Conference on World Affairs will miss Ebert
Roger Ebert and I had a lengthy phone conversation several years ago. I was interviewing him for the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, where I worked, and he was about to make his annual trip to the University of Colorado Boulder to participate in the Conference on World Affairs (CWA).
He had suffered a recent loss – the death of his longtime movie-critic partner, Gene Siskel. No one ever would have mistaken the professional rivals as best buddies, but Ebert clearly was affected by the absence of his sparring partner. "I miss him terribly," Ebert told me.
Life has gone on for Ebert, though his well-documented health struggles have been accompanied by increasing restrictions to his career and lifestyle. One of what must be countless heartbreaks came in recent days with Ebert's announcement that he was retiring from April's CWA.
"The conference has been a central part of my life for more than 40 years, and I will miss it terribly," Ebert wrote in an e-mail. "Having lost the gift of speech, I can no longer participate in the ways that gave me such pleasure. The Cinema Interruptus sessions, so named by Howard Higman, taught me much more than I ever taught them.
"I am leaving on a high point after bringing together Werner Herzog and Ramin Bahrani last year. Jim Emerson will carry on, and the audience as always will not let a frame pass unnoticed. Forty weeks is 10 months, and that's how long I lived in Boulder. I met so many good people and have so many good memories. Give my regards to Macky and to Daddy Bruce's. And don't be surprised if I turn up one year for the concert. I like that outboard aisle seat on the left, about six rows back..."
Ebert expounds on his decision in this touching blog posting. The CWA schedule and more details are available here.
The conference will go on, continuing the celebration of thought that Ebert so cherishes.
But he will be terribly missed.
— Jay Dedrick |
