New Delhi: Legendary Hollywood director and actor Rob Reiner, best known for his role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family and for directing classics including When Harry Met Sally…, has been found dead alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, according to a report by TMZ.
The publication reported that the couple suffered lacerations consistent with a knife. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Robbery-Homicide Division is investigating the deaths.
Spokesperson Confirms Demise
A spokesperson for the Reiner family confirmed the deaths as The Guardian reported on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Who Was Rob Reiner?
Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1947, Reiner was the son of famed comic actor Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Rebost. He began his career as an actor in the 1960s, achieving widespread fame as the countercultural Michael “Meathead” Stivic across all nine seasons of the landmark sitcom All in the Family. He won two of five Emmy nominations for the role and received five Golden Globe nominations.
Reiner made his directorial film debut in 1984 with the cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. He followed it with an extraordinary run of acclaimed films, including Stand by Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally… (1989), Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992), the latter earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture.
He often cited Stand by Me as especially meaningful, saying it was the first project he felt existed outside his father’s shadow. “Spinal Tap was satire, and I love satire, but that was something my father had done,” Reiner told The Guardian in 2018. “Stand by Me was the first thing I did that was purely an extension of myself, and that meant a lot to me.”
The American actor, director had an estimated net worth of around $200 million, as per a report by Celebrity Net Worth
Rob Reiner’s Marriage
Reiner had been married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989. The couple met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally…, which he made with his longtime friend Nora Ephron after a decade of being single. Inspired by his new romance, Reiner changed the film’s original downbeat ending so that Harry and Sally ultimately ended up together.
The Reiners had three children together, Jake, Nick and Romy. Reiner was also the adoptive father of actor Tracy Reiner, the daughter of his first wife, actor and director Penny Marshall, who died in 2018.
Tributes Pour In
Tributes poured in from across Hollywood following news of his death. Director Paul Feig wrote on X, “One of my most cherished pictures. Rob was my true hero. A true visionary titan and a lovely lovely person. One never knows if it’s proper to post during something as tragic as this. But I just want the world to know what so many of us know in the industry. Rob was the best.”
Actor Paul Walter Hauser also shared his grief, writing, “Grieving the loss of my favorite director of all-time. A Few Good Men is THE reason I became an actor, and Rob’s filmography behind the camera is THE reason I wanted to direct and still do.”
Hauser recalled a 2010 encounter at Los Angeles’ Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, where Reiner was in the audience. “I couldn’t help thinking, ‘Commit to this. Rob Reiner is watching,’” he wrote.
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