US comedy luminaries Billy Crystal, Larry David, Martin Short and Albert Brooks have come together to remember their friend and peer Rob Reiner, hours after the director’s son was charged with the murder of his parents.
Nick Reiner, 32, has been in custody since Sunday evening, hours after his sister, Romy, reportedly discovered the bodies of Rob and Michele Reiner in their Los Angeles home. Police said the couple had suffered fatal stab wounds.
On Tuesday Nick Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance of multiple murders, and a special allegation for the use of a dangerous weapon, a knife. If he’s found guilty he could be sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, or the death penalty.
On Tuesday, a letter signed by the Reiners’ friends was released to the Associated Press. It was signed by Billy and Janice Crystal; Albert and Kimberly Brooks; Martin Short; comedy writer Alan Zweibel and his wife, Robin; David and his wife, the film producer Ashley Underwood; composer Marc Shaiman and his husband, Lou Mirabal; director Barry Levinson and his wife, Diana; and the former US ambassador to Spain James Costos and his partner, Michael Smith.
Billy Crystal and Rob Reiner first met in 1975, when Crystal was cast in a small role in the sitcom All in the Family, in which Reiner played Mike “Meathead” Stivic. He had a small role in Rob Reiner’s directorial debut, This is Spinal Tap, and starred in two of the director’s best-loved films, The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, with the two men remaining good friends for 50 years.
Albert Brooks and Rob Reiner met in high school and were close friends for 60 years, but they only ever worked together once: when Reiner directed the 2023 documentary Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.
Rob Reiner’s production company, Castle Rock Entertainment, produced Larry David’s show Seinfeld, and the two men were longtime friends, with Reiner playing a comedically heightened version of himself in an episode of David’s comedy Curb Your Enthusiasm.
The joint letter reads:
Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.
His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant. For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.
Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner. Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens … They were a special force together – dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.
There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, It’s a Wonderful Life, “Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” You have no idea.
Local media reported Crystal and David were seen at the scene as reports of the Reiners’ deaths first emerged on Sunday.
Nick Reiner was located Sunday evening and arrested that evening after authorities determined he “was responsible for their deaths”. Rob and Nick Reiner collaborated on Being Charlie, a 2015 film based on Nick’s struggles with addiction and homelessness.
