Eugene Kal Siskel was born in Chicago, January 26th, 1946. His parents died before he turned ten, and along with his siblings, he moved into his aunt and uncle's house. Siskel got his B.A. in philosophy at Yale, and then had a brief stint in the military, writing press releases, a precursor to his future career in journalism. He got a staff writing job at the Chicago Tribune, and within months became the Tribune's film critic. He began television film criticism in 1974 on a CBS affiliate, but it wasn't until a year later when he got together with Roger Ebert. The duo began what would be a 23 season television collaboration. The show had many name changes, but the popular thumbs up rating system lived on. The chemistry between Siskel and Ebert is what really made them a success, never before had a movie review been entertainment in itself. They bickered all the time, and they even had to end up choosing which one of their names would go first in the theater marquee title by flipping a coin. In the end, Siskel and Ebert were (and Ebert continues to be) the most popular film critics in America.

Siskel was known for his particular fondness for Saturday Night Fever, and his most prized possession was Travolta's actual disco suit from the film.

"Gene bought the famous white suit at a charity auction. I got to inspect it once. It came with a shirt that buttoned under the crotch, so it would still look neat after a night on the dance floor. I asked Gene if he'd ever tried it on. It was too small, he said. But it wasn't the size that mattered. It was the idea of the suit. "

Gene Siskel died February 20 1999 in Evanston Hospital, from complications from brain surgery.

• Citizen Kane (1941)
• The Godfather Parts 1 & 2 (1972-74)
• Dr. Strangelove (1964)
• The General (1927)
• Tokyo Story (1953)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• Pinocchio (1940)
• Shoah (1985)