Many in Hollywood and around the country are both shocked and in mourning following the tragic news that filmmaking icon Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer Reiner were the victims of an apparent homicide on Sunday, December 14. Details still have yet to be fully confirmed as far as what exactly went down and why, but the husband and wife were found dead in their Brentwood home reportedly with their throats cut. At this time, police have not made any arrests, and no suspects have been identified.
According to ABC7, Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Larry David and When Harry Met Sally’s Billy Crystal both showed up in person at different times at the Reiners’ residence after the news broke. At this time, it doesn’t appear as if either comedy star has publicly commented on the incident, but plenty of other acting legends and A-listers have been paying tribute.
Jamie Lee Curtis And Christopher Guest (This Is Spinal Tap)
Christopher Guest most recently worked with Rob Reiner for the long-awaited rock-umentary Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, the sequel to one of the funniest comedies ever, (At the time, Reiner even talked to CinemaBlend about famed musicians’ reactions to the first film’s release.) To be expected, both Guest and wife Jamie Lee Curtis were taken aback by the news.
Christopher and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michelle Singer Reiner and our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them. There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.
Kathy Bates (Misery)
Kathy Bates, currently the star of CBS' Matlock reboot, worked with the director while portraying one of her most famous characters: Annie Wilkes, the obsessive reader/kidnapper in Reiner's adaptation of Stephen King's Misery. Sharing her grief-filled statement about both deaths with NBC News, Bates said:
[I was] horrified hearing this terrible news. Absolutely devastated. I loved Rob. He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life. Michelle was a gifted photographer. She shot my beautiful photos for the Misery campaign. My heart breaks for them both. My thoughts are with their family.
Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride)
Cary Elwes will forever be associated with the hilariousness of 1987's The Princess Bride, which Rob Reiner both produced and directed. The latter even took on the role of the grandfather for the celebrity-filled 2020 fan film Home Movie: The Princess Bride, which also featured his own father Carl Reiner in his final on-screen performance ahead of his death that same year. (Both Reiners separately starred in two of the greatest sitcoms of all time, All in the Family and The Dick Van Dyke Show, respectively,) and Elwes didn't share many words in his Instagram post, but he didn't really need them to make his point clear.
Jerry O'Connell (Stand By Me)
Another friend and past project co-star of Reiner's, Jerry O'Connell also kept his words nearly as limited as Elwes did, but they still packed quite the emotional punch. O'Connell's very first on-screen film role was for 1986's beloved coming-of-age drama Stand By Me, an adaptation of Stephen King's short story "The Body." So you know he probably has very strong memories about working with the director.
Corey Feldman (Stand By Me)
Jerry O'Connell's Stand By Me co-star Corey Feldman, who has publicly spoken out against filmmakers he worked with as a child actor, has long held Rob Reiner up as one of the good ones. His message on X reflects that sentiment, as he wrote:
OMG THIS IS HORRIBLE NEWS! IM SO SORRY 4 ROB & HIS WIFE, & THEIR CHILDREN & THE WHOLE REINER FAMILY! ALL I CAN SAY IS IM SHOCKED & SADDENED, BUT I #LOVE U ROB! U WILL B 4EVER MISSED!
Ron Howard
Fellow director and '70s sitcom star Ron Howard also took to social media to share kind words for his longtime friend and colleague. While the two didn't seem to share the screen in anything, Howard did address the fact that Rob Reiner co-wrote the pilot episode of Happy Days along with Garry Marshall and Philip Mishkin. As Howard put it on X:
Our careers and lives intersected often over the decades from Rob writing the pilot script for Happy Days and then as we each shifted from acting careers into directing and producing. He proved to be a superlative filmmaker, a supportive colleague and at all times a dedicated citizen. Rob will be missed on so many levels. My heart goes out to his family and his many close friends.
Eric Idle
Eric Idle, a founding member of the iconic Monty Python troupe, also co-created The Rutles, a Beatles-spoofing musical group that has released a handful of albums across the past 40 years. The Rutles were also a direct inspiration for all things Spinal Tap, and Idle revealed that he'd been speaking with the director just hours before he was killed. As Idle put it:
Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his Dad's in 1975. He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.
Mira Sorvino
Oscar winner Mira Sorvino is one of the many actors who only co-starred with Rob Reiner in a project but wasn’t ever directed in anything by him, which possibly made it an even easier relationship to thrive in. Sorvino and Reiner co-starred in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix drama Hollywood, and she clearly had positive experiences with him there.
I am in absolute shock. Rob Reiner was a legend and a kind, brilliant man, a wonderful actor to work opposite on Hollywood, an iconic director. His wife Michele was a lovely generous person- I wish I had been able to get to know her better. The world has lost two tremendous humans. He was so funny and intelligent - we had a great time shooting what could have been awkward scenes but his wit and warmth made all that go away. Talking with him on and off the set was a joy. This doesn’t seem possible. My deepest sorrow and condolences and prayers go out to their family.
We at CinemaBlend send our thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of the Reiner family during this mournful time.
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