Rob Reiner was recognized to thousands and thousands as a TV actor and movie director.
However the Brentwood resident, recognized for the basic movies “Stand by Me” and “When Harry Met Sally,” was additionally a political drive, an outspoken supporter of progressive causes and a Democratic Occasion activist who went past the everyday position of celebrities who host glitzy fundraisers.
Reiner was deeply concerned in points that he cared about, equivalent to early childhood schooling and the legalization of homosexual marriage.
Reiner, 78, and his spouse, Michelle Singer Reiner, had been discovered useless inside his dwelling Sunday, sparking an outpouring of grief from those that labored with him on quite a lot of causes.
Ace Smith — a veteran Democratic strategist to former Vice President Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Gov. Jerry Brown and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton — had recognized Reiner for many years. Reiner, he stated, approached politics in another way than most celebrities.
“Right here’s this distinctive human being who actually did make the leap between leisure and politics,” Smith stated. “And he actually spent the time to grasp coverage, actually, in its true depth, and to make a huge effect in California.”
Reiner was a co-founder of the American Basis for Equal Rights, the group that efficiently led the combat to overturn Proposition 8, the 2008 poll measure that banned same-sex marriage. He was lively in kids’s points via the years, having led the marketing campaign to cross Proposition 10, the California Youngsters and Households Initiative, which created an formidable program of early childhood improvement providers.
Proposition 10 was thought-about landmark coverage. Reiner enlisted assist in that effort from Steven Spielberg, Robin Williams, and his personal father, comedy legend Carl Reiner.
“He needed to make a distinction. And he did, and he did profoundly,” Smith stated.
Reiner was additionally a number one backer of Proposition 82, an unsuccessful measure that might have taxed the rich to create common preschool in California.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who had recognized Reiner since he was a state lawmaker within the Nineteen Nineties, labored with him on Proposition 10 and was impressed with how Reiner embraced the trigger.
“He was a person with reply. It wasn’t politics as a lot as he was at all times targeted on the humanity amongst us,” Villaraigosa stated. ‘When he acquired behind a difficulty, he knew every little thing about it.”
“Only a actually particular man. A horrible day,” the previous mayor stated.
Mayor Karen Bass stated in a press release that she was “heartbroken” by the day’s occasions, saying Reiner “at all times used his presents in service of others.”
“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate all through American tradition and society, and he has improved numerous lives via his inventive work and advocacy combating for social and financial justice,” the mayor stated.
“I’m holding all who cherished Rob and Michele in my coronary heart,” Bass stated.
Newsom added, “Rob was a passionate advocate for youngsters and for civil rights — from taking over Huge Tobacco, combating for marriage equality, to serving as a robust voice in early schooling. He made California a greater place via his good works.”
“Rob will likely be remembered for his exceptional filmography and for his extraordinary contribution to humanity,” the governor stated.
