Gene Siskel

From the early 1970s until his untimely death in 1999, Gene Siskel provided a unique voice among film critics. Combining his Midwestern roots with an Ivy league education, coupled with his infectious love of both mainstream American movies such as "Saturday Night Fever" (1977) as well as obscure foreign films such as "My Dinner With Andre" (1981), he helped usher in an era of pop culture criticism. Paired throughout most of his career with fellow Chicagoan critic Roger Ebert, their weekly television reviews shows made popular their infamous "thumbs up/thumbs down" style for more than a generation of filmgoers.