Gene 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.Subscribe to read this story ad-free 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.“The ‘TODAY’ Show was an extraordinary era for him,” his family said in its statement.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.Gene Shalit on NBC News' "TODAY" in 1982.NBC NewsWire/NBCU Photo Bank file“‘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 crit...