Joel Siegel, movie critic

When I created a section called "Obituaries" in my brand new Google Notebook, I wondered whose obituary would be the first I would clip and save into my Notebook. (Fashion designer Liz Claiborne had just passed away last week but as I'm not really that crazy about fashion I didn't bother to save any of the numerous obituaries written about her.)

Sadly, I didn't have to wait too long before that dubious honor went to well-respected movie critic, Joel Siegel, who is known for delivering his witty movie reviews on "Good Morning America". Reading the articles that immediately followed his death yesterday, I learned that he had been suffering from colon cancer and that he had stopped reporting to work just two weeks ago, never letting on how bad his condition actually was. After all, he was still relatively young at 63.

I myself am saddened by his sudden passing. Although I watched "Siskel & Ebert" more than Siegel on GMA--I would faithfully read Roger Ebert's review online--his name was one of the few I had heard of when it came to movie reviews. With Gene Siskel's own unexpected death years ago from brain cancer and Ebert himself ailing this past year, it's sad to see that generation of movie critics pass on one by one. It would now be time to be on the look out for people who would take their places.