The tributes pour in
Tributes to Reiner and his wife Michele have been pouring in. Sure, a certain president responded with his usual lack of class. But most responses were heartfelt and sincere in expressing shock and condolences. “I’m horrified hearing this terrible news,” Kathy Bates, who starred in Misery, said in a statement. “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.”
“Christopher [Guest] and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michele 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,” actress Jamie Lee Curtis said in a statement. (Curtis and the Spinal Tap star were reportedly married at the Reiners’ house in 1984.) “We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
“We are saddened by the loss of actor, filmmaker, and activist Rob Reiner,” Turner Classic Movies said in a statement posted to Bluesky. “A storyteller with sincerity that imbued his work and the causes he believed in, we are grateful for the time we spent with him over the years. We mourn the loss of him and his wife, Michele.”
Eric Idle said that he had spoken to Reiner mere hours before the deaths. “He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge [for Spinal Tap II] and his thoughts for the future,” Idle tweeted. “This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man.”
“Rob was my true hero,” filmmaker Paul Feig said. “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.”
“The cultural impact of Rob Reiner cannot be understated,” screenwriter C. Robert Cargill posted on Bluesky. “Legend isn’t big enough a word. It goes to 11. You can’t handle the truth. As you wish. I’ll have what she’s having. I’m your number one fan. You guys wanna see a dead body? The very idea of a bucket list. The West Wing. All from his movies.”