Roger Ebert, longtime film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times passed away on April 4, 2013. Along with Gene Siskel, the pair become perhaps the most iconic film critics in our nation and their "Thumbs Up" and "Thumbs Down" are an integral part of our cultural lexicon. Ebert's reviews functioned as consumer protection, to enable American households to make informed decisions about how to spend our hard-earned wages. Many Americans have been saved from watching wretched such as "North," about which he said "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it."
Not only was Ebert a great film critic, but the public face he showed with his illness over these past few years took a tremendous amount of courage and is an example of living our lives with dignity.