Actor-director Rob Reiner, the filmmaker behind beloved classics like When Harry Met Sally…, The Princess Bride, and Stand By Me, has died at the age of 78. Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead at their home in Brentwood. TMZ reported, and Deadline confirmed, that the deaths are being treated as an apparent homicide, with injuries consistent with a knife attack.
Robert Reiner was born on March 6, 1947, in the Bronx. He was the son of legendary comedy writer, actor, and director Carl Reiner and actress Estelle Reiner. Rob Reiner often said his childhood closely resembled the world portrayed in The Dick Van Dyke Show, which his father created.
Speaking to JTA in 2017, Reiner reflected on his Jewish upbringing, recalling his Yiddish-speaking grandmother and his own Yiddish lessons. He described the experience as “home shuling.”
Reiner first became famous as an actor, playing Michael “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family, where he portrayed the liberal son-in-law of Archie Bunker. Like his father, Reiner was known for his outspoken progressive views. In a 1994 interview with 60 Minutes, he joked that he had been called “Meathead” more than 1,200 times in a single week.
In the 1980s, Reiner reinvented himself as a director, making an immediate impact with This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. The film helped define the mockumentary genre, with Reiner also appearing as filmmaker Marty Di Bergi. He followed it with a remarkable run of films, including The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally…, a streak widely regarded as one of the most impressive in Hollywood history.
Roger Ebert famously called him “one of Hollywood’s very best directors of comedy.” Reiner later directed Misery, another adaptation of a Stephen King story, and introduced screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to cinema with A Few Good Men in 1992.
While some later films received mixed reactions, Reiner’s cultural impact remained strong. His 2007 film The Bucket List even introduced a phrase that became part of everyday language.
From the 2000s onward, Reiner focused heavily on activism and civic engagement. He co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which advocated for marriage equality. He also directed documentaries, including one about his close friend Albert Brooks and God & Country, which examined Christian nationalism.
In a 2004 interview, Reiner explained that his Jewish identity influenced his work. He spoke about visiting Auschwitz with his wife, where her mother’s family had been imprisoned and killed. He warned of the dangers of nationalism, calling it a lesson history had already taught.
Reiner often spoke about humor as a tool for survival, once saying that Jews learned to be funny because laughter was sometimes the only way to endure hardship.
His final film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, a sequel to his iconic debut, was released in October.