CHICAGO (AP) Film critic Roger Ebert has died at age 70.

Ebert’s office says the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic died Thursday at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. His death came two days after Ebert announced on his blog that he was undergoing radiation treatment for a recurrence of cancer.

Ebert was known for his thumbs-up, thumbs-down reviews that influenced moviegoers across the nation.

Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2002 and later had surgery for cancer of the salivary gland. He lost his chin and his ability to speak. But he later resumed writing full-time and eventually even returned to television.

Ebert started as a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. In 1975, he became the first movie reviewer to get the Pulitzer Prize for criticism

Caryn Rousseau

Associated Press