Richard Roeper

Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television series '' At the Movies'' with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor. From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted ''The Roe and Roeper Show'' with Roe Conn on WLS-AM. From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show ''Good Day Chicago.'' Since 2021, he has hosted a podcast entitled ''The Richard Roeper Show'' for American Eagle. He is a regular contributor to ''Windy City Weekend'' and its predecessor '' Windy City Live'' on WLS-TV. In 2025, Roeper joined '' RogerEbert.com'' as a regular contributor.

Early life

Roeper was born in Chicago, Illinois, one of four children to Robert and Margaret (née Slobatec) Roeper. 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.

Career

Roeper began working as a columnist for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'' in 1986. The topics of his columns ranged from politics to media to entertainment. He has been voted the best columnist in Illinois by the Associated Press on numerous occasions.

He has also written seven books on topics ranging from movies to urban legends to conspiracy theories to the Chicago White Sox. In 2009, Roeper appeared on Howard Stern's show and said he had written a book on gambling, entitled ''Bet the House'', which was released in the first quarter of 2010.

Roeper was a radio host on WLS AM 890 in Chicago. He also hosted shows on WLUP-FM, WLS-FM, and WMVP-AM in Chicago.In the early 2000s, he was the film critic for CBS in Chicago for three years.

His columns have been syndicated by ''The New York Times'' to worldwide publications. Roeper has written for a number of magazines, including '' Esquire'', '' Spy'', ''TV Guide'', '' Playboy'', '' Maxim'', and ''Entertainment Weekly''. In 2001, he was named one of ''People'' magazine's most eligible bachelors.

Roeper has been a frequent guest on '' The Tonight Show'', '' Live with Regis and Kelly'', '' The O'Reilly Factor'', and countless other national programs. He also hosted ''Starz Inside'', a monthly documentary series that aired on the Starz network. Roeper appeared on the first episode of the fifth season of '' Entourage'', where he reviewed a fake movie titled ''Medellin'' with Michael Phillips on '' At the Movies''. In April 2008, Roeper was the central figure on an episode of '' Top Chef'', where contestants served up movie-themed dishes to Roeper and his friends (including Aisha Tyler).

In February 2009, Roeper launched his website, which features movie reviews, blog entries, photos, and Twitter posts. In December 2009, he launched a video section that featured on-camera reviews of movies. The video segments were originally produced in partnership with the Starz premium cable channel. Roeper announced that the reviews would appear first on his site, then on the Starz channel.

In December 2009, it was reported that Roeper had signed with ReelzChannel to be a regular contributor. Beginning in December 2010, Roeper began producing video reviews for ReelzChannel. He stopped reviewing movies for ReelzChannel in February 2015; his final review was for the Jude Law disaster film '' Black Sea''.

From April 12, 2010, to October 7, 2014, he co-hosted ''The Roe & Roeper Show'' with Roe Conn on Chicago's WLS 890 radio station from 2-6 pm CST.

In October 2015, Roeper joined the cast of the Fox Chicago morning TV show ''Good Day Chicago''. He signed off from that morning TV show on October 18, 2017. From 2018 until 2021, he was a contributor to '' Windy City Live'' and from 2021 onward, a contributor to its predecessor, ''Windy City Weekend'', for WLS-TV.

Roeper was suspended from the ''Sun-Times'' on January 29, 2018, pending an investigation into allegations that he had purchased Twitter followers. On February 2, the ''Sun-Times'' released a statement stating that their investigation did find that Roeper purchased over 25,000 fake followers. The paper later reinstated him, though he was required to begin using a new account on which he was explicitly disallowed from buying followers.

Film critic

After Gene Siskel of '' Siskel & Ebert'' died on February 20, 1999, Roger Ebert co-hosted the show with nearly 30 guest critics. After ten appearances on the program, Roeper was offered the opportunity to co-host the popular film review show with Ebert permanently. The series was renamed ''Ebert & Roeper and the Movies'' in 2000. The title was shortened to ''Ebert & Roeper'' in 2001. Before this, he conducted an interview in 1995 with Siskel and Ebert to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their partnership.

Beginning in August 2006, while his co-host Roger Ebert was recovering from cancer surgery, Roeper was joined by numerous guest critics, including ''Clerks'' director Kevin Smith, '' The Tonight Show'' host Jay Leno, and singer-songwriter John Mellencamp. On Sunday, July 20, 2008, Roeper announced that he was leaving the show in mid-August and would return with a new show later in the year. However, plans for a new program starring Roeper failed to materialize.

