Pun-loving movie critic Gene Shalit, a familiar presence on NBC's 'Today' show for four decades with his signature bow ties and wildly bushy hair and mustache, died Friday at age 100, NBC News reported citing a family statement given to the network.

No further details emerged immediately.

Shalit began contributing to 'Today' in 1970 and rose to arts editor three years later. In that position he interviewed well-known figures and critiqued literature along with movies. His appearances tapered off over time, and he stepped away at age 84 in 2010, remarking, 'It's enough already.'

Shalit laughed readily, and his lively 'Critic's Corner' segments overflowed with energy. Sporting large glasses, dark frizzy hair protruding several inches outward, and an enormous mustache across his face, he resembled a missing Marx brother.

He aimed to match the entertainment value of the films he assessed and embraced a corny style. His commentary featured concise remarks that studios could readily adapt for promotional quotes. Reviewing the 2005 'King Kong' remake, Shalit noted standard words fell short, so he labeled it 'fabularious' and 'a brilliantological humongousness of marvelosity.'

Shalit's puns

Shalit built reviews around puns tied to film titles, including:

'Go - don't forego - 'Fargo.''
''Ishtar' is tar-ible.'
''The Silence of the Lambs' may be all wool and a yard wide, but it makes a terrific yarn.'
'This movie ('The Mummy') is filled with wonders for every family - for kiddies and for daddies and, of course, for mummies.'
'You know, when it comes to oddball titles, 'The Men Who Stare at Goats' would be hard to bleat.'

His fondness for wordplay began early; his University of Illinois student newspaper column was titled 'What Shalit Be.'

Guy Ludwig, Shalit's longtime 'Today' producer, noted the critic always approached films with 'absolute glee' no matter how many he had viewed.

Shalit drew criticism in 2005 for calling a lead character in the acclaimed 'Brokeback Mountain' - a tale of romance between two cowboys - a 'sexual predator.' The group GLAAD deemed the remark homophobic, prompting an apology from Shalit.

Prior to 'Today,' Shalit served as film critic for Look magazine and contributed to Ladies' Home Journal.

He also assembled the collections 'Laughing Matters: A Celebration of American Humor' and 'Great Hollywood Wit: A Glorious Cavalcade of Hollywood Wisecracks, Zingers, Japes, Quips, Slings, Jests, Snappers & Sass from the Stars.'

Shalit's distinctive on-air manner and look lent themselves to parody, resulting in spoofs on 'Saturday Night Live' and the animated series 'Family Guy.'

Shalit and his wife Nancy, who passed in 1978, raised six children.