Chaz Ebert | |
|---|---|
 Ebert at the Hawaii International Film Festival in 2010 | |
| Born | Charlie Hammel October 15, 1952 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Dubuque (BA) University of Wisconsin–Platteville (MA) DePaul University (JD) |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | since 1972 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
Chaz Ebert (born Charlie Hammel, October 15, 1952) is an American businesswoman. [1] [2] She is the wife and widow of film critic Roger Ebert, having been married to him from 1992 until his death in 2013.
Ebert was born in Chicago to Johnnie Hobbs Hammel and Wiley Hammel Sr. She attended Crane Technical High School in Chicago. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Dubuque, a Master of Arts from University of Wisconsin–Platteville, and a Juris Doctor from the DePaul University College of Law. [3]
Chaz was an executive producer and guest on Ebert Presents: At the Movies . She is the CEO and publisher of Ebert Digital, which publishes RogerEbert.com , which contains an archive of her deceased husband Roger Ebert's film reviews and publishes contributors' film reviews. [4] [5] She was featured in the 2014 documentary Life Itself about Roger Ebert and was an executive producer of the 2019 film Selah and the Spades .
In 2005, Ebert was part of a group of high-profile minority and female shareholders who filed a federal lawsuit against other investors in the bankrupt Rosemont, Illinois-based Emerald Casino. Ebert and the other investors said they lost more than $21 million after the Illinois Gaming Board revoked the license from the Emerald Casino, reportedly because the other investors were accused of lying to state regulators or having ties to organized crime. [6] [7] [8]
After the death of her husband in 2013, [9] Ebert became the host of Ebertfest, an annual film festival held in Champaign, Illinois, in collaboration with the UIUC College of Media. [10] [11] [12]
On September 28, 2022, during the 2022 Screen Gems Benefit, Ebert announced that she will make her directorial debut on a documentary about Deborah Szekely, the godmother of health and fitness. [13]
On May 7, 2024, Ebert published a book entitled It's Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness about the importance of forgiveness, empathy, compassion, and kindness, inspired by the work of her late husband Roger Ebert. [14]
Chaz was married to film critic Roger Ebert from 1992 until his death in 2013. [15] [16] [17] [18] [ excessive citations ] She has two children from previous relationships. [3]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Ebert Presents: At the Movies | Contributor | 10 episodes |
| 2013 | Roger Ebert's 14th Annual Film Festival: A Retrospective | Herself | Short film [19] |
| 2014 | Life Itself | Herself | |
| 2019 | 90 Years of the Music Box Theatre | Herself | Short film |
| 2019 | Benjamin Marshall Architect | Herself | Short film [20] |
On September 28, 2022, Ebert was awarded the FACETS Legend Award at the 2022 Screen Gems Benefit for her efforts to promote diversity within the film world. [13]
Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Ebert was known for his intimate, Midwestern writing style and critical views informed by values of populism and humanism. Writing in a prose style intended to be entertaining and direct, he made sophisticated cinematic and analytical ideas more accessible to non-specialist audiences. Ebert frequently endorsed foreign and independent films he believed would be appreciated by mainstream viewers, championing filmmakers like Woody Allen, Spike Lee, Werner Herzog and Errol Morris, as well as Martin Scorsese, whose first published review he wrote. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
Ebertfest is an annual film festival held every April in Champaign, Illinois, United States, organized by the College of Media at the University of Illinois. Roger Ebert, the TV and Chicago Sun-Times film critic, was a native of the adjoining town of Urbana, Illinois, and is an alumnus of the University. Founded in 1999 as Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival, this event is the only long-running film festival created by a critic. Despite Ebert's death in 2013, the festival continues to operate based on Ebert's notes and vision for the kinds of films he championed.
Jennifer Jason Leigh is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). She received critical praise for her performances in Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Miami Blues (1990), Backdraft (1991), Single White Female (1992), and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994).
Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune who co-hosted movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert.
Richard E. Roeper 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. 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.
The Daily Illini, commonly known as the DI, is a student-run newspaper that has been published for the community of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign since 1871. Weekday circulation during fall and spring semesters is 7,000; copies are distributed free at more than 100 locations throughout Champaign–Urbana.
