Sadness, surprise and concern in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, actor and director of famous titles such as The princess bride, When Harry Met Sally y Spinal Taphas been found dead in his home in Los Angeles with his wife, photographer Michele Reiner. Their bodies have been found stabbed. “It is with deep sadness that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a family spokesperson said in a statement. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”
At the Reiner residence there are no signs that the doors or windows have been forced, according to the local media. Los Angeles Timeswhich also states that “a family member is being questioned in relation to the deaths.” The magazine People He goes further and exclusively states, citing “multiple sources”, that they had been stabbed by his middle son, Nick, who suffered from addiction problems, and that it was his other daughter, the youngest, Romy, who found the bodies. This information has not been confirmed by official sources, who maintain that a homicide investigation is ongoing.
It was mid-afternoon on Sunday, December 14 in Los Angeles when the city’s fire department broke the news, although in dribs and drabs. According to Captain Mike Bland, the bodies of two people, a man and a woman, had been found in a mansion in the Brentwood neighborhood, one of the most affluent in the city. At around three-thirty in the afternoon (local time), emergency services received a call that someone needed medical help. The house belonged to the actor and director Rob Reiner, 78 – son of the famous, now deceased, actors Carl Reiner and Estelle Reiner – and his wife, Michele, 68. The couple had three children: Jake, 34, Nick, 32, and Romy, 28. The police did not give any more information at first, but later revealed that the bodies belonged to a 78-year-old man and a 78-year-old woman. 68, precisely, and that both had died from stab wounds. Finally, around seven thirty in the afternoon, it was known that the deceased were Rob and Michele. The Los Angeles police robbery and homicide department is already investigating both deaths as “apparent homicide.”
Around nine at night, the deputy chief of the Los Angeles police investigation department, Alan S. Hamilton, was giving a press conference before a crowd of media stationed outside the Reiner house on Chadbourne Avenue. In it, he barely clarified anything, beyond confirming that there is a judicial investigation underway for “a crime scene” and that they will provide information when it is confirmed and can be made public, in the coming days. They intend to interrogate all members close to the family. Beyond the police blockade on Reiner Street, the neighborhood has not been cordoned off or evacuated.
Half a century of career
Reiner had been working in the world of film and television for more than half a century as an actor, director, screenwriter and producer. He began his career as a performer in the early sixties in television series, and became known thanks to the almost 200 episodes of the series from the seventies. All in familywhere he played Michael Stivic, the family’s hippie son-in-law. He continued making series all his life: Frasier, Los Simpson, The Good Fight, New Girl, Rockefeller Plaza and, more recently, in the award-winning The Bear, one of his last works. In the cinema, he also shone in Postcards from the Edge, Something to Remember, A Crazy Day, Bullets Over Broadway, The First Wives Club, Primary Colors, The Wolf of Wall Street… In total, he participated in around 90 titles.
But above all his films as a director, around thirty, stand out. The first one with which he launched himself into direction was Sonny Boy in 1974, but from there came gems of cinema and popular culture such as The princess bride, When Harry Met SallyMisery y count on me (two of the most beloved Stephen King adaptations), some good men —the only one with which earned an Oscar nomination for best picture in 1993—A Boy Called North, The President and Miss Wade, Ghosts of the Past, Our Story, Now or Never or the various installments of the mockumentary about rock Spinal Tap. I had the last one in preparation.
Although Rob was born in New York, in the Bronx neighborhood, he moved to Los Angeles when he was just 12 years old. His family, Jewish but barely observant, settled in Beverly Hills and there he made great friends who accompanied him for the rest of his days, since he studied at the local institute, Beverly Hills High School, alongside the actor Richard Dreyfuss and the director Albert Brooks. He spent his entire life in Los Angeles, where he was a great liberal political activist. He supported the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden and spoke out against Donald Trump.
Rob and Michele, photographer, videographer and producer, met during the filming of When Harry Met Sallyand they married months later, in May 1989. It was the second marriage for him, who had been married to the comic actress and director of Big Penny Marshall between 1971 and 1981, and adopted her daughter, actress Tracy Reiner.
In an interview with People In 2016, Nick, the middle of the couple’s three children, spoke about his addictions, which began when he was just a child and made him start going to rehabilitation at the age of 15, with trips to and from clinics. He moved away from his home and came to live on the street, as he explained to the American magazine. With his harsh experiences he wrote a book, which later became the script for the movie Being Charliesemi-autobiographical and directed by his father.
A loss for Los Angeles
The couple was very loved in the city and throughout California, so much so that the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, has issued a statement of condolences assuring that it is “a devastating loss for the city and the country.” “Personally, I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob and his wife Michele. I knew Rob and had enormous respect for him. Among his many contributions, Rob helped create First 5 California, a historic initiative funded by a tobacco tax to support early childhood development programs. He and Michele fought for marriage equality. They were true champions of LGBTQ+ rights.”
The governor, Gavin Newsom, said in a statement that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are “devastated by the tragic loss.” “Rob was the big-hearted genius behind many of the classic stories we love,” he said. “His boundless empathy made his stories timeless, teaching generations how to see goodness and righteousness in others, and encouraging us to dream big. That empathy extended far beyond his films. Rob was a passionate advocate for children and civil rights. He made California a better place through his good works. He will be remembered for his outstanding filmography and his extraordinary contribution to humanity.”
In 2017, in an interview with this newspaper, Reiner stated that the then president, Donald Trump, inspired him for his work, and that he did not rule out doing a project about him. “Everyone is suggesting it to me lately. They’ve also been asking me all their lives for a sequel to When Harry Met Sallybut it’s a story I’ve already told. Trump interests me more. There is also an issue that catches my attention: how realities show affect our lives. I call it the kardashization of the United States. It has merit that the Kardashians have built an empire from nothing, but it also makes you think. Fame as a vital achievement… makes for a wonderful film.”