Film critic Roger Ebert dies at 70

American film critic Roger Ebert died after a long battle with cancer in Chicago on Thursday. He was 70.

He was found to be suffering from thyroid cancer in 2002, losing his jaw and his ability to speak in a subsequent surgery. But he later resumed writing full-time and also returned to TV, the BBC reported.

Ebert, known for his thumbs-up or down reviews on a TV programme with partner and friend Gene Siskel, became a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967 and later became the first person to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.

His columns were syndicated in hundreds of newspapers worldwide.

On Tuesday, Ebert had written on his popular blog that he was facing a fresh bout with cancer and was taking a “leave of presence,” writing fewer reviews.

He had suffered a hip fracture in December, which he said “had recently been revealed to be a cancer.

He wrote that the disease was being treated with radiation, which had also made it impossible for him to attend as many movies as he used to.