He stood out from the TV pack with his bowties, bushy moustache and movie reviews studded with cheeky turns of phrase.
Skip to ContentJune 12, 2026, 6:44 PM EDTGene Shalit, a film critic for NBC’s “TODAY” show for four decades who was instantly recognizable for his walrus mustache and fondness for lively wordplay, died Friday, his family said.
Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content. Shalit “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life,” his family told NBC News in a statement. Shalit started as a part-time “TODAY” show contributor in 1970 before moving to a full-time role three years later. He earned national fame as the program’s go-to movie reviewer, offering his take on summer blockbusters, awards contenders and other big-screen projects until his retirement in 2010.
He stood out from the broadcast television pack with his colorful bowties and bushy mustache. He often studded his reviews in the “TODAY” show “Critics Corner” with puns and other cheeky turns of phrase, endearing him to millions of viewers.
“‘The Silence of the Lambs’ may be all wool and a yard wide, but it makes a terrific yarn,” he said in his review of the 1991 horror classic, which won best picture at the Academy Awards the following year. He rarely minced words when a movie left him cold. In panning “X-Men,” he said the first entry in the hit superhero franchise “should not be taken seriously. In fact, it should be taken with two aspirin.
” Judd Apatow’s “Funny People” is “passable,” he said — “speaking colonically. ” In addition to reviewing Hollywood releases, Shalit interviewed some of the biggest stars of the day, from Oprah Winfrey to Harrison Ford. His questions ranged from the serious to the silly, such as when he asked Kermit the Frog whether he planned to marry Miss Piggy. Shalit started his career as a print journalist.
He was the senior film critic for Look Magazine and wrote the “What’s Happening? ” page for Ladies Home Journal for a dozen years. He published articles in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, TV Guide, Seventeen, Glamour and McCall’s. He composed and broadcast a daily “Man About Anything” essay on NBC’s coast-to-coast radio network from 1969 to 1982, according to hisNBC News' Bryant Gumbel, Willard Scott, Gene Shalit, Jane Pauley, and John Palmer in 1982.
Eugene Shalit was born on March 25, 1926, in New York. He was raised in New Jersey, where his father purchased a drug store. When the younger Shalit was in elementary school, he created the school’s first newspaper, The Spotlight, and bought a fedora so he looked the part, according to his “TODAY” profile. He later wrote his high school newspaper’s humor column.
He graduated in 1949 from the University of Illinois, where he proved his journalistic bona fides as a sports editor, columnist and humor writer for The Daily Illini. He later became a reporter and writer for the Twin Cities’ daily newspaper and filed dispatches on Big Ten sporting events as a freelancer for The Associated Press in Chicago.
Shalit reached national fame as an on-air personality for the “TODAY” show, where he interspersed his entertainment coverage with offbeat in-the-field reports and improvisational hijinks on set. He said farewell to viewers in 2010. In a tribute, former co-host Meredith Vieira said: “It’s hard to imagine not having him here. HeShalit was married to Nancy Lewis for 28 years, from 1950 until her death in 1978.
Please follow us on Google to support us United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
JioHotstar’s Tadka Indian Microdrama Platform Reaches 100 Million UsersJioHotstar's Tadka Indian microdrama platform hits 100 million users, with daily watch time per viewer growing 5X since launch.
Read more »
Monroe County authorities urge sober rides during summer’s “100 deadliest days”Summer’s “100 deadliest days” are here, and Monroe County is sounding the alarm on drunk driving. With traffic and festivities ramping up, officials launched a media contest as DWI patrols intensify.
Read more »
Columbus Weather: Heat index nears 100 as Heat Advisory sizzles parts of OhioHot and muggy today. A few chances for isolated rain and storms today, tonight, and tomorrow, then drier Saturday. More rain and storms return Sunday.
Read more »
WRTV-ABC Announces New Prime-Time News Team with Nearly 100 Years Combined ExperienceThe team includes Sports Director Anthony Calhoun, anchors Karen Hensel and Derricke Dennis, and Meteorologist Ryan Morse.
Read more »