There have been many sources of inspiration when it comes to determination and steadfast will to carry on. They usually come in the form movie action star, injury plagued athlete and the occasional rise of a troubled youth to a fruitful life of social bliss. I think we can all agree that “overweight movie critic from the 80′s” doesn’t usually come up on our radar for hardcore, tough as nails, ‘never quit’ troopers. Roger Ebert however, the guy won’t stop.

Before the internet and before we were interested in picking up a newspaper we used to watch Siskel and Ebert talk shit about the movies we liked. My general rule was that if they hated it, I would probably like it. As a kid who rarely went to the movies I never really understood how or why anyone would complain about any movie they saw. They got to go to the movies then they got to be on TV!!! As far as I was concerned they should spend their half hour hugging each other, jumping for joy that their lives were so fucking awesome.

Time passes and perspectives change. I now understand and appreciate the critical eye. Especially when it comes to such a dynamic artform like moving pictures. Without an outspoken critical voice it would be tough for people to orient themselves and decide what was worth the 10-15 bucks it would cost to spend a few hours staring at a giant screen. It’s hard for most people, myself included, to discern quality past the trailers that market the movie to us. I mean, have you seen the trailer for new Clash of the Titans? Unfuckingbelieveable!

Anyways, Robert Ebert has weathered many nasty storms including allegedly dating Oprah Winfrey for some time. Weird but true. As troublesome as an amorous affair with Ms. Winfrey can be, his toughest battle has been with papillary thyroid cancer. Since his diagnosis in 2002, he has gone under numerous operations. Some of them successfully removing the cancer that had infected him yet other surgeries came with dire complications. These complication led to the removal of a large portion of his jaw and throat leaving him without a voice. Damn. Well, you may say, “I guess we won’t be able to hear him talk shit on movies anymore” and in a faux computer-generated robot voice I reply, “bzzzzt….HE WILL NOT BE SILENCED.”

For a little while Roger would type into a computer program that would output his commentary in a computer-generated voice. The odd thing was the voice had a distinctly British accent that he fondly referred to as “Lawrence”. After another brief stint with patriotically switching over to a good ole’ American voice named “Alex”, in stepped CereProc . The good people at CereProc had mined Mr. Eberts voice from audio commentary tracks that he recorded for DVDs like Casablanca, Citizen Kane and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. They built a virtual verbal library that can now be utilized so friends, family and fans can hear Roger Ebert happily disassemble the dénouement of Any Given Sunday on any given Sunday. The guy won’t quit. At this rate I wouldn’t be surprised to see his head on the body of a giant, spider-slaying, movie-reviewing robot from the future.

In the 90′s you may have seen this man and watched him virtually fistfight Gene Siskel using a strange but impressively ahead of its time Sega Activator Body Ring and you may have thought, “This guy got knocked the fuck out! What a virtual puss!”  Little did you know that twenty years later he would be rolling with the mightiest punches that life can throw our way. Keep talking shit Mr Ebert. I got your back.

A clip of Ebert using the “Lawrence” voice.

The return of “The Voice of Ebert”.

In all seriousness, this guy is a true inspiration. Check out his blog and read up on his story. He is the definition of never ever letting anything stop you from chasing your dreams. In the face of death Roger has decided to let things unfold naturally from here on out electing to have no more surgeries even if the cancer returns due to the complications from the previous surgeries. I’ll close with a journal entry of his titled, “Go Gently into That Good Night”:

I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. What I am grateful for is the gift of intelligence, and for life, love, wonder, and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris.

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