Rob Reiner remembered for beloved films, iconic performances

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Rob Reiner, the lad of a drama elephantine who became 1 himself with movies specified arsenic "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally…" and "This is Spinal Tap," has died astatine 78.

Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dormant Sunday astatine their location successful the Brentwood vicinity of Los Angeles, sources told CBS News. Police called it an "apparent homicide."

"It is with profound sorrow that we denote the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this abrupt loss, and we inquire for privateness during this unbelievably hard time," their household said successful a connection obtained by Variety.

Robert Reiner was calved successful the Bronx connected March 6, 1947. As a young man, helium acceptable retired to travel successful his father's footsteps into entertainment. He studied astatine the University of California, Los Angeles movie schoolhouse and, successful the 1960s, began appearing successful tiny parts successful assorted tv shows.

Reiner grew up reasoning his father, Carl Reiner, didn't recognize him oregon find him funny. But the younger Reiner would successful galore ways travel his father's footsteps, moving some successful beforehand and down the camera.

"My begetter thought, 'Oh, my God, this mediocre kid is disquieted astir being successful the shadiness of a celebrated father,'" Reiner told "60 Minutes" earlier this year, recalling the temptation to alteration his name. "And helium says, 'What bash you privation to alteration your sanction to?' And I said, 'Carl.' I conscionable wanted to beryllium similar him."

He added, "Norman Lear was the archetypal idiosyncratic that got me. I mean, I was playing jacks with his daughter. Norman says to my dad, 'You know, this kid is truly funny.' And I deliberation my dada said, 'What? That kid?' That kid? He's a-- s-- sullen, helium sits quiet. He doesn't-- you know, he's not funny.'"

After starting retired arsenic a writer for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," Reiner's breakthrough came erstwhile helium was, astatine property 23, formed by shaper and household person Norman Lear successful "All successful the Family" arsenic Archie Bunker's wide son-in-law, Michael "Meathead" Stivic. Reiner told "60 Minutes" that helium thought the amusement would lone past 13 weeks – but it went connected to aerial for 8 years, 5 of them arsenic the apical amusement successful the country.

"I retrieve speechmaking the publication and thinking, this is specified bully writing, this is truthful edgy and truthful brilliant," helium told "CBS Sunday Morning" successful 2010. "There's nary mode that this is going to alert connected American television."

Reiner was 5 times nominated for an Emmy for his show connected the show, winning successful 1974 and 1978. In Lear, Reiner besides recovered a mentor. He called him "a 2nd father."

It was during the extremity of his stint connected the amusement that helium came up with the thought for his archetypal film: the mostly improvised 1984 cult classical "This is Spinal Tap."

"Well, radical would say, 'I can't judge your archetypal movie would be-- improvised, there'd beryllium nary script. And-- that's scary.' And, to me, it was the opposite. I wasn't scared," helium told "60 Minutes."

The movie kicked disconnected a four-year agelong that resulted successful a trio of American classics - "Stand By Me" (1986), "The Princess Bride" (1987) and "When Harry Met Sally …" (1989) – each of them among the astir often quoted movies of the 20th century.

Reiner told "60 Minutes" that his adaptation of the Stephen King novella "The Body", 1986's "Stand by Me" was successful galore ways based connected his narration with his father. The movie, astir 4 boys who spell looking for the dormant assemblage of a missing boy, became a coming-of-age classic, making breakthroughs of its young formed (particularly River Phoenix).

Jerry O'Connell And Corey Feldman In 'Stand By Me'

"I'm penning this scene, I'm crying. I really cry. When I was making it I knew that helium loved maine and helium did recognize me, but arsenic a small lad that's what I felt," helium said.

With his banal rising, Reiner devoted himself to adapting William Goldman's "The Princess Bride," a 1973 publication Reiner had loved since his begetter gave him a transcript arsenic a gift. Everyone from François Truffaut to Robert Redford had considered adapting Goldman's book, but it yet fell to Reiner (from Goldman's ain script) to seizure the unsocial comic code of "The Princess Bride." But lone erstwhile helium had Goldman's blessing.

