Gene Siskel - Death

Death

In 1998, Siskel underwent surgery for a cancerous brain tumor. He announced on Wednesday, 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 me".

On Saturday, February 20, 1999, Siskel died from complications of another surgery at the age of 53. After Siskel's death, the producers of Siskel & Ebert hired other film critics and began using them on a rotating basis as an audition for a permanent successor. Ultimately, Ebert's Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper was hired and the show was renamed Ebert & Roeper at the Movies. The last film Siskel reviewed on television with co-host Ebert was The Theory of Flight on Saturday, January 23, 1999. The final film that he reviewed in print was the Sarah Michelle Gellar romantic comedy Simply Irresistible, which he gave a thumbs-down.

Siskel was survived by his wife, Marlene, and their children, Kate, Callie, and Will and is interred at Westlawn Cemetery.

Read more about this topic:  Gene Siskel

Famous quotes containing the word death:

    Sad. Nothing more than sad. Let’s not call it a tragedy; a broken heart is never a tragedy. Only untimely death is a tragedy.
    Angela Carter (1940–1992)

    Most of the folktales dealing with the Indians are lurid and romantic. The story of the Indian lovers who were refused permission to wed and committed suicide is common to many places. Local residents point out cliffs where Indian maidens leaped to their death until it would seem that the first duty of all Indian girls was to jump off cliffs.
    —For the State of Iowa, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)

    You stars that reigned at my nativity,
    Whose influence hath allotted death and hell.
    Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593)