Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel

 Eugene Kal "Gene" Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999)

He was an American film critic and journalist for Chicago Tribune. In 1975, Siskel teamed up with Roger Ebert, film reviewer for Chicago Sun-Times, to host a show on the local Chicago PBS station WTTW which eventually became Sneak Previews. Their "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" system soon became an easily recognizable trademark, popular enough to be parodied on comedy shows such as SCTV, In Living Color, Bizarre, and in movies such as Hollywood Shuffle and Godzilla. Sneak Previews gained a country-wide audience in 1977 when it was carried on PBS. Siskel remained with Ebert on television until 1999, through his battle with a 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 I." Siskel died from complications of another surgery at the age of 53 on February 20, 1999. Gene Siskel is buried at Westlawn Cemetery in Norridge, Illinois.