Roeper now three years younger than Siskel when he died

Roeper apparently agreed with Homer Simpson's assessment of himself as Roger Ebert's "kiss-ass new partner" because Roeper now has embarked on a venture with a subscription-based movie channel that "will have more of an unfiltered, uncut, viral feel. If a film is a piece of sh--, I'll say it's a piece of sh--," said Roeper, who implied he was muzzled by Ebert, who has now been muzzled himself through disease.  (If you would like a rendition of the aforesaid without the bad taste but with the bad taste of the expletives included, read  Robert Feder's blog post at http://www.vocalo.org)

Roeper's new venture with Starz ends his long search for a new partner. He had been reading the obituaries for the last 16 months since his syndicated movie review deal fell through. At one point it looked as though he had a deal to replace the late Louis Teicher of the piano duo of Ferrante & Teicher when Roeper read of Teicher's death in August 2008,  but then Art Ferrante died in September of this year.

"Sometimes the window is open for such a short time. There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of a timely death. Mayor Daley the first could not have ascended to power had it not been for at least a couple of deaths above him on the political ladder," a source said. "It's part of the great Chicago tradition."