When Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were murdered towards the end of 2025, the outpouring of grief across Hollywood was profound. That grief continues, especially for his closest friends and collaborators like Billy Crystal. The two worked together on three of the best movies of the ‘80s: This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally. Outside of work, they were also close, which makes stories like this so heartbreaking.
Crystal is promoting his new one-man Broadway show, Billy Crystal: 860, and as part of that, he sat down for an interview with People and told a story about the night he went through the first dress rehearsal of the show. He couldn’t wait to tell Reiner… until it hit him that he couldn’t. It’s an incredibly touching and sad story. Here’s what Crystal told People:
I felt so good. [I ran] right upstairs in the dressing room, and my first thought was, ‘I've got to call Rob and tell him.’
While Crystal will always be remembered for his amazing quotes in movies, what he said here about how it made him feel really hit me hard, and it's something I'll never forget. It honestly brought a tear to my eye, despite not knowing either man. It is just such a succinct way of thinking about anyone any of us have lost in our lives. Crystal said:
I don't know if I don’t want that to keep happening. Or I do want it to keep happening. I don't know.
Everyone has lost someone close to them, and this is such a beautiful and devastating description of how it feels. You don’t want to feel the pain of the loss, but without that pain, you may be left with nothing. It’s so simple and yet so touching and heartbreaking.
The moment feels especially poignant in relation to Crystal’s new Broadway show. Billy Crystal: 860 is about losing his home in the LA wildfires, also in 2025. Here’s the description, according to the show’s website:
In the aftermath of the Palisades fires that took his home, Billy relives his memories and moments that mattered the most, and reflects on how the power of laughter can overcome even the hardest of times. 860 is a hilarious and intimate story about family, friendship, love, luck, and loss.
That means Crystal’s 2025 was bookended by two personal tragedies: the fire in January and Reiner’s murder in December. I’ll say right now, after hearing his words on Reiner, I’m seriously considering a trip to New York to see the show.
