Rob Reiner, a author, director, producer, actor and political activist whose profession in Hollywood spanned greater than six a long time and included among the most iconic titles in film historical past, was discovered lifeless Sunday together with his spouse, Michele Singer Reiner, on the residence they shared in Brentwood. He was 78.
“It’s with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a spokesperson for the household stated in a press release Sunday. “We’re heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privateness throughout this unbelievably tough time.”
Reiner will probably be remembered because the director of the seminal Nineteen Eighties rom-com “When Harry Met Sally,” the actor whose character “Meathead” confronted off commonly in opposition to Archie Bunker, and the political activist who backed early childhood packages in California and railed loudly for years in opposition to President Trump.
The oldest youngster of comic Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Reiner, Robert Reiner was born March 6, 1947, within the Bronx, N.Y. Raised by a father who gained 11 Primetime Emmys and a Grammy along with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Rob Reiner attended Beverly Hills Excessive Faculty and studied movie at UCLA. He then went to work in Hollywood as an actor and author earlier than shifting on to directing and producing.
Reiner’s writing credit within the Sixties included “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” and the TV film “The place the Women Are.” Within the Nineteen Seventies, amongst many credit, he wrote a number of episodes of “All within the Household” in addition to the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast in 1978 and episodes of “The Tonight Present Starring Johnny Carson.”
Reiner married Penny Marshall, star of TV’s “Laverne & Shirley,” in 1971 and adopted the daughter, Tracy, who Marshall had from a earlier marriage. Reiner and Marshall divorced in 1981.
The Nineteen Eighties would see him writing “This Is Spinal Faucet” in addition to the primary “Comedian Aid,” hosted by Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg. That and the dozen “Comedian Aid” telethons that adopted raised consciousness and cash to struggle poverty within the U.S. and elsewhere.
“This Is Spinal Faucet” in 1984 additional established Reiner’s comedic sensibilities within the American milieu. His work took a dramatic flip when he directed the 1986 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Stand by Me,” which starred Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell, however he returned to comedy with 1987’s “The Princess Bride” starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin. Additionally in 1987, he co-founded Citadel Rock Leisure.
Then he directed what would emerge as one of the vital beloved rom-coms ever — “When Harry Met Sally,” starring Crystal and Meg Ryan.
On the set of the film he met photographer Michele Singer and the 2 married in 1989, the yr the movie got here out. They went on to have three youngsters, Jake, Nick and Romy, born in 1991, 1993 and 1997, respectively.
Reiner was lastly nominated for a finest image Academy Award in 1994 for “A Few Good Males,” starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, although the film misplaced out that yr to Clint Eastwood’s Western “Unforgiven.”
Reiner’s work had sweeping cultural impacts. Three of his motion pictures, “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride” and “That is Spinal Faucet,” are on the Nationwide Movie Registry. The phrase “as much as eleven,” coined in “This Is Spinal Faucet” throughout an improvised sequence between Reiner and Christopher Visitor, is within the Oxford English Dictionary.
“It’s bizarre that one thing that we simply threw off like that instantly turns into a part of the lexicon of our lives,” Reiner stated on NPR’s “Contemporary Air” in September. “It’s very unusual how these items have taken root.”
In 2015, Reiner was the producer on “Being Charlie,” a drama primarily based on his household’s struggles whereas son Nick was hooked on arduous medication and rotating out and in of rehabs and homelessness.
“It was very, very arduous going by it the primary time, with these painful and tough highs and lows,” Rob Reiner informed The Instances in 2015. “After which making the film dredged all of it up once more.”
Rising up, Reiner balanced conflicting emotions about his relationship together with his personal father, who was somebody he strongly admired but additionally felt as if didn’t totally know him. That dichotomy impressed a scene in “Stand by Me” when Gordie declares his father hates him.
“Loving your father and searching as much as your father doesn’t essentially imply you’re feeling that again,” Reiner stated on “Contemporary Air” in September, recalling how writing that scene made him cry. Reiner, added, nevertheless, that he had two “nice guides” in his life, his father, who died in 2020, and “All within the Household” creator Norman Lear.
Reiner was a author on “The fortieth Kennedy Heart Honors” in 2017, capping a profession that included myriad selection present writing credit. “Spinal Faucet II: The Finish Continues,” which he directed, was his last mission as a scribe. “Spinal Faucet at Stonehenge: The Ultimate Finale,” due out in 2026, was his last directing credit score.
Reiner was nominated 5 occasions for supporting actor Emmys for his “All within the Household” work, successful in 1974 and 1978. He was nominated for 2 Emmys in 2024 for the documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.”
A staunch liberal, Reiner additionally emerged as a power in California politics and youngster welfare and training points, and campaigned for presidential candidates together with former Vice President Al Gore, endorsed former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president and spoke up for President Biden’s reelection. Reiner was additionally an unapologetic critic of President Trump.
He campaigned in California in opposition to tobacco use and in 1998 noticed the passage of Proposition 10, which known as for a tax on tobacco merchandise to be spent on early childhood packages. Reiner turned chairman of the First 5 California Youngsters and Households Fee in January 1999. He resigned in March 2006 amid accusations that the fee had used tax cash to spice up his marketing campaign for the in the end unsuccessful Proposition 82, which might have raised revenue taxes on rich Californians to pay for preschool for 4-year-olds. An audit later concluded that he and the fee had not violated state regulation.
“Rob Reiner has at all times put California’s children first, and I thank him for the good work he has achieved during the last seven years,” then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stated in a press release on the time. “Due to Rob’s efforts, California has develop into a nationwide chief in offering early childhood well being and training providers for our youngest youngsters and their households.”
Instances editor Brittany Levine Beckman contributed to this report.
