Gene Shalit, the popular film critic who spent decades with TODAY, has died. He was 100 years old.
In a statement to NBC News on June 12, Shalit’s family said he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life.”
Born March 25, 1926, Shalit was an instantly recognizable personality. Along with his distinctive handlebar mustache, poofy hair, eyeglasses and bow ties, he is best remembered for his love of puns while doing reviews on the show’s “Critic’s Corner” segment.
A graduate of the University of Illinois, Shalit became a part-time TODAY personality in 1970 and was elevated to a full-time role in 1973, replacing Joe Garagiola. He remained with the show until he retired in 2010. “It’s enough already,” he said in a statement announcing his retirement.
In addition to his reviews, Shalit interviewed scores of celebrities during his TODAY tenure. His 1979 sit-down with Carol Channing is best remembered for the actor telling a story about having trouble understanding the British accent that left him in tears from laughing so hard.
“What’s the matter with him?” a smiling Channing said as Shalit tried to gather himself.
His movie reviews were often punctuated by his use of puns, which became his calling card.
Shalit made regular appearances on classic game shows “What’s My Line?” and “To Tell the Truth” and wrote for a wide range of newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Glamour and TV Guide. He also wrote and broadcast a daily piece called “Man About Anything” on NBC’s radio network for over a decade.
In addition, he authored the 1987 anthology “Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor.” He also compiled the book “Great Hollywood Wit” in 2002.
“Shalit has performed with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston’s Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, played his bassoon on stage in Lincoln Center, and conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in a full concert of classical music. In none of these venues has he ever been invited back,” read a cheeky bio of Shalit in the 2007 book “Mazel Tov: Celebrities’ Bar and Bat Mitzvah Memories.”
He also lent his voice as a character named Gene Scallop in a 2007 episode of “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
He became pop culture fodder, often being lampooned on “Family Guy” and portrayed by Horatio Sanz on “Saturday Night Live.”
Shalit had six children with late wife Nancy, one of whom, Emily, died in 2012 from ovarian cancer.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
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