The Illini Media Company is a nonprofit, student media company based in Champaign, Illinois. The company owns several student-run media outlets associated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: the general newspaper, the Daily Illini; the entertainment paper, Buzz Magazine; the engineering quarterly, Technograph; the U of I yearbook, the Illio; and the commercial radio station, WPGU.
Sweet November is a 2001 American romantic drama film based in San Francisco directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron. The film is loosely based on the 1968 film Sweet November written by Herman Raucher, which starred Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis; with some differences in plot. The film reunites Reeves and Theron, who starred in Devil’s Advocate.
Andrew Davis is an American filmmaker, known for having directed several successful action and thriller films during the 1980's and '90s. His best known works include Above the Law (1988), Under Siege (1992), The Fugitive (1993), Chain Reaction (1996), A Perfect Murder (1998), and Holes (2003). He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director and a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film for The Fugitive.
John Grochowski is a gambling columnist and author. His weekly newspaper column began at the Chicago Sun-Times and is now syndicated nationally. In 1994, the monthly Las Vegas Advisor reported that Grochowski was the first casino gambling columnist at a major U.S. newspaper. In 2012, he also began a weekly Sun-Times column on baseball sabermetrics, the first of its kind in a daily newspaper.
Combatants for Peace is an Israeli-Palestinian NGO and an egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots movement committed to non-violent action against the “Israeli occupation and all forms of violence” in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Christy A. Lemire is an American film critic and host of the movie review podcast Breakfast All Day. She previously wrote for the Associated Press from 1999 to 2013, was a co-host of Ebert Presents at the Movies in 2011 and co-hosted the weekly online movie review show What The Flick?! until 2018. She currently reviews under the Breakfast All Day brand, on YouTube and Patreon, with Alonso Duralde.
Prashant Bhargava was an Indian-American filmmaker and designer. He died of a heart attack from a history of heart trouble. Bhargava's short film Sangam, described by Greg Tate of the Village Voice as "an elegant and poetic evocation of immigrant angst, memory and haunted spirituality", premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and PBS. His other directorial efforts include the documentary portrait of his grandmother Ammaji, experimental Super 8 short Backwaters and the poignant and meditative Kashmir, an audiovisual performance with band Dawn of Midi
The Virginia Theatre is a live performance and movie theatre in downtown Champaign, Illinois. It has been providing theatrical and cinematic entertainment to the Champaign-Urbana community since its doors opened in 1921. Each year, the Virginia Theatre is host to movies from film reels, plays from various acting troupes, concerts, and Ebertfest, presented by the UIUC College of Media. It is currently owned by the Champaign Park District.
Ebert Presents: At the Movies is a weekly, nationally syndicated movie review television program produced by film critic Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz Ebert. The program aired on public television stations in the United States through American Public Television from January 21 to December 30, 2011.
Ignatiy Igorevich Vishnevetsky is a Russian-American film critic, essayist, and columnist. He has worked as a staff film critic for The A.V. Club and written for Mubi.com and the Chicago Reader.
Life Itself is a 2014 American biographical documentary film about Chicago film critic Roger Ebert, directed by Steve James and produced by Zak Piper, James and Garrett Basch. The film is based on Ebert's 2011 memoir of the same name. It premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was an official selection at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. The 41st Telluride Film Festival hosted a special screening of the film on August 28, 2014. Magnolia Pictures released the film theatrically in the United States and simultaneously via video on demand platforms on July 4, 2014.
RogerEbert.com is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the Chicago Sun-Times, was launched in 2002. Ebert handpicked writers from around the world to contribute to the website. After Ebert died in 2013, the website was relaunched under Ebert Digital, a partnership founded between Ebert, his wife Chaz, and friend Josh Golden.
Kwik Stop is a 2001 American independent road film written and directed by Michael Gilio. The feature film stars Lara Phillips, opposite Gilio, along with Karin Anglin and Rich Komenich. The film had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Independent Film Festival on April 21, 2001.
C-U at the Movies is a statue of film critic Roger Ebert located outside of the Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois. The bronze statue was designed by sculptor Rick Harney. It was unveiled at the 2014 Ebertfest—an annual film festival established by Ebert and held at the theater—and formally dedicated later that year. The interactive artwork consists of a sculpture of a seated Ebert giving a thumbs-up, with two empty seats allowing for visitors to pose with him.