Entertainment
Gene Shalit, longtime ‘Today’ show movie critic with bushy hair and massive mustache, dies at 100

Gene Shalit, a movie critic and arts reporter for the “Today” show over four 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 the death Friday to NBC News, saying in a statement that he “passed away peacefully today after 100 years of an amazing life.”
Shalit joined “Today” as a contributor in 1970 and became arts editor in 1973, later settling in for his segment, “Critic’s Corner.” When he left the show in 2010, he was one of the last high-profile film critics on a major network.
“What resonated above his unusual appearance was his incredible wit, his remarkable intelligence. But he didn’t pound you over the head with it. He amused you. He enlightened and amused whatever subject he was on,” Guy Ludwig, Shalit’s producer for more than 20 years, wrote in an essay at the time of Shalit’s retirement.
It was no coincidence that Chicago critics Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel’s local “thumbs-up, thumbs-down” movie-review program, “Sneak Previews,” went national on PBS in the late 1970s and that “Today” show’s ABC rival, “Good Morning America,” hired Joel Siegel to be its movie critic in 1981.
“Shalit was instrumental in changing the balance of critical power in America. When he began his ‘Today’ tenure, newspapers and magazines were the primary sources for movie reviews. That’s where cinematic opinion was sparked and shaped,” The Plain Dealer wrote in 2010, calling Shalit “Daniel Boone in a bow tie and Groucho glasses.”
Magazine work led to NBC offer
Shalit started as an entertainment columnist for McCall’s magazine, eventually becoming senior film critic for Look magazine in 1968 and writing for Ladies’ Home Journal. His popularity in magazines led to an offer from NBC.
“No one at NBC had seen him. They’d only read his stuff. So he walked into this executive’s office and the executive took one look at him and said, ‘Mr. Shalit, have you ever thought of radio?’” wrote Ludwig. “They didn’t know how the public would react to someone who looked so different from people who were typically on TV in 1967.”
On the air, Shalit was a middle-of-the-road critic. Of 1986’s classic “Stand By Me,” he said it was different from other movies about youth “because of instead of grossing you out, ‘Stand by You’ is engrossing.”
“Many critics will give so much of the plot of a movie away that they destroy the movie for the viewer. … I just don’t give away the story,” he told The Associated Press in 1993.
Highlights in words
He liked “Enemy at the Gates,” starring Jude Law, calling it “a vivid dramatization of one of history’s titanic turning points.” But he called “Brokeback Mountain “wildly overpraised, but not by me” and drew condemnation from GLAAD for calling Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Jack, a “sexual predator.” Shalit apologized.
He called “Frozen” “very cool.” He said the oddball title of “The Men Who Stare at Goats” was “heard to bleat,” and his review of “The Lovely Bones” read in part: “There’s no bones about it.”
He began reviewing on air the year of “Patton” and “Love Story” and ended his run with a critique of “Shrek Forever After,” of which he noted that the “bellow fellow is now a mellow fellow.” One highlight of this tenure was his descent into a fit of giggles while interviewing Carol Channing.
He called a remake of “King Kong” so “gargantuan that I must create new words to describe it: fabularious … a brilliantological humongousness of marvelosity.” His take on Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”: “It should be against the law not to see it.”
In a 1981 interview with John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Belushi said Shalit’s hair looked like “an ant farm on fire.” Nevertheless, he peppered his guest with so many questions about their daily life that it felt like therapy. He asked both comedians what their last meals would be. “What do you want to be doing 10 years from now, John Belushi?” Shalit asked. “Fiddler on the Roof” Belushi replied.
During his tenure, he traded quips with anchors ranging from Edwin Newman, Barbara Walters and Jane Pauley to Tom Brokaw, Bryant Gumbel, Katie Couric, Al Roker and Meredith Vieira.
Gumbel was not always a fan, once saying Shalit’s reviews “are often late and his interviews aren’t very good.” The critique came in what was supposed to be a confidential memo to Marty Ryan, the show’s executive producer at the time.
In 1994, while in St. Pete Beach, Florida, to cover Major League Baseball spring training, a car hit Shalit as he was crossing a street and broke his leg. After that, “Today” began recording his movie reviews in his home studio.
Early life
He was born in New York and grew up in Morristown, New Jersey, starting his grammar school’s first newspaper before writing a humor column for the newspaper while a student at Morristown High School. He graduated from the University of Illinois in 1949.
Shalit played the bassoon, but he said he started out on the clarinet.
“I didn’t practice for a few weeks and the teacher got furious,” he recalled in 1988, before playing bassoon in a New York City fundraiser. “He took away my clarinet and as punishment he said, ‘From now on, you’re gonna play THIS.’”
