By Clarissa Hamlin
Roger Ebert, who dazzled audiences with his sharp and refreshing style of reviewing films for the Chicago Sun-Times, passed away yesterday following a lengthy and public battle with thyroid cancer. He was 70.
The witty and esteemed film critic is best known for co-hosting “At the Movies,” a film review television show that he hosted with the late Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper for decades. Ebert will also be remembered as an advocate for Black auteurs like Spike Lee, actors like Denzel Washington, and cinema. In his more than 40 years critiquing films, he bestowed best film titles on The Color Purple in 1985, Eve’s Bayou in 1997, and Monster’s Ball in 2001.
The Pulitzer Prize winner is survived by his wife, Chaz Hammelsmith Ebert, two step-children, and two step-grandchildren.
