Gene Shalit (born March 25, 1932 in New York City) is the film and book critic on NBC's The Today Show. He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, and for wearing colorful bowties. He is known to have had a rocky relationship with former Today Show co-host Bryant Gumbel. He has been involved in reviewing the arts since 1967. He has written for publications including Look Magazine, Ladies Home Journal (for 12 years), Cosmopolitan, TV Guide, Seventeen, Glamour, McCall's, and The New York Times. In 1987 he published Laughing Matters-A Treasury of American Humor, a critically-praised humor anthology. He currently lives in Great Barrington, Massachusetts with his cat Fellini. Shalit is the godfather of radio producer/personality Gary Dell'Abate.
He guest starred in the SpongeBob SquarePants episode, The Krusty Sponge as a fish version of himself named "Gene Scallop".
He has been mentioned in two Family Guy episodes, once when Peter Griffin transforms from Britney Spears into Shalit while kissing Justin Timberlake as well as in another episode Shalit mugs Peter and communicates using film titles such as "...I only want your Tango & Cash, so just Pay It Forward and we'll all be Happy Gilmore."
According to his official MSNBC bio, "Shalit was born in a New York hospital ever so long ago, and eight days later cut out for Newark, New Jersey, to be with his mother. In six years he fled to Morristown, New Jersey, where he was columnist for the high school paper and narrowly escaped expulsion." Shalit attended Morristown High School, where he wrote a humor column for the school newspaper.
Uncle of Naomi Shohan
