# Gene Shalit turns 100 today (March 25 2026)! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [March 25, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747 "2026-03-25T11:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/1 "2026-03-25T11:07:19Z")
I had no idea he was that old. I loved watching his movie reviews on NBC. I realize now that a lot of his pokes were kind of time-worn even then, but they were new to me. “It seems that the worse [actress] acts, the better she looks. She has never been lovelier.” “Watching _Nicholas and Alexandra_ is like reading an issue of _Classics Illustrated_.” and so on. Of Siskel and Ebert he said “If you cut off their thumbs, they wouldn’t be able to do reviews.” ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/2 "2026-03-25T11:56:08Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had no idea he was that old. I thought he was damn old when I was a kid, just astonished that he is still alive! Good for him. Which reminds me, my dad would be 100 this year as well. And he died 26 years ago. Those depression era/ WW2 folks will soon be just a memory. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/3 "2026-03-25T12:15:13Z")
I also didn’t realize that he was still with us. That’s good to hear. As a kid, I alternated between thinking “Why does Gene Shalit look just like Gabe Kaplan?” and “Why does Gabe Kaplan look just like Gene Shalit?” ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/4 "2026-03-25T12:17:29Z")
His puns were so, so awful. But as a kid, I liked them! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/5 "2026-03-25T12:38:10Z")
I associate him with watching the Today Show with my grandmother, in the last years of her life (circa 1980). In one broadcast, another Today Show host mentioned that an elderly viewer thought for years that his name was “Green Salad.” ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/6 "2026-03-25T14:03:38Z")
It’s that symbiote mustache of his keeping him alive. Kinda like Shatner’s hair. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/dTsvw_NpfcU/maxresdefault.jpg "Warp Speed Wig | Robot Chicken | Adult Swim") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTsvw_NpfcU) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/7 "2026-03-25T17:04:28Z")
I saw a comic, maybe in Nat Lampoon or similar, probably from the 80s, where there was a picture of a movie poster with a picture of a guy that looked like Shalit with snakes for hair and the caption “Why Gene Shalit is suing the producers of _Mr Medusa_.” ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/8 "2026-03-25T20:22:23Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I had no idea he was that old. I had no idea he was still alive! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/9 "2026-03-25T23:03:15Z")
You all stole my thunder. Gene is on my celebrity death list, but I secretly think that he’s immortal. Happy birthday, Mr. Shalit! [![](https://i.ibb.co/vfTRbq2/IMG-2164.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/vfTRbq2/IMG-2164.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/10 "2026-03-26T00:56:11Z")
Is that the most recent photo we have? I was hoping he or his family might post a picture of him. It is possible he isn’t in great shape, though. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/11 "2026-03-26T14:40:47Z")
For many years, nay decades, I have told people whenever it came up (which it doesn’t very often, admittedly, because either Gene or the movie Poltergeist has to come up for me to think of it) that I love Gene Shalit in the movie Poltergeist. Usually I will give this opinion if Gene’s name comes up, because if we’re talking Poltergeist and I offer this point of view, I usually get people who don’t even know who Gene is. As a result, I have only been able to bring up this opinion maybe three or four times in my life…with people who actually know of and have heard of Gene. And it’s usually always followed by a look of confusion. “Gene Shalit was in Poltergeist?” Yes. Yes, he was. It’s a blink and you will miss it moment. I also liken it to trying to find Waldo in a Where’s Waldo book. Anyway…I’m glad he’s still alive and kicking. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gene-shalit-turns-100-today-march-25-2026/1028747/12 "2026-03-26T14:50:06Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Gene is on my celebrity death list, but I secretly think that he’s immortal. I have him on my [celebrity life pool list](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2026-celebrity-life-pool/1025879/16), if yout hypothesis is right, he will stay there forever.