We usually associate movie critics with quiet deliberation in darkened theaters or measured prose on the printed page. But if ever the job of critic was transformed into something unmistakably vivid, audaciously mustached, and alive on the small screen, then that transformation belonged to Gene Shalit, the film and book critic whose “Critic’s Corner” on NBC’s Today became a morning ritual for millions. Shalit died on June 12 at the age of 100.
Born Eugene Shalit on March 25, 1926, in New York City, he arrived in Newark, New Jersey, just eight days later. From an early age, Shalit displayed a knack for words and humor. In high school, he wrote a humor column for his school paper and, by his own later account, narrowly avoided expulsion on more than one occasion thanks to his irreverent wit.He attended the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he contributed to the student newspaper, the Daily Illini. Several years later, another Daily Illini writer by the name of Roger Ebert would also go on to take his film-critic talents to television.
Shalit began his professional career as a writer and arts reviewer in the late 1960s. He served as senior film critic for Look magazine and for twelve years wrote the popular “What’s Happening” page for Ladies’ Home Journal. His byline also appeared regularly in the New York Times, TV Guide, Cosmopolitan, and other national publications. From 1970 to 1982, he delivered a daily radio essay called “Man About Anything” on the NBC Radio Network; the feature became the network’s most widely carried program of its kind, giving Shalit a national platform well before most Americans saw his face on television." data-large-file="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?w=696" height="658" width="1024" src="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?w=696" alt="Gene Shalit obituary" class="wp-image-4615906" style="width:762px;height:auto" srcset="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg 1400w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=300,193 300w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=768,494 768w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=1024,658 1024w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=150,96 150w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=696,447 696w, https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/OBIT.062426.jpg?resize=1068,687 1068w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">Gene Shalit. (Dave Pickoff/AP)
