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Says that his favorite actress of all time is Ingrid Bergman. Awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Colorado. Has written 15 books. Hobbies: walking, reading, travel, sketching, cosmology, Darwinism. Member of Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame since 1997. Sportswriter at the age of 15. Chicago's Erie Way was renamed Siskel & Ebert Way in 1995. His home has a mini-movie theatre and a glass enclosed workout room; he also has a life-sized statue of Oliver Hardy. He went to the draft for the Vietnam War and almost got in, but he was told he was overweight and was rejected. He was 26 years old and weighed 206 pounds at that time. Estimates he's seen well over 10,000 films in his lifetime. His 4th annual EbertFest of Overlooked Films held at Virginia Theatre in Champaign, Illinois, drew almost 20,000 people over 5 days in March 2002. Considers the film Day of the Woman (1978) (aka "I Spit On Your Grave") to be the worst movie he has ever seen. He drew criticism when he stated that he considered The Passion of the Christ (2004) to be 'the most violent film I've ever seen'. Many misinterpreted that to mean that he felt that the violence in the film was negative and exploitive (even though he gave the film a glowing review). He stated in his Q and A column that "The effect of movie violence depends on subjective factors, including the purpose the filmmakers had in using it." Is an avid user and fan of IMDb. At the end of the nineties, he and Martin Scorsese made a list of the top ten films of the decade. Roger's were: 1. Hoop Dreams (1994) 2. Pulp Fiction (1994) 3. Goodfellas (1990) 4. Fargo (1996) 5. Three Colors: Red, White and Blue 6. Schindler's List (1993) 7. Breaking the Waves (1996) 8. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) 9. Malcolm X (1992) 10. JFK (1991). His number one movies from the following 1990s were Goodfellas (1990), JFK (1991), Malcolm X (1992), Schindler's List (1993), Hoop Dreams (1994), Leaving Las Vegas (1995), Fargo (1996), Eve's Bayou (1997), Dark City (1998), and Being John Malkovich (1999). Has said his favourite actor is Robert Mitchum. Spent a year on a Rotary fellowship at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. He later started a PhD at the University of Chicago, which he didn't finish. Received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. [June 23, 2005] Three of the five films he's chosen from 2000 to 2004 as the best of the year, have all won their lead actresses the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Halle Berry in Monster's Ball (2001) (his choice for the best film of 2001), Charlize Theron in Monster (2003) (his choice for the best film of 2003) and Hilary Swank in Million Dollar Baby (2004) (his choice for the best film of 2004). His top ten films of all time are: The General (1926), Citizen Kane (1941), Tôkyô monogatari (1953) ("Tokyo Story "), Vertigo (1958), La dolce vita (1960), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) ("Aguirre: The Wrath of God"), Apocalypse Now (1979), Raging Bull (1980) and "Dekalog" (1989). He was an only child. Biography/bibliography in: "Contemporary Authors." New Revision Series, volume 151, pages 132-135. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2006. Claimed in his original review of Rocky (1976) that Sylvester Stallone was the "next Marlon Brando". Shares the birthplace of Urbana, Illinois with the character Hal 9000, as specified in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) one of his all time favorite movies. He held a birthday party for Hal 9000 at the University of Illinois in Urbana in 1997 (Hal's birth date in the novel, not the film) celebrated with a screening of 2001 and its co-writer Arthur C. Clarke in attendance via satellite. As a result of suffering from thyroid cancer, he had to have his lower jaw removed. He lost all ability to speak, eat and drink. He was nourished through infusions and a tube and communicated via his computer or through signs he made with his hands. Despite all health problems, he continued to work as a movie critic.