Joel Siegel, perhaps best known as Good Morning America's film critic (a program he was on weekly since 1981), died yesterday in New York at the age of 63. Siegel had been battling colon cancer, though many didn't even know he was sick as he stayed positive until the end and kept working until just two weeks ago.
In addition to his weekly appearances on GMA he was also seen frequently on ABC News, and for the last 10 years presided over the annual Oscar special Joel Siegel's Road to the Academy Awards. He got his on-air start at WCBS as a feature reporter, before moving to WABC's Eyewitness News in 1976 as their entertainment critic. His light-hearted witty blurbs often found their way on to movie posters and ads, and even when he didn't like something he still kept things upbeat. Kevin Smith may disagree, however, as Siegel famously walked out of Clerks II saying to the audience, in so many words, that he hadn't done that in 30 years.
Before becoming a familiar face, he was a freelance writer for a number of publications (including Rolling Stone and Sports Illustrated), a joke writer for Robert F. Kennedy, an inventor of names for Baskin-Robbins ice cream flavors, and in 1991 he joined forces with actor Gene Wilder to found Gilda’s Club. According to The NY Times, the nonprofit organization "provided social support for cancer patients and their families. The organization was named for Mr. Wilder’s wife, Gilda Radner, who died of cancer."
Siegel also penned a few books - and one even found its way to the Broadway stage. The First, a musical based on the story of Jackie Robinson, was nominated for a Tony Award in 1982. The other book is called Lessons For Dylan: From Father To Son. He wrote this after the birth of his son, which took place on the last day of his chemotherapy treatment. The book (which includes life lessons through things like an interview he did with the Beatles to a recipe for brisket) starts out with a sullen tone that he wasn't known publicly for, the first chapter is called: "I don't have good news." His wife, Ena Swansea - an artist, and son live in New York.