In 1987, he edited a book called “Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor,” saying he wanted to introduce and reintroduce such old and new masters of American humor as Mark Twain, James Thurber and Russell Baker.
Shalit was regularly mocked on “Saturday Night Live” by cast member Horatio Sanz, who would appear on the “Weekend Update” desk dressed as Shalit and go on extended, barely coherent rants that punned the title of every movie he reviewed. Shalit also made cameos on “Sesame Street,” “Family Guy” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
Shalit was predeceased in 1978 by his wife, Nancy Lewis, and had six children.
Entertainment
After Milania Giudice Domestic Violence Arrest, ’RHONJ’ Cast Speculates Luis Ruelas Was the Victim
After the shocking news that Milania Giudice, daughter of reality TV legend Teresa Giudice, was arrested for domestic violence back in May, the other ladies of The Real Housewives of New Jersey are speculating about who else may have been involved in the incident.
According to sources who spoke to Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice newsletter, Teresa’s cast mates believe that her husband Luis Ruelas was the alleged victim.”The first question everyone asked was, ‘Was it Luis?'” a source told Shuter. “He’s very controversial, so that’s where the speculation immediately went.”
Milania, 20, was charged with “simple assault” and “purposely/ knowingly causing a bodily injury,” and the alleged incident took place in Montville, New Jersey, where Teresa, 54, and Luis, 51, reside. Milania is currently a student at the University of Tampa, but is presumably home for the summer break.
“Nobody knows who was allegedly injured,” a source told Shuter. “But a lot of people assumed [Luis] could be involved.” Law enforcement has not released any details about the alleged victim, and no one in the Giudice circle has spoken publicly about it. As InTouch previously reported, RHONJ was filming at the time of the arrest, but the altercation was not caught on camera.
“Everyone thinks it is Luis,” said another source. “The secrecy is creating more questions than answers.”
Time will tell if fans get more information when season 15 premieres—currently no date has been set.
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Entertainment
How David Hockney Taught Los Angeles to See Itself
It was a perfect sunny day for lounging poolside at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The sky was a keen pale blue, with that piercing quality familiar in Southern California. The pool, where a man with straight black hair drifted on a pink and green striped raft, was a deeper, cerulean blue.
It looked a lot like a painting by David Hockney, the British-born L.A. transplant whose death on Thursday drew tributes from all corners of the world.
And Hockney had had a hand in this pool. In 1988, already famous, he spent a day here with a paint brush attached to the end of a broom, painting bright blue swooshes on the pool’s bottom. Now, even though many of the marks have faded, the remaining curves powerfully mimic and accentuate the flickering light on the water’s rippled surface.
The pool mural, which I visited on Friday, is one of the many gifts that Hockney has given us as residents of Los Angeles. In his five decades of living here, becoming as he would say an “English Angeleno,” he made his mark on the city in ways both dramatic and subtle, inflecting our image of the California lifestyle as well as influencing generations of artists. His influence is felt not just on the walls of museum, but everywhere.
Entertainment
‘Disclosure Day’ Invades Globe With $94M WW Opening
Universal and Amblin‘s Steven Spielberg alien sci-fi movie, Disclosure Day, is posting a significantly better than expected global start of $93.9M. Originally, the movie, which is a throwback to 1970s movies like Parallex View, was eyeing a low $65M.
Overseas is overindexing with $49.9M in addition to $44M from North America where the Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Josh O’Connor and Colin Firth ensemble has a B Cinemscore.
Broken out, here’s how it’s doing, the pic being No. 1 everywhere listed below except Germany where it’s No. 2
The UK & Ireland added $1.6M on Friday, taking the 3-day total to $3.8M. The Friday result is in line with Project Hail Mary, +57% above Amblin’s Twisters, and more than double Arrival. The BFI Imax remained the top site for a third straight day, with main evening shows largely sold out. Imax B.O. is repping 11% of the pic’s business with the BFI accounting for 20%. Odeon is the No.1 circuit for the film, although luxury chain Everyman jumped 2 pts on Friday, a sign that older audiences were heading out and seeking a more premium experience on Friday night. The weekend is on track for $7.3M, excluding previews this is in line with Ready Player One, above Tenet (+16%), Twisters (+23%), Arrival (+49%), and One Battle After Another (+54%).
France added $500K on Friday, taking the 3-day total to $1.5M; the pic repping a 22% share with the best average per screen, with more than double the admissions of second-placed local blockbuster De Gaulle Part 1. PLFs are repiping 8% of ticket sales, 5% coming from Imax. The weekend is on track for $3.7M, above Blade Runner 2049 (+9%), One Battle After Another (+28%), Twisters (+92%), Project Hail Mary (+58%), and more than double Arrival.
