Roger Ebert to Make First Public Appearance in 10 Months

Roger Ebert, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967 and former television host of "Siskel & Ebert" and later "Ebert & Roeper" - after Gene Siskel died in 1999 and replaced by Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper - will make his first public appearance since last June. Ebert, 64, underwent surgery to remove a cancerous growth near his jaw, and has kept to himself ever since.

Two weeks later, on July 1, Ebert was rushed to the hospital with a burst artery near the site of the jaw surgery. It was later revealed that the cause of the ruptured artery was the neutron beam radiation he underwent for the cancer.

Ebert, however, wrote in a column on Tuesday, that he will be making an appearance at the Overlooked Film Festival, a festival Ebert started 9 years ago, from the audience. Since the surgery, Ebert has been unable to talk, and in the article warns people his appearance may be slightly off-putting.

"I will be wearing a gauze bandage around my neck, and my mouth will be seen to droop," he says. As for reports that friends and family were worried about the famous movie critic being seen in this condition? "I was told photos of me in this condition would attract the gossip papers," he acknowledged. "So what? We spend too much time hiding illness."

As Ebert describes it: "What happened was, cancer of the salivary gland spread to my right lower jaw. A segment of the mandible was removed. Two operations to replace the missing segment were unsuccessful, both leading to unanticipated bleeding. A tracheostomy was necessary so, for the time being, I cannot speak."

In spite of the numerous surgeries, Ebert is still in high spirits. In his article, he included a note to "gossip rags."

"I have some back pain," he said. "And to make it easier for me to sit through screenings, the festival has installed my very own La-Z-Boy chair. Photos of me in the chair should be captioned "La-Z-Critic.'"

The Overlooked Film Fesitval is held, starting Wednesday, in Champagne-Urbana, on the campus of the University of Illinois.

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