Chicago Sun-Times movie critic Roger Ebert is a man so prolific and ubiquitous that it’s easy to take him for granted. A thumbs-up from Ebert is guaranteed to make it onto movie posters and DVD boxes. So a casual follower might forget his months-long hiatus four years ago or for not noticing his mostly physical absence since then.

In 2006, Ebert underwent a dramatic surgery for jaw cancer. It took away his ability to speak and to eat but left intact his appetite for film and his way with words. Canadian journalist Chris Jones writes about Ebert’s cancer battle in the article Roger Ebert: The Essential Man, in the latest issue of Esquire magazine. He joins us from the CBC in Ottawa.

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Roger Ebert’s Journal

Music Button: S. Cipriani, Pirana Paura-Deep, from the CD New Cinema Italiano, (Vivi Music Soundtracks)