Mexico saw $740K on Friday to take the 3-day total to $1.6M. The Spielberg pic reps 31% of the overall weekend B.O. — and that’s with World Cup screenings. Weekend outlook is $3.5M in line with Ready Player One and Twisters, above Project Hail Mary (+7%), Interstellar (+21%), more than double One Battle After Another, and more than 3x Arrival.
Australia saw $2.1M across four days, including an early estimate of $1M for Saturday. The pics commanding 26% of the weekend B.O. Imax reps 9% of ticket sales for a weekend that should come in just under $3M, in line with Ready Player One and Twisters, above Arrival (+70%) and double One Battle After Another.
Spain‘s Friday was $800K with the pic accounting for close to half of the B.O. yesterday. Imax reps 4% with a weekend forecast of $2.8M. The opening day is more than 3x Twisters and One Battle After Another, more than double Arrival, as well as topping Project Hail Mary (+31%) and Tenet (+29%).
Brazil saw $700K from 972 screens for a 3-day total of $1.5M, accounting for 32% of total business in the market. Imax is pulling in 5% of that from 12 screens with 20% coming from PLF screens. The weekend is looking like $2.7M, above all key comps including Ready Player One (+61%), Project Hail Mary (+73%), more than double Twisters and Interstellar, and more than 3x One Battle After Another.
Italy added $400K on Friday, taking the 3-day total to $992K for an overall weekend outlook of $2.2M. Disclosure Day is the clear top pic in the market with a strong 39% of total business, and the highest average per screen, growing +48% from Thursday. Imax is driving close to 4% of business from seven sites. The weekend, excluding Wednesdays previews this is just off Ready Player One (-14%), above Project Hail Mary (+24%), One Battle After Another (+38%), Arrival (+39%), and more than double Twisters.
Germany grossed $500K on Friday with the 3-day rising to $1M. Disclosure Day claimed a market share of 14.5% on Friday, ranking No.2 behind Scary Movie. Imax is repping 8.2%, 70MM close to 2%. This result excluding previews is in line with One Battle After Another, above Arrival (+18%), and Twisters (+80%).
Hong Kong has grossed a half a million across the first three days with Disclosure Day commanding 40% of the overall territory weekend’s business. The opening is looking like $1M, excluding previews this is above Arrival (+38%), Twisters (+47%), Project Hail Mary (+60%), and more than 3x One Battle After Another.
Netherlands minted $500K across its first three days with Friday adding $212K as Universal’s highest day to-date, accounting for 22% of the market. Imax was strong at 19% and Dolby Cinema doing another 8%. The weekend is on track for $0.9M, excluding previews this is in line with Project Hail Mary, One Battle After Another, and Interstellar, above Twisters (+60%), and more than 3x Arrival.
Entertainment
Rosie O’Donnell Shares Photo, Thoughts After Visiting Daughter Chelsea, 28, in Prison
NEED TO KNOW
Rosie O’Donnell shared a heartfelt poem about visiting her daughter Chelsea O’Donnell in prison
The comedian reflected on “unconditional love,” motherhood, Chelsea’s sobriety, the duo’s tumultuous relationship and more in the emotional writing
Chelsea, 28, is serving prison time after her probation was revoked in October following multiple arrests in 2024
Rosie O’Donnell is reflecting after a visit to see her daughter Chelsea O’Donnell in prison.
The 64-year-old actress’ daughter had her probation revoked and was sentenced to jail in October after she was arrested three times in 2024, starting with a September arrest on multiple felony charges, including neglecting a child and possession of methamphetamine.
Rosie recently visited Chelsea in prison — which she said the 28-year-old requested — and she reflected on the experience through poetry she shared alongside a mother-daughter selfie on Instagram (and via Substack) on Friday, June 12. The photo, seemingly taken during the visit, shows Chelsea smiling as she wrapped her arms around her mother.
In a poem about the visit, Rosie said her heart skipped “a beat” the moment Chelsea walked through the door in the visitation room. “She looks good,” the actress wrote. “Healthy calm / Rested blue eyes / Clear skin / In her green uniform.”
The pair embraced, according to Rosie. She added that she held “on tight” to her daughter and stared “into her eyes.”
“We have been thru so much,” the A League of Their Own actress continued in the poem.
Reflecting on her daughter’s own children, Rosie said Chelsea’s four kids “have not visited” their mom in prison, “which pains her I know.”
The comedian then wrote that she tried “to stay present” during the prison visit. “I try to shake the sadness,” she said.
