He was a gladiator—brave, wildly funny, passionate about Dylan, Ena and his family—and completely in love with every new day. 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. The heartbreak, today.

All of us love Joel . Present tense. Without end.

–Diane Sawyer pays tribute to her friend Joel Siegel, who lost a long battle to colon cancer on Friday at the age of 63. [via E! News]