Rob Reiner, the son of a comedy giant who went on to become one of the preeminent directors of his generation, starring in films such as Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally And A few good mendied. He was 78.
Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner were found dead Sunday afternoon at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, confirmed early Monday that Reiner, 78, and Singer, 70, had been identified as homicide victims. The couple's 32-year-old son, Nick Rayner, was booked on suspicion of murder and was being held on $4 million bail, McDonnell said.
For more than five decades, Reiner has been a warm and gregarious presence in Hollywood, with dozens of film and television roles to his credit, both on and off screen. Like his first wife, Penny Marshall, he went from being a TV sitcom star to a renowned feature film director and an outspoken liberal advocate.
The circumstances surrounding the death have stunned many both inside and outside the industry.
“Rob was the big-hearted genius behind many of the classic stories we love, with projects as diverse as Princess Bride To A few good men“His boundless compassion made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see the goodness and righteousness in others and challenging us to dream bigger.”
Commercial and critical success
The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, he began his career as a feature film director in the 1980s, creating some of the most beloved films of the era. 1984 rock documentary. This is a spinal tapThe film, starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer as a fading hard rock band, was only a modest success at the box office but gained popularity when home video exploded with its slapstick scenes and quotable lines.
Rainer told the British Film Institute decades later, the film was almost entirely improvised, and his screen role as director was based in no small part on Martin Scorsese's documentary The Group. The Last Waltz.
The producer and director talk about their longtime friendship and the film, which received worldwide acclaim. Aired on CBC Midday on October 6, 1987.
This fall, Reiner filmed the long-awaited sequel. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
After John Cusack's 1985 summer comedy: Sure ThingReiner's directorial career took a step forward with the coming-of-age story. Stay with me next year – a film adaptation of Stephen King's story, which received two Golden Globe nominations and an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
“All I ever did was say, 'Is this something that is an extension of me?' For Stay with me“I didn't know if it would be successful or not,” he told actor and director Seth Rogen in the September issue of Interview magazine. “All I thought was, 'I like it because I know what it's like.'
As his stock rose, Reiner devoted himself to adapting William Goldman's 1973 novel. Princess Bridea book that Reiner had loved ever since his father gave him a copy. This family film won the Audience Award at the 1987 Toronto International Film Festival.
WITH When Harry met Sally starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in 1989, Reiner achieved his biggest box office success to date, and it foreshadowed a decade in which his films took on more adult themes.
The famous line “I'll take what she has”, said after witnessing Ryan's fake orgasm in “Katz's Delicacy”, was suggested by Krystal, but uttered by none other than Reiner's mother, Estelle.
When Harry Met Sally It was also the first of his films to be released by Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company he had co-founded two years earlier. In addition to his own films, Castle Rock has contributed to a number of films, from City slickers To In the line of fire To Shawshank Redemptionas well as a television hit Seinfeld.
Adversityreleased in 1990, it was another King adaptation and a critical and commercial hit for Reiner, for which actress Kathy Bates won an Academy Award for Best Actress. Tough guy actor James Caan played against type as the subject of her obsessive fandom.
“You have always supported me,” King said on social media as a sign of respect.
I am horrified and saddened by the deaths of Rob Reiner and Michelle. A wonderful friend, political ally, and brilliant filmmaker (including two of mine). Rest in peace, Rob. You always stood next to me.
Reiner has teamed up with writer Aaron Sorkin to create the court-martial drama. A few good men (1992) and American President (1995). The films starred Hollywood heavyweights such as Jack Nicholson, Tom Cruise and Michael Douglas and earned approximately US$350 million at the box office. A few good men received four Oscar nominations.
“Rob Reiner is one of the most significant figures in film and television history,” Sean Astin, president of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing actors and other film and television professionals, said in a statement. “The impact he had on American culture cannot be overstated. Tributes will continue to pour in, and an incredibly long list of genre-defining films and unforgettable performances will play in our minds and hearts.”
The 1990s also had their flops, as evidenced by the supposed comedy. Northa historical drama Ghosts of MississippiThe film, starring James Woods, Alec Baldwin and Whoopi Goldberg, did not have the impact its creators had hoped for.
“The studio didn’t think I was old enough to play the role, but Rob fought for me,” Woods, known for conservative politics, told X. “Political differences never got in the way of our love and respect for each other. I am devastated by this terrible event.”
Outspoken liberal activist
Reiner was one of the film industry's most passionate Democratic activists, regularly fundraising and campaigning on liberal issues. He was a co-founder of the American Equal Rights Foundation, which challenged in court California's ban on same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. He also led the campaign for Proposition 10, a California initiative to fund early childhood development services through a tobacco tax.
It was also a family thing. Reiner's father opposed the communist hunt for McCarthyism in the 1950s, and his mother, a singer and actress, protested the Vietnam War.
Former US President Barack Obama expressed his condolences, saying that “behind all the stories he wrote was a deep belief in the goodness of people – and a lifelong commitment to making that belief a reality.”
“Together, he and his wife lived a life of purpose,” Obama said.
Two-time Emmy Award winner
Robert Reiner was born in the Bronx on March 6, 1947. As a young man, he immediately decided to follow his father's example in the entertainment industry. He attended film school at UCLA and began appearing in small roles in various television shows in the 1960s, as well as in a 1967 film directed by his father. Enter laughter.
“If you are a Nepo child, doors will open,” Reiner told the Guardian in 2024. “But you have to give birth. If you don't give birth, the door will close as quickly as it opened.”
In a more recent interview With 60 minutes this fallhe said he idolized his father.
Reiner also worked behind the scenes, including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hourwhere future screen luminaries Steve Martin and Bob (Super Dave) Einstein were present in the writers' room.
Reiner's screen breakthrough came when, at 23, he was cast in a Norman Lear film. All in the family as Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, Michael Stivic, derisively nicknamed Meathead by Bunker, played by Carroll O'Connor.
Reiner was nominated five times for Emmy Awards for his performance on the series, winning in 1974 and 1978.
In Lyra, Reiner also found a mentor and called him his second father.
“He hired me not only for All in the family” said Reiner American masters in 2005. “The way he led his life, I saw that there was a place for being an activist. That you can use your celebrity, your luck, to help make some changes.”
Lear also helped Reiner become a director. He contributed $7.5 million of his own money to finance Stay with me.
Continuing his career, Reiner starred in several dramas with stars such as Bruce Willis, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Costner, Jennifer Aniston and Kate Hudson. He reunited with Nicholson in 2007. Wish liststarring Morgan Freed and starring Douglas seven years later with And so it goesstarring Diane Keaton.
He then teamed with actor Woody Harrelson in two films in 2016 and a presidential biopic the following year. LBJand war drama in Iraq Shock and awe.
In addition to continuing to direct in his old age, albeit with a less successful track record, he continued to act on screen from time to time, enlivening films such as Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). In 2023, he made a documentary about an actor-director friend he first met in his youth, called Albert Brooks: Defending Your Life.
Reiner was married to Marshall, an actor and director, for 10 years starting in 1971. Like Reiner, Marshall achieved fame in sitcoms. Laverne and Shirleybut found a more lasting legacy behind the camera.
Reiner met Michelle Singer, a photographer, on the set of the film. When Harry Met Sally. In 1989 they got married. They had three children: Nick, Jake and Romy.
Be CharlieThe 2015 film, directed by Reiner, was co-written by Nick Reiner and is based on his son's own story of drug addiction and homelessness. The film reunited Reiner with Princess Bride star Cary Elwes, who wrote: “No words” early Monday morning.
