Beloved "Good Morning America" movie critic Joel Siegel has passed away Friday afternoon after a brave fight with colon cancer, ABC News and WABC-TV station announced.

"Joel was an important part of ABC News and we will miss him," ABC News President David Westin said in a release. "He was a brilliant reviewer and a great reporter. But much more, he was our dear friend and colleague. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joel's family."

Siegel, known for his weekly reviews, died surrounded by friends, family, and colleagues at his home in New York.

"For 31 years, Joel Siegel has given Channel 7 viewers his honest opinion on entertainment," said Dave Davis, president and general manager of WABC-TV. "His reviews of movies and plays were written and delivered in Joel's clever style—revealing, refreshing and always filled with his smart humor.

"No one had more fun writing about a bad movie than Joel. His dedication to work while he has battled cancer with strength and dignity has been an inspiration to all of us."

The five time New York Emmy winner worked almost until the end, with the same cheerful and humorous attitude people will be remembering him for.

"Still at work only two weeks before his death," writes Bill Blakemore of ABC News, "he had this reporter and several others chortling in an elevator over a line he was about to broadcast about there being so many new penguin movies lately that soon they would outnumber the penguins themselves."

The Los Angeles native was diagnosed with the disease when he was 54, little before he found out he was going to be a father for the first time. Fearing he might not live to see his son growing up, he wrote "Lessons for Dylan: From Father to Son."