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By Paul M. Banks
National media figure Richard Roeper is undoubtedly one of the most successful individuals that my home region (the far south suburbs of Chicago) has ever produced. Roeper, who was raised in Dolton, Illinois, has an extensive biography of achievement; best summarized by this excerpt from his wikipedia.org entry: “Roeper began working as a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1987. The topics of his columns range from politics to media to entertainment, and he has written books on film criticism and urban myths, as well as a book about the Chicago White Sox. Roeper was a radio host on WLS AM 890 in Chicago. He also hosted shows on WLUP-FM, WLS-FM and WMVP-AM in Chicago. He won three Emmy awards for his news commentaries on Fox in the 1990s, and was the film critic for CBS in Chicago for three years in the early 2000s. He was bestowed with the National Headliner Award as the top newspaper columnist in the country in 1992, and has been voted best columnist in Illinois on numerous occasions. His columns have been syndicated by the New York Times to publications around the world.
Roeper has been a frequent guest on the Tonight Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The O’Reilly Factor, the Today Show and countless other national programs. He is the host of Starz Inside, a monthly documentary series airing on the Starz Network since the fall of 2007. Among Roeper’s magazine byline credits: TV Guide, Playboy, Maxim, the late Spy magazine, Reader’s Digest, Entertainment Weekly and Chicago magazine. He was once voted one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Bachelors.â€
His Wikipedia page also lists the seven books that he has written. “Sox and the City” is to the White Sox and their fans what Bill Simmons of ESPN’s “Now I can die in Piece” is to Boston Red Sox Nation.
• He Rents, She Rents: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Women’s Films and Guy Movies, with Laurie Viera (1999)
• Hollywood Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Delightfully(Weeee!) Persistent Myths of Films, Television, and Music (2001)
• Urban Legends: The Truth Behind All Those Deliciously Entertaining Myths That Are Absolutely, Positively, 100% Not True (2001)
• Ten Sure Signs a Movie Character is Doomed, and Other Surprising Movie Lists (2003)
• Schlock Value: Hollywood at Its Worst (2005)
• Sox and the City: A Fan’s Love Affair with the White Sox from the Heartbreak of ’67 to the Wizards of Oz (2006)
• Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century (2008)Â
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I had an exclusive conversation with him right before he hosted and participated in the “Aces UP!†Celebrity Poker tournament benefiting the Urban Prep Academy, Chicago’s only all-boys public charter high school.
 Listen here for my Exclusive with Richard RoeperÂ
[audio:https://www.thesportsbank.net/audio/richardroeper.mp3]
Roeper with former Chicago Bear Jerry Azumah, NBC5’s Natalie Martinez, and Actor Chris Williams
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