As a towering force in Hollywood, Rob Reiner made films that didn’t just reshape modern cinema but became the montage to countless lives, and today Tinseltown is in shock and mourning after he and his wife Michele were brutally killed In their Los Angeles home
As a towering force in Hollywood, filmmaker Rob Reiner’s movies didn’t just reshape modern cinema they became the montage to countless people’s lives.
Following his and his wife, Michele’s brutal murders in their Los Angeles home on Sunday, Tinseltown is in shock and mourning today, having lost one of its most recognisable and dependable creative figures. Police are treating the case as “an apparent homicide”, a detail that has shocked even those long used to tragedy in the entertainment world.
The news prompted tributes from every corner of American life – politics, film, comedy and television – a reflection of Reiner’s impact over more than five decades. Former president Barack Obama said: “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen.” Meanwhile, ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called him “remarkable”, adding: “Rob was creative, funny, and beloved… Civically, he was a champion for the First Amendment and the creative rights of artists. And professionally, he was an iconic figure in film who made us laugh, cry and think with the movies he created.”
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Monty Python legend Eric Idle, shaken after speaking to Reiner only hours before his death, said: “Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour… This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.” He recalled having met Reiner at his father Carl Reiner’s home in 1975. “He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future,” he wrote on X. “This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.”
Kathy Bates, whose Oscar-winning role in Misery came under Reiner’s direction, said: “I’m horrified hearing this terrible news. Absolutely devastated. I loved Rob. He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life.”
Sean Astin, president of SAG-AFTRA, summed up what many inside the industry felt when he described Reiner as “one of the most significant figures in the history of film and television”.
No tribute could, however, overstate what he achieved. Reiner’s career spanned acting, writing, directing and political activism, excelling in them all. Few filmmakers produced a run as consistent or influential. From the ridiculous perfection of This Is Spinal Tap to the emotional coming-of-age movie Stand by Me, the fairy-tale charm of The Princess Bride, and the enduring warmth of When Harry Met Sally …, the director made movies that remained familiar without ever repeating themselves.
Reiner was born into entertainment. His father, Carl Reiner, was the creative force behind The Dick Van Dyke Show, while his mother, Estelle, built her own career as an actress and singer. But despite being raised at the centre of the industry, Reiner said it was the atmosphere inside the home, where ideas were shared freely, and work was openly discussed, that formed him.
Creativity was expected, not performed, he once said. Reiner discovered acting at school and learned his craft the hard way, through small theatres and improv clubs. Fame arrived when he was cast as Meathead in All in the Family, a sharp-edged US sitcom that defined a generation of American television.
Across eight seasons, he played Archie Bunker’s liberal son-in-law, earning two Emmys and, more importantly, access to writers’ rooms, control booths and editing bays. While others rested between takes, Reiner studied how stories were put together. He always intended to direct.
He once said, “I acted when I was young, but at 19, I had my own theatre company where I acted but also directed. I also did some theatre in Los Angeles. So, I was always wanting to direct, even before I became an established actor.”
In 1984, he got his chance. This Is Spinal Tap confused the studios but delighted critics, becoming one of comedy’s most repeated cult classics. What followed was an extraordinary sequence that would secure his place in film history: Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally … (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992). Each film different. Each a lasting hit.
Reiner once explained how The Princess Bride reflected him: “People take a look at ‘Princess Bride,’ and exclaim, ‘God, this is such an odd conglomeration.’ ‘How could you balance all those things?’ But it didn’t seem all that strange to me… because those are all parts of my personality. I’ve definitely got this satirical side to me, and this romantic side, and this more realistic way of looking at things.”
He brought all of those sides to When Harry Met Sally …. After divorcing actress Penny Marshall, he found himself back in the dating world, which inspired writer Nora Ephron to use his experiences to shape the script. The result, with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, became one of cinema’s most enduring romantic comedies.
During filming, he met photographer Michele Singer. They fell in love quickly and married within seven months. That relationship even changed the movie’s ending, a detail Reiner openly acknowledged. Originally, Harry and Sally were meant to walk away from one another. His own happiness made that impossible.
Reiner and Michele went on to have three children – Jake, Nick and Romy – and he adopted Tracy, Penny Marshall’s daughter from a previous marriage. Only last year, he made clear where his priorities lay: “My wife and kids. That’s the most important to me. There’s that joke, nobody on their deathbed ever said, ‘I should have spent more time at the office.’ Nobody says that.”
Alongside directing, Reiner continued to act, appearing in films such as The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as the sitcom New Girl and, most recently, The Bear. Of his films, he once said: “I love the idea of making movies that kids and adults can go to together and both get something out of it, and not just, ‘Oh, I’ve got to take my kid to the movie because they want to see the next, you know, ‘Hannah Montana’ movie or whatever.’”
Away from Hollywood, he also fought political battles. A lifelong Democrat, he pushed for early-childhood programmes, worked with unions and campaigned for same-sex marriage rights. He supported a 1998 California initiative raising tobacco taxes to fund children’s services.