"At the doorway helium greeted maine and helium said, 'This is my baby. I privation this connected my tombstone. This is my favourite happening I've ever written successful my life. What are you going to bash with it?'" Reiner recalled successful a Television Academy interview. "And we sat down with him and started going done what I thought should beryllium done with the film."

Though lone a humble occurrence successful theaters, the movie — starring Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant and Robin Wright — would turn successful stature implicit the years, starring to countless impressions of Inigo Montoya's vow of revenge and the risky quality of onshore wars successful Asia.

For the adjacent 4 decades, Reiner, a lukewarm and gregarious beingness connected surface and an outspoken wide advocator disconnected it, remained a changeless fixture successful Hollywood. The accumulation institution helium co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, launched an enviable drawstring of hits, including "Seinfeld" and "The Shawshank Redemption." By the crook of the century, its occurrence complaint had fallen considerably, but Reiner revived it earlier this decade. This fall, Reiner and Castle Rock released the long-in-coming sequel "Spinal Tap II: The End Continues."

"What are we, brainsick to bash different one? It's crazy," Reiner told "60 Minutes" astir the sequel. "The barroom is conscionable mode excessively high."

All the while, Reiner was 1 of the movie industry's astir passionate Democrat activists, regularly hosting fundraisers and campaigning for wide issues. He was co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged successful tribunal California's prohibition connected same-sex marriage, Proposition 8. He besides chaired the run for Prop 10, a California inaugural to money aboriginal puerility improvement services with a taxation connected baccy products. Reiner was besides a professional of President Donald Trump.

That ran successful the family, too. Reiner's begetter opposed the Communist hunt of McCarthyism successful the 1950s and his mother, Estelle Reiner, a vocalist and actor, protested the Vietnam War.

"If you're a nepo baby, doors volition open," Reiner told the Guardian successful 2024. "But you person to deliver. If you don't deliver, the doorway volition adjacent conscionable arsenic accelerated arsenic it opened."

Reiner was joined to Penny Marshall, the histrion and filmmaker, for 10 years opening successful 1971. Like Reiner, Marshall experienced sitcom fame with "Laverne & Shirley," but recovered a much lasting bequest down the camera.

After their divorce, Reiner, astatine a luncheon with Nora Ephron, suggested a drama astir dating. In penning what became "When Harry Met Sally …", Ephron and Reiner charted a narration betwixt a antheral and a pistillate (played successful the movie by Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) implicit the people of 12 years.

Along the way, the movie's ending changed, arsenic did immoderate of the film's indelible moments. The celebrated line, "I'll person what she's having," said aft witnessing Ryan's fake orgasm astatine Katz's Delicatessen, was a proposition by Crystal — delivered by nary different than Reiner's mother, Estelle.

"I'm pounding the table, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!' And I'm realizing I'm having an orgasm successful beforehand of my mother, you know? There's my parent implicit there," Reiner told "60 Minutes."

Rob Reiner and woman Michele Singer Reiner

The movie's blessed ending besides had immoderate real-life basis. Reiner met Singer, a photographer, connected the acceptable of "When Harry Met Sally …" In 1989, they were wed. They had 3 children together: Nick, Jake and Romy.

Reiner's consequent films included different King adaptation, "Misery" (1990) and a brace of Aaron Sorkin-penned dramas: the subject courtroom communicative "A Few Good Men" (1992) and 1995's "The American President."

By the precocious '90s, Reiner's films (1996's "Ghosts of Mississippi," 2007's "The Bucket List") nary longer had the aforesaid occurrence rate. But helium remained a predominant actor, often memorably enlivening films similar "Sleepless successful Seattle" (1993) and "The Wolf of Wall Street" (2013). In 2023, helium directed the documentary "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life."

In the interrogation with "60 Minutes" this year, Reiner said helium ne'er had immoderate thought if his films would work.

"If I similar it, past I say, 'Well, astatine slightest I similar it,'" Reiner said. "Hopefully idiosyncratic other is gonna similar it."

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