Roger Ebert has had a hard time in recent years.  The renowned film critic has struggled with his health, and even after losing his jaw and voice to cancer, his written output only increased.  Indeed, post-cancer Ebert was incredibly prolific with his writing, pumping out an autobiography, conducting a heart-wrenching profile for Esquire, and even making a return to television in prerecorded segments on a new version of his famous At The Movies.  It lacked the rapport Ebert had with longtime partner Gene Siskel and struggled to find much of an audience in this day of instantly-available online film criticism and video movie reviews.  Still, it felt like something special to have Roger Ebert on TV again.  Unfortunately, Ebert’s time on earth is done.  Roger Ebert has died at age 70 due to cancer.

Roger Ebert has beaten cancer multiple times, but unfortunately for him and his loved ones, it always came back.  When a hip fracture was determined to be caused by cancer, Ebert entered treatments for what would be the last time.  Two days ago, he announced a “leave of presence” from his film duties, stepping back to review only what he wanted to review while announcing a revamp of his blog and a launch of a new Ebert Digital web venture.  Sadly, this will not be the case.

Rest in peace, Roger.  For anyone who likes film, you were an inspiration and you changed the way a generation watched films.  In your honor, the balcony should remain closed.

Tags: obituaries, film critics, celebrities, hollywood, roger ebert, at the movies, gene siskel, roger ebert dead at 70, roger ebert obituary, roger ebert dies, chicago sun-times, chicago, illinois, roger ebert cancer, roger ebert dies of cancer at 70, film criticism, interesting people, ebert, ebert obituary

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]