Chicago (AP) Roger Ebert is leaving the balcony.

The movie critic says he's cutting ties with the nationally syndicated program he and the late critic Gene Siskel made famous, a day after Richard Roeper said he was quitting the show.

In an e-mail to the Associated Press, Ebert said Disney-ABC domestic television, which owns “At The Movies With Ebert and Roeper,” has decided to take the show in a new direction. Ebert says he'll “no longer be associated” with the program.

Ebert has been battling cancer in recent years. He has been unable to appear on the show since doctors performed surgery in 2006 that left him unable to speak. But he continues to churn out print reviews.

As for Roeper, he says he'll “proceed elsewhere” to co-host a movie review show that honors the Ebert and Siskel tradition.

Ebert's announcement brings to a close a chapter in one of the longest running shows in television history. The show that made “two thumbs up” famous started its run in 1975.