Chicagoist Weekend Theater: Roger Ebert Remembers Mike Royko

By Chuck Sudo in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 7, 2013 7:00PM

Nearly all of the tributes to Roger Ebert have involved how he touched the lives of those around him and how in awe they were of his humility and down-to-earth nature when they met him. This serves as a fitting parallel to how Ebert felt as he met his idols as a nascent Chicago newspaperman.

As Chicago prepares to say farewell to Ebert, we wanted to share a clip of this April 28, 1999 C-Span video where he tells the story of how he first met Mike Royko. Royko died April 29, 1997; two years later Mayor Richard M. Daley declared April 29, 1999 "Mike Royko Day" in Chicago.

Ebert was part of a Murderers' Row of local writers and journalists to pay tribute to Royko that included Studs Terkel, Bill Kurtis, Carol Marin, Mary Schmich, Ellen Warren, Rick Kogan, Ann Landers, former Tribune editorial page editor Lois Wille, and Tim Weigel. The Media Burn Archive has the complete video here.