Rob Reiner, wife found dead in home, LAPD investigating as homicide
Actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead in their Brentwood home. LAPD is investigating as an “apparent homicide.”
Rob Reiner’s breakthrough movie as a director was 1984’s “This is Spinal Tap,” which he also wrote.Years before “The West Wing” became a hit for NBC, Reiner helmed 1995’s “The American President,” Aaron Sorkin’s rom-com set in the White House.
Rob Reiner is being hailed as the director of some of the best movies the past 40 years, but even that level of praise seems understated for his amazing career.
Reiner was killed alongside his wife, Michele Singer, in their California home Sunday night, according to Variety and TMZ. Their deaths are under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department after the couple was found in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.
After writing for the famously rebellious “Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” and starring as the counterculture “Meathead” in one of the most important sitcoms of the 20th century, “All In The Family,” Reiner went on to direct films that will live forever — and that are known for their iconic scenes even by people who’ve never seen them.
Anytime someone repeats lines like “You can’t handle the truth,” or “I’ll have what she’s having,” Reiner’s legacy goes beyond the cinema and straight to the heart of American pop culture. Here’s a tribute to a director, writer and actor whose career was a lesson in how to go to eleven.
“This Is Spinal Tap” (1984)
This mockumentary about a rock band arrived rather quietly, then grew into a cult classic about heavy metal and music industry excesses. Reiner not only wrote and directed it, he co-started as filmmaker Marty “Enough of My Yakkin'” DiBergi.
“Stand By Me” (1986)
The classic coming-of-age drama based on a Stephen King novella gave Reiner a chance to guide the sensitive performances of young stars River Phoenix, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton and Corey Feldman in a story as timeless as the song that inspired the title.
“The Princess Bride” (1987)
Another cult favorite, Reiner helmed the comedy-fantasy involving beautiful Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright), noble farmhand Westley (Cary Elwes), towering henchman Fezzik (Andre the Giant) and the swashbuckling Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin). A world without this tale? Inconceivable!
“When Harry Met Sally” (1989)
A romantic comedy for the ages, Reiner was the perfect director for Nora Ephron’s screenplay about two people (Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan) who find love through a complicated friendship. He had the wit, depth and humanity to make the laughs more soulful and the tears more joyful.
“Misery” (1990)
Could Reiner do scary? This superb thriller about an obsessed fan (Kathy Bates) who rescues, and then entraps, a best-selling author (James Caan) still stands as an edge-of-your-seat experience. A lesser director might have failed to find the poignancy of Bates’ complex villain.
“A Few Good Men” (1992)
“You can’t handle the truth!” The most indelible courtroom scene ever came from this rock-solid legal drama that pits a JAG attorney (Tom Cruise) against an autocratic colonel (Jack Nicholson). Reiner’s masterful pacing plus Aaron Sorkin’s script made for a world-class vehicle.
“The American President” (1995)
Years before “The West Wing” series, Reiner teamed up with Sorkin again for this presidential rom-com starring Michael Douglas as a principled Oval Office occupant and Annette Bening as a determined lobbyist. Swoon-worthy and a fine statement on Reiner’s passion for political activism.
Contact Detroit Free Press pop culture critic Julie Hinds at jhinds@freepress.com.