Director of iconic films was a force in state politics

In the world that Rob Reiner built, amplifiers went “up to 11.”

- BY CHRISTIE D'ZURILLA AND SEEMA MEHTA

FATHER AND SON IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Rob Reiner with his son Nick in 2016 discussing their feature film "Being Charlie," which was inspired by Nick's addiction to drugs and the family's struggles. Nick Reiner was arrested Sunday on suspicion of the fatal stabbings of his parents at their home.

ADELA LOCONTE WireImage

ROB REINER, 1947 – 2025

People readily ordered “what she’s having.” Courtrooms couldn't “handle the truth,” comedy and drama traded places seamlessly and liberal ideals born in the 1960s and ’70s formed the gold standard of politics.A writer, director, producer, actor and political activist whose career in Hollywood spanned more than six decades and included some of the most iconic titles in movie history, Reiner was found dead Sunday afternoon with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, at the home they shared in Brentwood. He was 78.

Reiner's middle child, Nick, 32, was taken into custody Sunday night and booked early Monday morning on suspicion of double murder, police said. With a long history of drug addiction, Nick had been living in the guesthouse on the Reiner property.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a spokesperson for the family said in a statement Sunday. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”

Reiner, who once explained his identity as a blend of humor and “a lot of melancholy,” will be remembered as the director of the seminal 1980s rom-com “When Harry Met Sally ...,” the actor whose sitcom character Michael “Meathead” Stivic faced off regularly against Archie Bunker, and the political activist who backed early childhood programs in California and railed loudly for years against President Trump.