Gene Shalit, 'Today's' Colorful Critic, Dies at 100

Gene Shalit, the frizzy-haired, bushy-stached, bow-tied movie critic for "Today" for 40 years until 2010, died in his sleep Friday. He had recently turned 100.

In a statement to NBC News, his family confirmed he "passed away peacefully."

Shalit was born in NYC on March 25, 1926, later growing up in New Jersey. He was always a writer, creating the school newspaper "The Spotlight."

In college, he edited "The Daily Illini."

In the '50s and '60s, as a PR man, he repped Dick Clark but dumped him over a radio payola scandal. Clark never forgave or forgot, but Shalit moved into doing his own writing rather than promoting other creators.

Shalit first came aboard the "Today" staff as a book reviewer in 1970.

Within three years, he had replaced anchor Joe Garagiola on the desk with his spirited, pun-obsessed "Critic's Corner." His tenure coincided with Barbara Walters, Bryant Gumbel, Jane Pauley, Matt Lauer, Katie Couric, and other top talent on the show.

Along with praising (and trashing) movies on the daily, he was also known as an expert interviewer. Some of his most famous meet-ups included his fit of hysterics when quizzing Carol Channing and the time he convinced Richard Burton to read names from a phone book.

Shalit became a pop-culture figure in his own right, finding himself parodied on "SNL" and invited to appear in "Tootsie" (1982).

Toward the end of his career as a film critic, he made waves by panning "Brokeback Mountain" (2005), identifying Jake Gyllenhaal's character as a "sexual predator." His gay son defended him.

Shalit was preceded in death by his wife of 28 years, Nancy, in 1978, and by their daughter Emily in 2012. He is survived by their other four children.