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Gene Siskel





BIOGRAPHY

Gene Siskel graduated from Yale University in 1967 and began working for the '' Chicago Tribune '' in 1969 . In 1974 while doing movie reviews for a local television station doing a show called '' Sneak Previews '', he was teamed up with Roger Ebert . Their "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" system soon became an easily recognizable trademark, widely popular enough to be parodied on comedy shows such as '' In Living Color '' and in movies such as '' Hollywood Shuffle ''. ''Sneak Previews'' gained a nationwide audience in 1978 when it was carried on PBS .

Siskel and Ebert left PBS in 1982 for Syndication . ''Sneak Previews'', the name of the PBS show, was owned by WTTW in Chicago, so the syndicated show was originally dubbed ''At The Movies'' and renamed '' Siskel & Ebert '' in 1986 .

In 1998 , Siskel underwent Brain Surgery to remove a Brain Tumor . He announced on February 3 , 1999 that he was taking a Leave Of Absence but that he expected to be back by the fall, writing "I'm in a hurry to get well because I don't want Roger to get more screen time than I." The last film he viewed was the Sarah Michelle Gellar romantic comedy '' Simply Irresistible ''.

He died from complications of the surgery two weeks later, at the age of 53. After his death, Richard Roeper took his place, and the show he co-hosted along with Roger Ebert was renamed to '' Ebert & Roeper ''.


QUOTES

  • "I always ask myself, 'Is the movie that I am watching as interesting as a documentary of the same actors having lunch together?'"

  • :—Oft-cited question used by Siskel as a yardstick by which one could gauge a movie's quality.



TRIVIA

  • Siskel's favorite film was '' Saturday Night Fever '', which he claimed to have seen 17 times. He liked the movie so much, he bought the famous white Disco suit (worn by John Travolta in the movie) at a charity auction.


  • The 1995 Chris Farley film '' Tommy Boy '' was the first and only movie, Siskel claimed, that caused him to walk out of the theater while viewing.


  • Siskel hated nothing more than to have a baby crying while trying to view a movie. He said he would pay any Usher $10 to remove the baby and the mother out of the theater.



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