3 days ago
Gene Shalit, a movie professional and arts newsman for nan Today show complete 4 decades who was known for his puffy hair, oversized handlebar mustache and affection for groan-inducing puns, has died. He was 100.
Shalit’s family announced nan decease Friday to NBC News, saying successful a connection that he “passed distant peacefully coming aft 100 years of an astonishing life”.
Shalit joined Today arsenic a contributor successful 1970 and became arts editor successful 1973, later settling successful for his segment, Critic’s Corner. When he near nan show successful 2010, he was 1 of nan past high-profile movie critics connected a awesome network.
“What resonated supra his different quality was his unthinkable wit, his singular intelligence. But he didn’t lb you complete nan caput pinch it. He amused you. He enlightened and amused immoderate taxable he was on,” Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s shaper for much than 20 years, wrote successful an essay.
It was nary coincidence that Chicago critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s section “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” movie-review program, Sneak Previews, went nationalist connected PBS successful nan precocious 1970s and that Today show’s ABC rival, Good Morning America, hired Joel Siegel to beryllium its movie professional successful 1981.
“Shalit was instrumental successful changing nan equilibrium of captious powerfulness successful America. When he began his ‘Today’ tenure, newspapers and magazines were nan superior sources for movie reviews. That’s wherever cinematic sentiment was sparked and shaped,” nan Plain Dealer wrote successful 2010, calling Shalit “Daniel Boone successful a front necktie and Groucho glasses”.
