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Iconic TODAY Film Critic Gene Shalit Dies at 100

6/13/2026

Summary

Gene Shalit Dies

Gene Shalit died peacefully on Friday at age 100, according to his family.
He joined NBC’s TODAY show as a part-time contributor in 1970, becoming full-time in 1973.
He reviewed movies on TODAY for four decades, retiring in 2010.
His reviews featured bow ties, a bushy mustache, puns, and a famous line calling The Silence of the Lambs “all wool and a yard wide, but a terrific yarn.”

Summary

Gene Shalit Honored

He turned 100 on March 25 2026 and was honored on Today with Al Roker’s Smucker’s-jar tribute.
He voiced the fish-food critic “Gene Scallop” in a SpongeBob SquarePants episode.
Family Guy, Saturday Night Live and Second City Television repeatedly parodied him, with Jon Lovitz, Horatio Sanz and Eugene Levy portraying him.
He hosted NBC Radio Network’s daily essay series “Man About Anything” from 1970 through 1982 after his press-agent work for Dick Clark ended during a Congressional payola probe.

Summary

Gene Shalit Evolves

Film critic Gene Shalit’s move from magazines to the Today show shifted criticism from newspapers to TV.
A 1994 St. Pete Beach crash broke Shalit’s leg, leading the Today show to record his reviews home.
After his daughter Emily’s sclerosis diagnosis, he launched the 1993 Gene Shalit Billiards Classic to fund MS research.
He began on clarinet, switched to bassoon, and edited the 1987 anthology “Laughing Matters,” expanding his humor influence.

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Gene Shalit Dies

Gene Shalit died peacefully on Friday at age 100, according to his family.
He joined NBC’s TODAY show as a part-time contributor in 1970, becoming full-time in 1973.
He reviewed movies on TODAY for four decades, retiring in 2010.
His reviews featured bow ties, a bushy mustache, puns, and a famous line calling The Silence of the Lambs “all wool and a yard wide, but a terrific yarn.”

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