Director Rob Reiner, 78, and his spouse, Michele Reiner, 68, were killed in their Los Angeles residence, a source has revealed to the Daily Beast. The informant stated that their daughter Romy discovered them; Rob was deceased upon arrival, while Michele succumbed to her injuries in an ambulance en route to the hospital.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the heartbreaking loss of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are devastated by this unexpected tragedy and request privacy during this incredibly tough time,” the family stated in an official message.
This news follows confirmation from officials that two victims, matching the couple’s ages, were found dead at their Brentwood estate on Sunday. The Daily Beast has reached out to the LAPD for further details.
As reported by TMZ, Reiner and his spouse sustained injuries indicative of a knife assault. People is reporting that their son, Nick Reiner, 32, allegedly murdered his parents.
Reiner, the son of comedian Carl Reiner, began his entertainment career as “Meathead” in the hugely successful 1970s sitcom All in the Family. However, he quickly shifted his focus to directing, debuting with the cult classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. Just last year, he directed what would become his final film, Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues, 41 years after the original film was released.
His filmography spanned various genres, from the coming-of-age tale Stand by Me in 1986, to the fairy tale The Princess Bride in 1987, to the quintessential romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally… in 1989, and the thriller Misery in 1990, which earned Kathy Bates an Oscar for Best Actress. He then directed the acclaimed A Few Good Men in 1992 and Aaron Sorkin’s The American President in 1995, a precursor to The West Wing.
In his later years as an actor, he mainly played himself in TV comedies like 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Simpsons, though he also had a notable recurring part in the most recent season of The Bear.
In 2015, Reiner directed the poignant film Being Charlie, co-written by his son Nick, focusing on Nick’s true story of overcoming addiction. “It’s not about me,” Nick Reiner shared about the film, but “I went to a lot of these places, so I had many of these experiences.”
In addition to Nick, Rob and Michele Reiner were parents to two other children, Jake and Romy. Rob also had a daughter, Tracy Reiner, from his earlier marriage to director Penny Marshall.
Rob Reiner encountered Michele, a photographer, while filming When Harry Met Sally…. Last year, he mentioned in an interview that finding romance influenced the film’s upbeat ending.
“The original idea was for them to meet again after many years, talk, and then go their separate ways,” Reiner disclosed in 2024. “Then I met my wife Michele, whom I’ve now been married to for 35 years, and I altered the ending.”
In his later life, Reiner became a vocal political activist, expressing his opposition to Donald Trump and likening the situation to a form of fascism reminiscent of the Holocaust that impacted his family.
“I’m doing my best to resist in the ways I know how, and hopefully we can safeguard democracy, as it’s a 250-year experiment that has, in various ways, improved itself,” Reiner told the Daily Beast in September. “This is the first time I’ve seen something so hard to protect, that is so fleeting, being destroyed in less than a year.”
“So I’m hopeful we’ll endure this,” he continued. “And if we do, it will take a considerable time to rebuild the shining city on the hill, the beacon for the rest of the world.”
For more, listen to Rob Reiner on The Last Laugh podcast.
