Richard Roeper
Encyclopedia
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist
and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show
on WLS-AM. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert
from 2000–2008, as the late Gene Siskel
's replacement.
. He attended Thornridge High School
and graduated from Illinois State University
in 1982. He has described himself as a Catholic, although "not always first in line for Sunday Mass". He is frequently seen wearing a cross necklace and has commented approvingly on films with explicit Christian themes such as 'The Book of Eli', which he gave an A review to. Conversely, he has also been known to criticize films for settling for a PG-13 rating rather than having the integrity to feature more explicit violence and nudity.
to media
to entertainment
. He has written seven books, on topics from movies to urban legend
s 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 also was a radio host on WLS
AM 890 in Chicago. He also hosted shows on WLUP-FM, WLS-FM and WMVP-AM in Chicago. He won three Emmy awards for his news commentaries on Fox
in the 1990s, and was the film critic for CBS
in Chicago for three years in the early 2000s. He won the National Headliner Award
as the top newspaper columnist in the country in 1992, and has been voted best columnist in Illinois by the Associated Press
on numerous occasions.
His columns have been syndicated by the New York Times to publications around the world. Roeper has written for a number of magazines, including Esquire
, Spy
, TV Guide
, Playboy
, Maxim
and Entertainment Weekly
. He was once named as 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 is currently the host of Starz Inside, a monthly documentary series airing on the Starz network since the fall of 2007. Roeper appeared on the first episode of the fifth season of Entourage
reviewing the fake movie Medellin starring fictional movie star Vincent Chase. In April 2008, Roeper was the central figure on an episode of Top Chef
, in which the contestants served up movie themed dishes to Roeper and his friends, including Aisha Tyler
.
In February 2009, Roeper launched his own web site, http://www.richardroeper.com, which features movie reviews, blog entries about politics, sports and movies, photos and Twitter
entries. For most of the year Roeper was posting print reviews and blog entries. In December 2009, he launched a video section, with on-camera reviews of movies. The video segments are produced in partnership with the Starz premium cable channel. Roeper announced the reviews will appear first on his site, then on the Starz channel.
In December 2009, it was reported Roeper had signed a "six-figure" deal with ReelzChannel to be a regular contributor. He will continue to review movies online for his website and for Starz.
As of Monday, April 12, 2010, he is now the co-host of The Roe Conn Show
on Chicago's WLS-AM 890 radio station from 2-6pm CST.
of Siskel & Ebert died on Saturday, February 20, 1999, Roger Ebert did the show with nearly 30 co-hosts. After 10 guest stints, Roeper was offered the opportunity to permanently co-host the popular film review show with Ebert. The series was renamed Ebert & Roeper at the Movies in 2000, and shortened to Ebert & Roeper in 2002.
Beginning in August 2006, while his co-host Roger Ebert was recovering from cancer surgery, Roeper was joined by guest critics, including Clerks
director Kevin Smith
and The Tonight Show
host Jay Leno
. On Sunday, July 20, 2008, Roeper announced he was leaving the show in mid-August and would return with a new show later in the year. He continues to write his general interest column, and also contributes reviews to the Sun-Times and to newspapers across the country.
Columnist
A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....
and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show
The Roe Conn Show
The Roe Conn Show, also known as The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper and Roe and Roeper, is a talk radio show hosted by Roe Conn and Richard Roeper on WLS-AM. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 2 pm to 6 pm CDT, from the studios of WLS in Chicago and aired online by Citadel Radio...
on WLS-AM. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
from 2000–2008, as the late Gene Siskel
Gene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
's replacement.
Personal Life
Roeper was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was raised in south suburban Dolton, IllinoisDolton, Illinois
Dolton is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 25,614 at the 2000 census. Dolton is located just west of the expressway Interstate 94 and immediately south of the city limits of Chicago. Its most common ZIP code is 60419....
. He attended Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School
Thornridge High School is a public high school located in Dolton, Illinois. It was built as part of Thornton Township High Schools District 205. It is sometimes confused with the similar sounding schools in the same district: Thornton Township High School and Thornwood High...
and graduated from Illinois State University
Illinois State University
Illinois State University , founded in 1857, is the oldest public university in Illinois; it is located in the town of Normal. ISU is considered a "national university" that grants a variety of doctoral degrees and strongly emphasizes research; it is also recognized as one of the top ten largest...
in 1982. He has described himself as a Catholic, although "not always first in line for Sunday Mass". He is frequently seen wearing a cross necklace and has commented approvingly on films with explicit Christian themes such as 'The Book of Eli', which he gave an A review to. Conversely, he has also been known to criticize films for settling for a PG-13 rating rather than having the integrity to feature more explicit violence and nudity.
Career
Roeper began working as a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1987. The topics of his columns range from politicsPolitics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
to media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
to entertainment
Entertainment
Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...
