Gene Shalit, beloved and bushy film critic on the 'Today' show, dies at 100

Gene Shalit, the fast-talking funnyman who reviewed films, plays and books for NBC’s “Today” show, has died. He was 100.

Shalit’s household confirmed the longtime critic’s decease Friday, telling NBC that helium “passed distant peacefully aft 100 years of an astonishing life.”

“The Shalit household mourns the passing of our father/grandfather/uncle, Gene Shalit,” Peter Shalit, the critic’s son, told The Times. “Not lone was helium the Best Movie Critic Ever (in our unbiased opinion), helium was the Best Dad Ever (in our unbiased opinion). With lone the gentlest guidance helium fto each of his kids travel our ain path, and helium ever fto america cognize that his children were his proudest accomplishment. We volition each miss his wit, his loving presence, and astir of each his puns.”

According to a 2010 interrogation with Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s shaper for much than 20 years, Shalit was hired arsenic a contributor astatine “Today” successful 1968. He reviewed books erstwhile a period oregon so, but audiences were truthful fascinated by his eccentric property and arsenic unconventional looks that NBC ramped up the critic’s on-air appearances.

In January 1973, connected the aforesaid time helium was promoted to arts editor, Shalit debuted “Critic’s Corner,” the conception that would yet marque him a household name. In 2010, Shalit retired arsenic 1 of the past regular movie critics connected a large network.

Ludwig referred to Shalit arsenic the “foxy grandpa” of the “Today” show.

While Shalit’s quirky movie reviews cemented his TV prima status, his interrogation benignant made him a favourite among Hollywood’s biggest figures. Warren Beatty, Barbra Streisand and Robert De Niro were among the A-listers whom Ludwig said “only would speech to Gene.”

According to Shalit’s longtime erstwhile producer, Sophia Loren “so trusted Gene arsenic a tv personality” that aft she’d gone done ineligible troubles and a scandal, she went to Shalit exclusively.

“She knew her communicative would beryllium reasonably told but besides that Gene would beryllium delicate to immoderate of the things astir it that were delicate to her,” Ludwig said. “Gene was articulate and sensitive, but besides got the story.”

In March, “Today” posted a 100th day tribute to Shalit narrated by Al Roker, who said, “Even Sophia Loren couldn’t defy putting her hands into Gene’s hair. I mean, conscionable a legend.”

Eugene Shalit was calved March 25, 1926, successful New York City and grew up successful Morristown, N.J. He launched his simple school’s archetypal newspaper, The Spotlight, and purchased a fedora to seal his destiny arsenic a journalist. In Morristown High School helium wrote the schoolhouse newspaper’s wit file “The Broadcaster.” In 1949, helium graduated from the University of Illinois astatine Urbana-Champaign.

Shalit chopped his teeth successful media arsenic an amusement columnist for McCall’s magazine, yet landing the relation of elder movie professional for Look mag successful 1968 and penning a wit file for Ladies’ Home Journal. His speedy wit, punchy puns and unsocial dependable came done adjacent connected the page, and NBC took notice.

“No 1 astatine NBC had seen him. They’d lone work his stuff. So helium walked into this executive’s bureau and the enforcement took 1 look astatine him and said, ‘Mr. Shalit, person you ever thought of radio?’” Ludwig told “Today.”

“They didn’t cognize however the nationalist would respond to idiosyncratic who looked truthful antithetic from radical who were typically connected TV successful 1967.”

On “Critics Corner,” Shalit favored wit implicit the highfalutin. He was an everyman’s critic. Of 1997’s action-thriller “Face/Off,” helium said, “Now, ‘Face/Off’ is simply a literal title, due to the fact that some of their faces are taken off. Then each look is enactment onto the other’s head. Even their voices are switched with microchip implants. In different words, this is an wholly reasonable, rational movie!”

During his tenure, helium was known to bust up his colleagues, and “Today” anchors ranging from Edwin Newman, Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric, Meredith Vieira and Roker.

But not everyone appreciated Shalit’s style. In 1989, a leaked in-house memo from Gumbel, past a “Today” amusement co-host, to Marty Ryan, the erstwhile enforcement shaper of the NBC program, complained that Shalit’s movie reviews “are often precocious and his interviews aren’t precise good.”

During an interrogation promoting his 1987 publication “Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor,” Eileen Prose asked Shalit who helium respected arsenic a reviewer.

“Gene Shalit,” helium responded.

“I don’t deliberation there’s immoderate professional that believes a connection that immoderate different professional says, due to the fact that you person to beryllium truthful individualistic erstwhile you’re a critic,” helium continued. “Sometimes you’ll work idiosyncratic else, but I seldom do.”

While Shalit brought a consciousness of wit to his reviews and interviews with stars — immoderate of which would spell haywire due to the fact that Shalit would keel implicit laughing — helium took the professional gig seriously. He told Prose that portion astir radical spot lone a fistful of movies a year, and often lone the buzziest ones, helium sees “the worldly that’s the stuffing, that they wouldn’t privation to see.”

“I person to endure done that, and I volition ne'er permission a movie earlier it’s over, nary substance however atrocious it is,” helium said, noting that helium lone does it due to the fact that helium loves it.

Shalit’s larger-than-life persona was parodied successful fashionable civilization — not conscionable by Jon Lovitz and Horatio Sanz connected “Saturday Night Live,” but by Shalit himself, who voiced his ain parody “Gene Scallop” connected “SpongeBob Squarepants.” Eyebrow doppelganger Eugene Levy besides took a ace astatine the professional connected “Second City Television,” and Shalit was parodied successful aggregate episodes of “Family Guy.”

Shalit was joined to Nancy Lewis for 28 years until her decease successful 1978 and ne'er remarried. The mates had six children: Peter, Willa, Emily, Amanda, Nevin and Andrew. Emily died from ovarian crab successful 2012.