Wide World of Women

Without Gene, we wouldn't have movie critics on television.

Did you know that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert was their original inspiration, which led to their famous "thumbs up, thumbs down" ratings system.

The Associated Press had a very nice obituary:
https://apnews.com/article/gene-shalit-dies-b8ed6f4b7054e530e5fba9a808902cca

At least, he leaves the same age as two other NBC legends in George Burns and Bob Hope.
Had legendary NCAA men's basketball head coach John Wooden lived another four months and 10 days, he would have been 100.

What else can you say, but what a guy he was.
There will never be another one, that's for sure.

Gene is the oldest Today Show personality to go; Hugh Downs was 99 when he died in 2020; Barbara Walters, 93 in 2022; Joe Garagiola, 90 in 2016; and Willard Scott, 87 in 2021.

And yes, I grew up watching all of them except for Hugh and Barbara (they co-hosted in the '60s but Barbara stayed around until she jumped to ABC 50 years ago this fall).

Not on the Today Show, but you could still probably count the years Hugh and Barbara were on 20/20. I remember Joe Garagiola from his baseball coverage, and of the time he came back to Today from 1990-1992.

Yeah, after moonlighting as a game show host in the '70s and '80s.