Al Roker Reflects on Late “Today” Critic Gene Shalit: 'A Character Without Becoming a Caricature'

Rachel McRadyMon, June 15, 2026 at 1:09 PM UTC

0

Al Roker and Gene Shalit worked together on the 'Today' show for more than a decade.Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty; Alan Singer/NBC/NBC NewsWire via Getty -

Gene Shalit, a longtime Today show critic, died at age 100 on June 12, his family confirmed

Shalit appeared on Today from 1968 to 2010 and was known for his humor, puns and celebrity interviews

Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie remembered Shalit as a generous, original and beloved colleague on the show

Al Roker is remembering his beloved Today show co-worker, Gene Shalit.

Shalit's family revealed that he died on Friday, June 12, at the age of 100. Roker worked with the longtime Today critic for more than a decade after officially taking over as a weatherman on the NBC morning show in 1996.

"Al, you were lucky enough to work with him for all those years," Savannah Guthrie said on Monday, June 15, after Today shared a tribute montage to Shalit.

"He was a joy and that fact is he was a character without becoming a caricature," Roker shared. "He was real. He was funny. And he was generous."

Guthrie added that Shalit was "a real original," to which Roker added, "Absolutely. Absolutely."

Al Roker, Willard Scott, Matt Lauer, Gene Shalit and Ann Curry celebrate Katie Couric's retirement in 2006.Credit: Craig Warga/NY Daily News Archive via Getty

On Friday, Shalit's family shared the news that he had died.

"The Shalit family mourns the passing of our father/grandfather/uncle, Gene Shalit. Not only was he the Best Movie Critic Ever (in our unbiased opinion), he was the Best Dad Ever (in our unbiased opinion)," Shalit's family said in a statement to PEOPLE. "With only the gentlest guidance he let each of his kids follow our own path, and he always let us know that his children were his proudest accomplishment. We will all miss his wit, his loving presence, and most of all his puns."

Advertisement

Matt Lauer, Gene Shalit, Bryant Gumbel, Willard Scott and Katie Couric pose for 'Today' show portrait in 1999.Credit: Anthony Barboza/Getty

Shalit began appearing on Today part-time in 1968 with his "Critics Corner" segment. His career began with once-a-month book reviews and by 1973, Shalit appeared on the show in a full-time role which lasted until 1995.

In addition to his reviews, he also conducted interviews with celebrities, including a famed interview with Carol Channing where Shalit could not stop laughing.

Shalit officially retired from the Today show in 2010 after 40 years. Roker celebrated his 30th anniversary on Today earlier this year.

Al Roker covers the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2001.Credit: Eric Liebowitz/NBC via Getty

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

"He was just spectacular in what he knew and who he knew," Roker said of Shalit in 2022. He returned to Today once, in 2012, when Willard Scott retired.

Shalit turned 100 on March 25. The Today show celebrated by featuring him on a Smucker's jar and sharing a recent photo of the critic. "He is ringing in 100 by enjoying that fresh air in the Berkshires with his six kids, five grandchildren," Roker said at the time.

Shalit married Nancy Lewis in 1950. She died in 1978. They had six children. Shalit's daughter, Emily, was diagnosed with MS and died in 2012 from ovarian cancer. He is survived by his remaining children.

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”