Update: In a tragic development, the LAPD has arrested Nick Reiner as a suspect in the murder of his parents, Rob and Michele Singer Reiner. Nick notably struggled with drug addiction for many years, with his father having collaborated with him on a movie about drug addiction called Being Charlie, which played at TIFF back in 2015. Nick is currently being held with his bail set at $4 million.
Original Story: Rob Reiner, one of the most iconic directors of his generation, is dead. In a rapidly evolving situation, the director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead at their Brentwood home, and Deadline is reporting that they died of knife wounds. The LAPD is investigating their deaths as homicides.
Rob Reiner’s death is a huge loss to an industry where he was a giant. The son of the legendary Carl Reiner, Rob began his career as an actor, notably co-starring on All in the Family as “Meathead,” the liberal son-in-law of Carroll O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. The character’s liberal views matched Reiner’s own, and when the show came to an end, Reiner embarked on a storied career as a director.
Rob Reiner made seven classics in a row
Indeed, Reiner’s run of movies from 1984 to 1992 is widely considered among the best cinematic runs ever for a director. His debut, This Is Spinal Tap, became one of the biggest cult comedies of the 1980s, with him having just recently put out a sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, for which our own Tyler Nichols interviewed him in character as Marty DiBergi. He followed it up with the teen romance The Sure Thing, starring John Cusack; the acclaimed Stephen King adaptation Stand by Me; The Princess Bride; When Harry Met Sally; Misery; and A Few Good Men. How’s that for a run?
Without Rob Reiner there’s no Seinfeld
He also launched the studio Castle Rock Entertainment, which gave us Seinfeld, The Shawshank Redemption, and a classic series of comedies by Christopher Guest. In recent years Reiner has begun to return to acting, notably showing up last season in a recurring role on The Bear. Reiner had been married to Michele Singer since 1989, after the two met while he was making When Harry Met Sally, which still ranks as perhaps the greatest romantic comedy of all time.
While this will no doubt be a massive story over the coming days, let us take a moment to acknowledge Reiner’s outsized impact on the film industry and the many classic movies he gave us. Truly, he was one of a kind, and his death—and the manner in which he and his wife passed—is haunting for us all, as he was deeply admired.
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