Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959)[1] is an American columnist and film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor.[2][3] From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted The Roe and Roeper Show with Roe Conn on WLS-AM.[4] From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show Good Day Chicago.[5]
Richard Roeper
Columnist
Early life[edit]
Roeper was born in Chicago, Illinois. He grew up in south suburban Dolton, Illinois and attended Thornridge High School before graduating from Illinois State University in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. While still a student at the university, he auditioned for the movie review program Sneak Previews when Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert (his future co-host on At the Movies) left the program, for which he was turned down.[6]
Preferences[edit]
Favorites[edit]
Roeper has cited The Maltese Falcon, The Godfather trilogy, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off as among his favorite films.[7][29] On Ferris Bueller's Day Off he stated that, "It has one of the highest 'repeatability' factors of any film I've ever seen...I can watch it again and again. There's also this, and I say in all sincerity: Ferris Bueller's Day Off is something of a suicide prevention film or, at the very least, a story about a young man trying to help his friend gain some measure of self-worth...Ferris has made it his mission to show Cameron that the whole world in front of him is passing him by and that life can be pretty sweet if you wake up and embrace it. That's the lasting message of Ferris Bueller's Day Off."[30] Roeper pays homage to the film with a license plate that says "SVFRRIS".[31]
In a 2000 interview, he cited Woody Allen as a hero of filmmaking.[7] Among his favorite films from the 1990s are Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Heat, Good Will Hunting, and Notting Hill.[32] In November 2004, on a special segment of Ebert & Roeper, Roeper stated that his all-time favorite film about Thanksgiving is Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Accolades[edit]
In 1992, he was awarded the National Headliner Award as the top newspaper columnist in the country. He won two Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards awards for his news commentaries on Fox.[5] On April 11, 2020, Roeper was awarded the Roger Ebert Award at the 2020 AAFCA Special Achievement Award Luncheon.[49]