Of her daughter, Rosie wrote, “It’s hard enough for her / She turns 29 this summer / And all I see when I look at her / Is a blonde baby in diapers.”
The prison visit was “cut short” due to weather conditions, Rosie said in the poem. She noted that after a “quick hug,” she was back outside in her car.
“It storms all the way to the hotel / As I try to process / All that’s happened,” the actress wrote. “It was a big day for both of us.”
Rosie — who is a mom to five children total, four with her ex-wife, Kelli Carpenter, and her fifth with late ex-wife Michelle Rounds — said she slept “for hours” after the emotional visit, for which she was “proud of us both.”
“Unconditional love / Simply the only way / Thru motherhood,” she added. “Love and forgiveness a must / Even when it seems impossible / Especially then / We live we learn we grow / Even at 64.”
Rosie also shared some of her thoughts from “before” the visit on Substack. “She’s not fighting it anymore / This relationship we have / Her sobriety helps so much / Gives me hope,” she wrote of Chelsea.
In a later stanza, Rosie added of her child, “I told her I may cry when I see her / There in prison clothes.” She said her daughter responded, “Why mom — it’s not bad in here — I have friends now.”
Chelsea calls Rosie from prison “daily,” she said. Rosie added that the mother-daughter pair have “gotten closer / Thru these tense times / And I’m grateful for that.”
“That she’s alive,” she continued in the poem. “Looking forward to her release / Planning her post-prison / journey / Drug free / Getting back with her children / Making amends / Dreaming of peace / For the first time / As am I.”
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Chelsea appeared in court for sentencing on the three felony counts she pleaded guilty to in February: resisting or obstructing an officer, felony bail jumping and possession of methamphetamine.
In March, she was sentenced to six years probation — a two-year sentence for each of the three guilty counts. Chelsea was told she could face prison time should she violate any of the probation requirements, which included absolute sobriety, no possession of alcohol or another controlled substance without a valid prescription, no contact with any known drug users or sellers and no possession or ownership of any firearm.
Her probation was revoked, and she was sentenced to prison time on Oct. 22, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE at the time, Rosie said, “I have compassion for those struggling with addiction – Chelsea was born into addiction and it has been a painful journey for her and her four young children. We continue to love and support her through these horrible times. Prayers welcomed.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
Entertainment
BTS Book Series Launching in Partnership With Running Press, BigHit
BTS have some more surprises in store for this year’s BTS Festa, their annual anniversary celebration. In time with the occasion, the supergroup has announced an upcoming slate of book releases publishing in partnership with Hachette Book Group’s Running Press, CAKE Corp, and BigHit Music.
On Sept. 15, BTS will release the officially licensed title BTS Lyrics Inside, in which RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook will dissect the songwriting across their catalog. Songs from Proof and Most Beautiful Moments in Life will be broken down to explore their deeper meanings and underlying messages.
The collection will dive into everything from “Boy With Luv,” their 2019 collaboration with Halsey, as well as “Life Goes On, “Magic Shop, “Spring Day,” “Yet to Come,” “We Are Bulletproof : the Eternal,” and more. The lyrics will be presented in their original language alongside English translations for ARMY members hoping to study and analyze the records on a deeper level.
In tandem, BTS will release the BTS Recipe Book cookbook drawing inspiration from the group’s album eras to craft recipes of flavorful Korean dishes. The lineup includes scorched rice crackers, carp bread, sugar-filled griddlecakes, Korean fried chicken, simmered rice cakes, ginseng chicken soup, braised beef ribs, and more.
While these BTS projects will live on the page, they will also expand online. BTS Recipe Book, in particular, will include digital codes that will allow ARMY to access exclusive videos connected to the book, as well as tips for bringing the dishes to life and food commentary from the group members. Some may seem familiar from when they appeared on the menu for the series RUN BTS!, Bon Voyage, and In the Soop.
“BTS is a global force, and we couldn’t be more excited to partner with CAKE to bring these unique, thoughtful books to their dedicated and discerning fanbase,” said Shannon Fabricant, Vice President, Publisher of Running Press, in a statement. “Being able to deliver these inside perspectives on the band’s music, preferences, experiences, and more during what is already an extraordinary year for BTS is especially gratifying.”
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Seok Kyo Jeong, Vice President at CAKE, added, “Our mission at CAKE is to help fans deeply connect with their favorite artists by breaking down language and cultural boundaries. By combining our unique K-pop-based content — which continues the educational DNA of HYBE EDU — with Running Press’s exceptional publishing expertise, we are thrilled to offer ARMY a more immersive and meaningful way to experience BTS.”
There’s more to come. BTS’ publishing partnership will extend through 2027 with additional releases on the horizon.
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