Between 2009 and late 2010, Roeper contributed video reviews to Starz. In December 2010, he moved to ReelzChannel, where he contributed a segment titled ''Richard Roeper's Reviews'' every weekday at 5:00 pm ET. Roeper remained with the network until early 2015. In early 2013, Roeper began contributing film reviews to '' RogerEbert.com''. On September 12, 2013, it was announced that Roeper will replace Roger Ebert as the main movie critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'' after his death on April 4, 2013, at the age of 70. In August 2014, Roeper became first-string film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'', where he made his debut reviewing '' Guardians of the Galaxy''. He is a member of Chicago Film Critics Association.

Since 2021, he has hosted a podcast entitled ''The Richard Roeper Show'' (formerly ''Screen Time with Roe and Roeper'' which he hosted with Roe Conn until 2022) for American Eagle, which airs every Tuesday and Thursday.

On March 19, 2025, Roeper revealed that he accepted a buyout from the ''Sun-Times'' to terminate his employment, ending his time at the newspaper after a 39-year run. Despite this, he is expected to keep reviewing movies on his podcast and for ''Windy City Weekend'' on WLS-TV. Roeper's last review for the ''Sun-Times'', published on March 20, 2025, was for '' Snow White''.

In 2025, Roeper became a regular contributor to ''RogerEbert.com''.

Preferences

Favorites

Roeper has cited '' The Maltese Falcon'', '' The Godfather'' trilogy, and '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' as among his favorite films. 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''." Roeper pays homage to the film with a license plate that says "SVFRRIS".

In a 2000 interview, he cited Woody Allen as a hero of filmmaking. Among his favorite films from the 1990s are '' Goodfellas'', '' Pulp Fiction'', '' Heat'', '' Good Will Hunting'', and '' Notting Hill''. 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''.

Best films of the year

Since 2000, Roeper has compiled an annual film list which provides an overview of his critical preferences.

*2000: '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon''
*2001: '' Memento''
*2002: '' Gangs of New York''
*2003: '' In America''
*2004: '' Hotel Rwanda''
*2005: '' Syriana''
*2006: '' The Departed''
*2007: '' Michael Clayton''
*2008: '' Slumdog Millionaire''
*2009: '' Brothers''
*2010: '' Inception''
*2011: '' Drive''
*2012: '' Zero Dark Thirty''
*2013: '' American Hustle''
*2014: '' Boyhood''
*2015: '' Room''
*2016: '' Manchester by the Sea''
*2017: '' Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri''
*2018: '' Widows''
*2019: '' The Irishman''
*2020: '' Nomadland''
*2021: ''Belfast''
*2022: '' The Whale''
*2023: '' Oppenheimer''
*2024: '' Small Things Like These''

Filmography

Bibliography

* ''He Rents, She Rents: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Women's Films and Guy Movies'', with Laurie Viera (1999)
* ''Hollywood Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Delightfully Persistent Myths of Films, Television, and Music '' (2001)
* ''Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Deliciously Entertaining Myths That Are Absolutely, Positively, 100% Not True'' (2001)
* ''Ten Sure Signs a Movie Character Is Doomed, and Other Surprising Movie Lists'' (2003)
* ''Schlock Value: Hollywood At Its Worst'' (2005)
* ''Sox and the City: A Fan's Love Affair with the White Sox from the Heartbreak of '67 to the Wizards of Oz'' (2006)
* ''Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century'' (2008)
* ''Bet the House: How I Gambled Over a Grand a Day for 30 Days on Sports, Poker, and Games of Chance'' (2010)

Accolades

In 1992, he was awarded the National Headliner Award as the top newspaper columnist in the country. He won two Chicago / Midwest Emmy Awards for his news commentaries on Fox. On April 11, 2020, Roeper was awarded the Roger Ebert Award at the 2020 AAFCA Special Achievement Award Luncheon.

References

External links

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Biography
from TV Tome
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Roeper, Richard
1959 births
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American columnists
American film critics
American film historians
American male non-fiction writers
Chicago Sun-Times people
Critics of conspiracy theories
Film theorists
Historians from Illinois
Illinois State University alumni
Living people
People from Dolton, Illinois
Television personalities from Chicago
Writers from Chicago