Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele have been found dead at their home in Los Angeles.
Police believe they suffered stab wounds and a family member is being questioned, a local law enforcement source said.
The Los Angeles Fire Department says it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3.30pm on Sunday and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside.
Detectives are investigating an “apparent homicide” at Reiner’s home, said Captain Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.
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Rob Reiner initially rose to fame playing Meathead, Archie Bunker’s son-in-law, on the sitcom All in the Family in the 1970s, and went on to become a remarkably versatile film director. He seemed equally adept at the mockumentary (Spinal Tap), the coming-of-age film (Stand by Me), the children’s classic (Princess Bride) the romantic comedy (When Harry Met Sally ...) and the courtroom drama (A Few Good Men).
Throughout his career as a director, Reiner continued to work as an actor on television and in the films of others, making himself into a rare Hollywood fixture who was known for his work both behind the camera and in front of it. He also led a vibrant political life, lending his celebrity to a variety of liberal causes, including same-sex marriage.
Christopher Guest, who starred in This Is Spinal Tap and The Princess Bride, and his wife Jamie Lee Curtis said in a joint statement that they were “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,” the couple wrote. “We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
Former Monty Python member Eric Idle said on X that he had spoken to Reiner the night before his death: “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 ... I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.”
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Reiner’s family was rooted in show business. His father, Carl Reiner, created The Dick Van Dyke Show, moving the family to Los Angeles from New York in the 1950s and at times drawing inspiration from his own family life. His mother, Estelle Reiner, was an actor and a singer.
After he was drawn to the stage in a high school drama class, Rob Reiner worked in small theatres and started his own improv group before landing the role on what would become one of America’s defining family sitcoms.
During Reiner’s eight years on All in the Family, from 1971 to 1978, he began spending time in the writers’ room and observing the set, picking up an education in behind-the-scenes work. He won two Emmy Awards for best supporting actor.
He had an ambition to direct since he was a teenager, and while a cast member on the sitcom, he directed a little-known television movie. Five years after the show ended, he made his directorial debut in 1984 with This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary about a British band past its prime that turned into a cult classic.
After directing The Sure Thing, a romantic comedy starring John Cusack, Reiner decided to adapt a fantasy-adventure novel by William Goldman that he had loved when he was young: The Princess Bride. A charming mix of satire, adventure and romance, the movie received broad critical acclaim.
Just two years later, Reiner released When Harry Met Sally ..., which would become one of the most beloved and culturally enduring romantic comedies of all time.
Kathy Bates, the actor who starred in Reiner’s 1990 film Misery, said he had “changed the course” of her life.
“I’m horrified hearing this terrible news. Absolutely devastated. I loved Rob,” she told NBC. “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.”
She also praised Michele Reiner, describing her as a “gifted photographer”.
The director Paul Feig wrote on X: “Rob is one of my heroes. I had the honour of calling him a friend. I pray this isn’t what it sounds like it is. I just saw [him] and Michele two nights ago.”
The California governor, Gavin Newsom, said he was “heartbroken” by the Reiners’ deaths, remembering Reiner as a “big-hearted genius” and paying tribute to his political activism.
“Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights – from taking on Big Tobacco, fighting for marriage equality, to serving as a powerful voice in early education. He made California a better place through his good works. Rob will be remembered for his remarkable filmography and for his extraordinary contribution to humanity,” he wrote in a statement.
Last year, as Reiner was preparing to shoot the sequel to Spinal Tap, he spoke to the New York Times about some of the things that were most important to him. The first things he mentioned were “my wife and kids”.
“That’s the most important to me,” he said. “There’s that joke – nobody on their death bed ever said: ‘I should have spent more time at the office.’ Nobody says that.” – New York Times/AP/Guardian
