Two Thumbs Up For Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert in his last years.  He was missing his jaw, but still had his signature "Two Thumbs Up"

Roger Ebert wasn't a film, but to a lot of people in the world, including myself, he was the man we turned to when we needed an opinion on one.  That wasn't always the case for me though.  When I was a child, and first became interested in film, I just watched anything and critiqued it.  I didn't think much of it because it was just a film, but that all changed when I first saw Siskel and Ebert.  I had never seen two people on a show like that before, let alone talking about films so passionately.  Once I saw it, I was hooked.  Gene Siskel unfortunately died in 1999, but Roger went on despite his declining health.  Now that isn't the case anymore, sadly, because Roger is now gone after a bout from cancer.

I first heard the news Thursday afternoon around 4 o'clock.  My friend Scotty told me via text about what happened to Roger, and I had to take a moment to take it all in.  I didn't know Roger and never met him personally, but in some ways, like a lot of people, I felt like I did because of the type of person he was on TV: nice, thoughtful, harsh at times with his criticism, but you knew he was honest and passionate with how he felt about films.  I respected that, but respected him even more when I read his reviews because he could portray his opinion on any medium effectively, and he never backed down.

To say the influence Roger Ebert has had on me would be hard to say.  He has showed me a lot about films and writing, but he's done so much more than that.  His website provided constant comfort for me the past few years, and he delighted me with his personal life.  My career goal is to be a writer/novelist, but I always said to my friends and parents that the backup was to be a film critic like Roger Ebert.  I knew I could never be him, but I liked the feeling of just being connected with him when it came to films.  Unfortunately, because of Roger's death, that can't happen anymore, but his voice and writing will live on forever.  And if we miss him, we'll always have the films because I think that is what he'd want to be remembered for.  God Bless You Roger Ebert!  May you rest in peace with Gene Siskel.  You both went far too soon.

Siskel & Ebert Intro