To do good writing, read good writing. Here’s the good writing I’ve been reading this week:
Roger Ebert died yesterday, April 4, after a long battle with cancer. Ebert, 70, was the movie critic at the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years. He hosted a popular TV show, first with co-host Gene Siskel, then with other co-hosts, for many years.
In recent years, after multiple cancer surgeries left him unable to talk (or eat or drink), Ebert took his words to Twitter, and his blog.
He never stopped writing, and writing a lot. In 2012, he cranked out 306 movie reviews along with a couple posts a week on his own blog, plus other writing. His last post, announcing his “leave of presence” came two days before he died. His last printed words, in the post announcing his semi-retirement, were:
So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.
I”m a long-time admirer of Ebert’s work, and have mentioned him here often. In memory of a great writer and newspaperman, I’m sharing some of my favorites:
Roger Ebert: In Memoriam
Roger Ebert: The Essential Man (Esquire) – Beyond the shockingly candid photographs of Ebert, who lost his lower jaw battling cancer, Chris Jones’ profile is a touching portrait of a guy who lived to write, especially after he lost the ability to speak. Of his relationship with Gene Siskel, his movie-reviewing partner from 1986 to 1999, Ebert said: “…we were born to be Siskel and Ebert.”
Saturday at Lee F–king Marvin’s (Esquire) – Jones’ 2010 profile of the film critic created something of an Ebert frenzy. First, Deadspin’s Will Leitch came out with My Roger Ebert Story, an apologia for a hack job on Ebert that Leitch had done earlier in his career, despite the fact that Ebert had once been his mentor (Ebert forgave him via Twitter). With interest in Ebert picking up, Esquire re-published what Ebert called the best profile he ever did for the magazine, an interview with actor Lee Marvin that’s as insightful as it is profane and has to be read to be believed. You don’t run into quote machines like Marvin very often, and when Ebert did he was smart enough to turn on his tape recorder and stay the hell out of the way.
Roger Ebert’s Journal – Talk about a second act. For a long time, Ebert was like air: around but not anyone you thought about much — at least I didn’t. He’d become famous for Siskel & Ebert, left TV after having major health issues and was still writing movie reviews for the Chicago Sun Times but had receded into the background of journalistic fame and fortune. All that changed after he started blogging, and even more when he took to Twitter. Then came the Chris Jones profile along with candid photos of Ebert minus his lower jaw, which he lost to cancer. The piece went viral thanks in no small part to people who read it, loved it, and shared it with their online social circles. The story and Ebert’s response to it brought even more people to Ebert’s blog. On Twitter, Ebert discussed everything from politics to love, sports to immigration, as well as links to his new movie reviews and appreciations of old ones. Ebert proved that blogging and online brand building isn’t just a young man’s game.
Ebert Memoir Full of Surprises (SecondAct.com) — Pat Kiger, my friend and one-time fellow blogger at the now shuttered Entrepreneur Media website for people over 40, writes on everything from corporate finance to science to movies, music and pop culture. Kiger’s review of Ebert’s 2011 autobiography is a case in point: educated, insightful and a great read.
[Photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons]