Ebert had written that he was going on a ‘leave of presence,’ explaining that he was not going away and merely reducing his time working on reviews as he underwent radiation treatment. Ebert was diagnosed with in 2002 with thyroid cancer and he underwent multiple surgeries leaving him unable to talk. Ebert worked for the Sun-Times as a film critic for 46 years and in 1975 he won the Pulitzer Prize. He also hosted several movie-review shows alongside Richard Roeper.
After his surgeries which left his unable to talk, Ebert could no longer host film review shows but he continued his work as a film critic writing reviews and columns. He garnered a huge following on both Twitter and Facebook in recent years, using the social media to comment on various topics.
Chaz Ebert, his wife, said in a statement that they were preparing to go home for hospice care when Ebert looked at them and smiled then passed on peacefully.
