page_title: Roger Ebert
section_title: Memorials and legacy
hierarchical_section_title: Roger Ebert / Death / Memorials and legacy
caption_attribution_description: English: A statue of film critic Roger Ebert giving his trademark "thumbs up" gesture outside the Virginia Theater in Champaign, IL
context_page_description: Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," Tom Van Riper of Forbes described him as "the most powerful pundit in America," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
  Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing voice and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to nonspecialist audiences. Despite being a populist, Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, which often resulted in such films receiving greater exposure.
context_section_description: A 2hr 45min public tribute, entitled Roger Ebert: A Celebration of Life, was held on April 11, 2013, at the Chicago Theatre. It featured in-person remembrances, video testimonials, video and film clips, and gospel choirs, and was, according to the Chicago Tribune's Mark Caro, "a laughter- and sorrow-filled send-off from the entertainment and media worlds."
  In September 2013, organizers in Champaign, Illinois, announced plans to raise $125,000 to build a life-size bronze statue of Ebert in the town, which was unveiled in front of the Virginia Theatre at Ebertfest on April 24, 2014. The composition was selected by his widow, Chaz Ebert, and depicts Ebert sitting in the middle of three theater seats giving a "thumbs up."
  The 2013 Toronto International Film Festival opened with a video tribute of Ebert at Roy Thomson Hall during the world premiere of the WikiLeaks-based film The Fifth Estate. Ebert had been an avid supporter of the festival since its inception in the 1970s. Chaz was in attendance to accept a plaque on Roger's behalf.
  At the 86th Academy Awards ceremony, Ebert was included in the In Memoriam montage, a rare honor for a film critic.
  In 2014, the documentary Life Itself was released. Director Steve James, whose films had been widely advocated by Ebert, started making it while the critic was still alive. Martin Scorsese served as an executive producer. The film studies Ebert's life and career, while also filming Ebert during his final months, and includes interviews with his family and friends. It was universally praised by critics. It has a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
  Ebert was inducted as a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of Illinois. In 2001, he was awarded the highest honor in Illinois, the Order of Lincoln, by the governor of Illinois in the area of performing arts. In 2016, Ebert was inducted into the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame.
  The website RogerEbert.com contains an archive of every review Ebert wrote, as well as many essays and opinion pieces. The site, now operated by Ebert Digital (a partnership between Chaz and friend Josh Golden), continues to publish new material written by a group of critics who were selected by Ebert before his death.
caption: A statue of Ebert giving his 'thumbs up' outside the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois
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