebert, the single greatest clip of Siskel and Ebert bickering in TV outtakes.
