Siskel graduated from Yale in 1967 and began working for the Chicago Tribune in 1969. In 1974 while doing film reviews for a local television station doing a show called Sneak Previews, he was teamed up with Roger Ebert. Their "thumbs-up, thumbs-down" system soon became the standard for the profession.
In 1998, Siskel underwent brain surgery to remove a brain tumor. He announced on February 3, 1999 that he was taking a leave of absence but that he expected to be back by the fall. I’m in a hurry to get well because I don’t want Roger to get more screen time than I.
He died from complications of the surgery two weeks later, at age 53.