Film critic Gene Shallit has died at the age of 100. Image courtesy of UPI
Gene Shalit, who served as film critic for NBC’s Today show for four decades until 2010, has died at the age of 100.
https://t.co/Fm6lNqSZmo— NBC News (@NBCNews) June 12, 2026
“The Today show was an extraordinary era for him,” his family said in a statement Friday, confirming Friday that the beloved TV personality “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life.”
He was recognizable on the film journalism circuit by his wild hair, handlebar mustache, bow-ties and puns.
Shalit also penned reviews and interviews for Look, Ladies Home Journal, The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, TV Guide, Seventeen, Glamour and McCall’s, and was a frequent contestant on game shows such as What’s My Line? and To Tell the Truth.
The critic was predeceased by his wife Nancy in 1978 and their daughter Emily in 2012. He and Nancy were also the parents of Peter, Willa, Andrew, Nevin and Amanda.
Notable deaths of 2026
Peabo BrysonPeabo Bryson performs on the “Men of Soul Tour” at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla., on November 14, 2010. Bryson, a singer-songwriter whose hits included the Disney classics “Beauty and the Beast” and “A Whole New World,” died at the age of 75 on June 2. Photo by Michael Bush/UPI | License Photo
