Rob Reiner, who directed such beloved Hollywood classics as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me and When Harry Met Sally after starring in the trailblazing sitcom All in the Family, died Sunday along with his wife, Michele, in their Brentwood home. He was 78.
Reiner and his wife, 70, were found dead in their home on Chadbourne Avenue, with the couple “suffering lacerations consistent with a knife,” law enforcement sources told TMZ. There reportedly was no sign of forced entry.
Said a spokesperson for the family: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Citing “multiple sources,” People reported that the Reiners’ son Nick, 32, is the suspected killer. He battled drug addiction and homelessness, had more than a dozen stints in rehab and co-wrote a film loosely based on his life, Being Charlie (2015), that was directed by his father.
Near the scene Sunday just before 9 p.m., LAPD chief of detectives Alan Hamilton said “we have not identified a suspect at this time,” there “was no person of interest” and that many family members would be interviewed.
The Los Angeles Fire Department had been called to the Reiners’ home at about 3:40 p.m. by an unidentified person, and LAPD Robbery Homicide Division detectives were investigating.
The Princess Bride (1987), Misery (1990), the Oscar best picture nominee A Few Good Men (1992), The American President (1995) and The Bucket List (2007) also were among Rob Reiner’s 20-plus directing credits.
Reiner was also a co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind such films as City Slickers (1991), The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Waiting for Guffman (1996), Miss Congeniality (2000), Best in Show (2000), Michael Clayton (2007) and Seinfeld, one of the most lucrative television properties of all time.
From the outset of his feature directorial career with This Is Spinal Tap (1984), Reiner seemed to reimagine Hollywood standards, creating and starring in the first mainstream mockumentary — a rock ’n’ roll satire so dead-on, film critic Roger Ebert called it “one of the funniest movies ever made.” From there, he would move seamlessly from comedy to drama, from fantasy to horror, as few directors ever have.
Reiner would establish yet another benchmark — this time for romantic comedies — with When Harry Met Sally (1989), screenwriter Nora Ephron’s ode to true love (based loosely on her and Reiner’s lives) that starred Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.
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