5 Apr – Pulitzer-prize winning Roger Ebert, known for pioneering film criticism, has sadly succumbed to cancer today, two days after announcing the return of the illness on his blog. Ebert started his career in 1967 writing for the Chicago Sun-Times where he wrote about films passionately for 45 years. Thanks to the long-running "At The Movies" series on television, which Ebert hosted with Chicago Tribune critic, Gene Siskel, Ebert was further boosted to fame outside of the industry and became a name forever tied to movies. The 'two thumbs up' gesture from the on-screen movie critic partners later became a much coveted sign desperately craved by Hollywood.
When the famous film critic's first battle with cancer led to the removal of his jaw in 2002, rendering him unable to speak, he turned to the internet, voicing his passion still through his blog and twitter. The year 2012, turned out to be the year he wrote the most reviews in his career, with a total of 306. "Roger Ebert has always been an iconic, not to mention funny film critic, whose reviews I always follow whenever I can. His passing is definitely a loss to the industry," said Tan Kok Aik from 20th Century Fox. Even Ebert's last words to fans were not far from his passion, with his final post on his Chicago Sun-Times blog, saying: "On this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies." He is survived by his wife, Chaz, a stepdaughter and two step grandchildren.