Last updated: Monday, July 2, 2007

FILM REVIEWER SIEGEL LOSES CANCER BATTLE

Revered U.S. film critic JOEL SIEGEL has lost his battle with cancer. He was 63.

A longtime favourite on TV show Good Morning America, Siegel won five New York Emmy Awards for his work.

In a statement from ABC, TV executives said, "Joel was an important part of ABC News and we will miss him.

"He was a brilliant reviewer and a great reporter. But much more, he was our dear friend and colleague. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joel's family."

Born in Los Angeles in 1943, Siegel started his career reviewing books for the Los Angeles Times newspaper. He later became a TV news reporter in New York, where he also hosted Joel Siegel's New York on WCBS Radio.

He became a regular on Good Morning America in 1981 and went on to win a string of accolades, including the New York State Associated Press Broadcasters Association Award for general excellence in individual reporting.

Good Morning America newswoman Diane Sawyer honoured the late critic by stating, "He was a gladiator - brave, wildly funny, passionate... Film critic may have been his job description - what he really did was tell us about the wonder and heartbreak of life. The wonder was to know him."

Fellow film reviewer Roger Ebert added, "From the first day I met him... Joel was a friend. We worked the red carpet every year at the Oscars, interviewing each other when things got slow.

"I had dinner with Joel and his wife, the well-known artist Ena Swansea, soon after he got the bad health news, but he wasn't downbeat; he had hope and determination."

Source: WENN

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