http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZOZjNk5rLY
Roger Ebert, the famed movie critic who passed away Thursday, was known as much for his Twitter presence as he was for his TV show of the past, At The Movies. Let’s check out a selection of Twitter tweets, from, and about Roger Ebert.
This tweet, on April 2nd, would be Mr. Ebert’s last one:
My Leave of Presence: An updatehttp://j.mp/YRRHq8
— Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) April 3, 2013
What a beautiful title. RT @ebertchicago: My Leave of Presence: An updatehttp://j.mp/YRRHq8
— TLC (@taralconley) April 3, 2013
This was the tweet from the Chicago Sun Times that announced his death:
It is with a heavy heart we report that legendary film critic Roger Ebert (@ebertchicago) has passed away
— Suntimes (@Suntimes) April 4, 2013
And selected reactions from a man who embodies the spirit of Chicago:
Condolences to losing THE Best “@suntimes: It is with a heavy heart we report that legendary film critic Roger Ebert has passed away”
— peggy kusinski (@peggykusinski) April 4, 2013
.@ebertchicago, a great communicator who found his voice online after his own was physically removed. Proof that you can be human online.
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) April 5, 2013
When cancer stole Roger Ebert’s voice, #Twitter gave him a new one bit.ly/17gaA9R
— TweetSmarter (@TweetSmarter) April 5, 2013
Roger Ebert’s 1995 message to lawmakers is pretty great huff.to/14JtOVy
— Huffington Post (@HuffingtonPost) April 5, 2013
And this is part of the key message from what would be his last column in the Chicago Sun Times:
Typically, I write over 200 reviews a year for the Sun-Times that are carried by Universal Press Syndicate in some 200 newspapers. Last year, I wrote the most of my career, including 306 movie reviews, a blog post or two a week, and assorted other articles. I must slow down now, which is why I’m taking what I like to call “a leave of presence.”
But, from reading it, Mr. Ebert made it clear he had a lot of plans, big plans. From an upgrading of his digital presence to his continued work at Ebertfast, his film festival, and how he planned to select other critics to keep his work going, Roger Ebert was planning for the future.
Then, on April 4th, he passed away.
No word on the date of the funeral service. Stay tuned on that one.
We have to kill this thing called cancer. We just have to.