. He has written seven books, on topics from movies to urban legend
Urban legend
An urban legend, urban myth, urban tale, or contemporary legend, is a form of modern folklore consisting of stories that may or may not have been believed by their tellers to be true...
s to conspiracy theories
Conspiracy theory
A conspiracy theory explains an event as being the result of an alleged plot by a covert group or organization or, more broadly, the idea that important political, social or economic events are the products of secret plots that are largely unknown to the general public.-Usage:The term "conspiracy...
to the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. In 2009 Roeper appeared on Howard Stern's show
Howard 100 and Howard 101
Howard 100 and Howard 101 are two uncensored channels on Sirius XM, a satellite radio service that broadcasts programming affiliated with Howard Stern and The Howard Stern Show...
and said he had written a book on gambling, entitled Bet the House, which was released in the first quarter of 2010.
Roeper also was a radio host on WLS
WLS (AM)
WLS is a Chicago clear-channel AM station on 890 kHz. It uses C-QUAM AM stereo and transmits with 50,000 watts from transmitter and towers on the south edge of Tinley Park, Illinois....
AM 890 in Chicago. He also hosted shows on WLUP-FM, WLS-FM and WMVP-AM in Chicago. He won three Emmy awards for his news commentaries on Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in the 1990s, and was the film critic for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in Chicago for three years in the early 2000s. He won the National Headliner Award
National Headliner Awards
The National Headliner Awards are a prize given out by Press Club of Atlantic City since 1935. Both broadcast journalism and print journalism are recognized, in separate categories.-External links:*...
as the top newspaper columnist in the country in 1992, and has been voted best columnist in Illinois by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
on numerous occasions.
His columns have been syndicated by the New York Times to publications around the world. Roeper has written for a number of magazines, including Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, Spy
Spy (magazine)
Spy was a satirical monthly magazine founded in 1986 by Kurt Andersen and E. Graydon Carter, who served as its first editors, and Thomas L. Phillips, Jr., its first publisher. After one folding and a rebirth, it ceased publication in 1998...
, TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. He was once named as one of People magazine's most eligible bachelors.
Roeper has been a frequent guest on the Tonight Show, Live with Regis and Kelly
Live with Regis and Kelly
Live! with Kelly is a syndicated American television morning talk show, hosted by Kelly Ripa. The show has aired since 1983 in New York City and 1988 nationwide. Tony Pigg has been the show's announcer since its inception...
, The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
and countless other national programs. He is currently the host of Starz Inside, a monthly documentary series airing on the Starz network since the fall of 2007. Roeper appeared on the first episode of the fifth season of Entourage
Entourage (TV series)
Entourage is an American comedy-drama television series that premiered on HBO on July 18, 2004 and concluded on September 11, 2011, after eight seasons...
reviewing the fake movie Medellin starring fictional movie star Vincent Chase. In April 2008, Roeper was the central figure on an episode of Top Chef
Top Chef
Top Chef is an American reality competition show that airs on the cable television network Bravo, in which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. They are judged by a panel of professional chefs and other notables from the food and wine industry with one or more contestants...
, in which the contestants served up movie themed dishes to Roeper and his friends, including Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler
Aisha N. Tyler is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and author, known for her regular role as Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer and voicing Lana Kane in Archer, as well as her recurring roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Talk Soup, and on Friends as Charlie...
.
In February 2009, Roeper launched his own web site, http://www.richardroeper.com, which features movie reviews, blog entries about politics, sports and movies, photos and Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
entries. For most of the year Roeper was posting print reviews and blog entries. In December 2009, he launched a video section, with on-camera reviews of movies. The video segments are produced in partnership with the Starz premium cable channel. Roeper announced the reviews will appear first on his site, then on the Starz channel.
In December 2009, it was reported Roeper had signed a "six-figure" deal with ReelzChannel to be a regular contributor. He will continue to review movies online for his website and for Starz.
As of Monday, April 12, 2010, he is now the co-host of The Roe Conn Show
The Roe Conn Show
The Roe Conn Show, also known as The Roe Conn Show with Richard Roeper and Roe and Roeper, is a talk radio show hosted by Roe Conn and Richard Roeper on WLS-AM. The program is broadcast live every weekday, 2 pm to 6 pm CDT, from the studios of WLS in Chicago and aired online by Citadel Radio...
on Chicago's WLS-AM 890 radio station from 2-6pm CST.
Work as a film critic
After Gene SiskelGene Siskel
Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted the popular review show Siskel & Ebert At the Movies from 1975 until his death....
of Siskel & Ebert died on Saturday, February 20, 1999, Roger Ebert did the show with nearly 30 co-hosts. After 10 guest stints, Roeper was offered the opportunity to permanently co-host the popular film review show with Ebert. The series was renamed Ebert & Roeper at the Movies in 2000, and shortened to Ebert & Roeper in 2002.
Beginning in August 2006, while his co-host Roger Ebert was recovering from cancer surgery, Roeper was joined by guest critics, including Clerks
Clerks
Clerks is a 1994 independent comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, who also appears in the film as Silent Bob. Starring Brian O'Halloran as Dante Hicks and Jeff Anderson as Randal Graves, it presents a day in the lives of two store clerks and their acquaintances...
director Kevin Smith
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith is an American screenwriter, actor, film producer, and director, as well as a popular comic book writer, author, comedian/raconteur, and internet radio personality best recognized by viewers as Silent Bob...
and The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
host Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
. On Sunday, July 20, 2008, Roeper announced he was leaving the show in mid-August and would return with a new show later in the year. He continues to write his general interest column, and also contributes reviews to the Sun-Times and to newspapers across the country.