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The news that Rob Reiner, <\/a>one of most versatile directors of his generation, has, with wife Michelle Singer Reiner, been found dead in an apparent murder has propelled the entertainment industry into a state of shock. <\/p>\n Police in Los Angeles confirmed the couple had died of wounds consistent with a knife attack. The Los Angeles Fire Department says it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3.30pm on Sunday and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside.<\/p>\n Detectives are investigating an \u201capparent homicide\u201d at Reiner\u2019s home, said Captain Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,\u201d a spokesperson for the family said. \u201cWe are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.\u201d <\/p>\n The unclassifiable film-maker, who began his career as an actor, delivered, from 1984 to 1992, one of the most extraordinary directorial runs in Hollywood history. <\/p>\n His debut, This is Spinal Tap, a hugely original \u201cmockumentary\u201d about a fictional rock band, is frequently listed among the funniest films ever made. That was followed by The Sure Thing, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally …, Misery and A Few Good Men. <\/p>\n Subsequent films included LBJ, The American President and, released earlier this year, an amusing sequel to his first film entitled Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.<\/p>\n Son of Carl Reiner, enormously influential comic who worked with Woody Allen and Mel Brooks on the 1950s television series Your Show of Shows, Rob Reiner began his career with small roles on shows such as Batman and The Beverly Hillbillies. Fame came as Michael Stivic, liberal son-in-law to Carroll O\u2019Connor\u2019s bigoted Archie Bunker, on the ground-breaking situation comedy All in the Family. <\/p>\n Based on the British series Til Death Us Do Part (he essentially played the part originated by Anthony Booth, Tony Blair\u2019s father in law), the show broke new ground in its depiction of racism in 1970s America. He was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won the prize twice for the role.<\/p>\n Eight years after the show ended in 1976, Reiner turned up, naval cap on head, viewfinder round neck, as the weak-brained Marty DeBirgi, fictional director of This is Spinal Tap. <\/p>\n It is hard to conjure up, now that mock documentaries are commonplace, how astonishing that film seemed in 1984. The American cast delivered perfect English accents. The songs were perfect comic facsimiles of an increasingly ubiquitous pop metal. So original was the film that audiences and critics were initially baffled, but it went on to become one of the most quotable ever comedies.<\/p>\n The variety of hits that followed defies belief. Stand by Me, adapted from a Stephen King story, was a poignant tale of a childhood in the 1960s. The Princess Bride \u2013 featuring a famous cameo by the Cliffs of Moher \u2013 worked heart-stopping romance in with fantasy and his trademark comedy. <\/p>\n When Harry Met Sally … \u2013 shot on location in New York City from a script by Norah Ephron \u2013 took some inspiration from his romance with Michelle Singer Reiner. It is said he inserted a happy ending into Ephron\u2019s screenplay as acknowledgment of his own happy relationship<\/p>\n He was frank about how being the son of Carl Reiner helped him into the business. \u201cIf you\u2019re a nepo baby, doors will open,\u201d he told the Guardian in 2024. \u201cBut you have to deliver. If you don\u2019t deliver, the door will close just as fast as it opened.\u201d<\/p>\n Few delivered quite so much at such a breathtaking pace. A Few Good Men from 1992, a legal thriller written by a rising Aaron Sorkin, scored four Oscar nominations. Kathy Bates won the award for her turn as a deranged fan in Misery. <\/p>\n Reiner had all the gifts. He was a strong storyteller. He worked well with actors. He had a good, clean eye for a workable shot. <\/p>\n \u201cRob\u2019s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,\u201d former US president Barack Obama<\/a> wrote on hearing of his death. \u201cBut beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people \u2013 and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action.\u201d<\/p>\n [\u00a0<\/span>Cannes 2022: It\u2019s the Spinal Tap sequel you\u2019ve been waiting forOpens in new window<\/span><\/a>\u00a0]<\/span><\/p>\n