Hollywood is mourning the sudden, tragic deaths of inimitable director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Reiner, who were killed in an “apparent homicide” in their Brentwood, California, home on Sunday. Friends and collaborators, including Christopher Guest, Cary Elwes, and the estate of Norman Lear, have expressed their condolences—while President Donald Trump has released a disparaging statement about the filmmaker’s death on Truth Social.
Rob Reiner was a longtime Democrat and vocal opponent of Trump who once considered running for governor against Arnold Schwarzenegger. On his social media platform of choice, Trump sent insincere condolences while furthering his own agenda, positioning himself as a victim. “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS,” Trump wrote. “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
However, the director has received several sincere tributes from friends and past collaborators. Guest and his wife, Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, released a statement about the Reiners: “Christopher and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michele Singer Reiner and our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families, and we will offer all support possible to help them,” it reads. “There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared and the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage, and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner began his long and varied career in Hollywood as an actor, winning two Primetime Emmys for his role as Meathead (a.k.a. Michael) on Lear’s classic sitcom All in the Family. In the 1980s, Reiner would focus his sights on directing; his first film was the mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, starring himself, Guest, Harry Shearer, and Michael McKean. Reiner went on to direct a string of critically acclaimed, widely beloved films in a number of genres: coming-of-age (Stand by Me, 1986); fantasy-adventure (The Princess Bride, 1987); romantic comedy (When Harry Met Sally…, 1989); psychological horror (Misery, 1990); and courtroom drama (A Few Good Men, 1992).
Stars of the late filmmaker’s past projects came out in droves to honor him. Elwes, Reiner’s Princess Bride star, posted a photo on Instagram of two director’s chairs from the set of the film. “No words,” Elwes wrote in the caption. Jerry O’Connell, who starred in Reiner’s Stand by Me as a child, posted a photo on X of himself and Reiner on the set of that film, adding the simple caption, “Love you, Rob. Sincerely.” Elijah Wood, who starred in Reiner’s much-maligned 1994 film, North, wrote on X that he was “horrified to hear of the passing of Rob Reiner and his wonderful wife Michelle [sic]. So much love to their kids and family.” John Cusack, who starred in Reiner’s 1985 film, The Sure Thing, wrote on X, “Shocked by the death of Rob Reiner – a great man,” while Virginia Madsen, who starred in his 1996 drama, Ghosts of Mississippi, paid tribute to Reiner on Instagram, posting a photo of the two together. “Thank you Rob for giving us so much joy to hold on to. Life and talent always turned up to 11,” she wrote.
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