LOS ANGELES (AP) \u2014 Billy Crystal remembered his best friend Rob Reiner in an extended and emotional in memoriam<\/a> at the Oscars on Sunday, with Barbra Streisand honoring her friend and co-star Robert Redford<\/a> by singing a snippet from their film \u201cThe Way We Were.\u201d<\/p>\n Crystal<\/a> opened the segment that was longer than usual because of the number of Hollywood heavyweights who died over the last year.<\/p>\n Crystal first met Reiner in 1975 when he guested on \u201cAll in the Family.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it went so well, Rob said, \u2018It was so much fun playing your best friend, why don\u2019t we keep it going?\u2019” Crystal said. “And it was a thrill seeing him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller.\u201d<\/p>\n Crystal recounted such Reiner films as \u201cThe Princess Bride, \u201dWhen Harry Met Sally, \u201cA Few Good Men,\u201d \u201cSay Anything,\u201d and \u201cThis is Spinal Tap.\u201d The segment ended with over a dozen stars from those films \u2014 including Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Fred Savage, Demi Moore, John Cusack and Ione Skye \u2014 standing together on stage.<\/p>\n Reiner, an actor-director, and his wife, photographer Michelle Singer<\/a>, both in their 70s, were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home in last December. Their son, Nick Reiner<\/a>, has been charged in the deaths of his parents and has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n At 83, Streisand has largely retired from touring and live performances due to her well-known stage fright.<\/p>\n For Redford’s memory, she made an exception.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a brilliant, subtle actor,\u201d she said. \u201cWe had a wonderful time playing off each other because we never knew what the other was going to do or say.\u201d<\/p>\n Streisand described Redford as \u201cthoughtful and bold,\u201d saying, “I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail.\u201d<\/p>\n She highlighted his history of defending press freedom, protecting the environment and encouraging new voices in film through his founding of the Sundance Institute in Utah.<\/p>\n \u201cBob had real backbone on and off the screen,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Redford died in September at age 89. He won a best director Oscar for \u201cOrdinary People.\u201d He and Streisand made one movie together, \u201cThe Way We Were,\u201d in 1973.<\/p>\n \u201cI miss him now more than ever, even though he loved teasing me,\u201d she said. \u201cHe called me Babs. I\u2019d say, \u2018Bob, do I look like a Babs?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n They were chatting on the phone and as they prepared to hang up, Redford told her, \u201cBabs, I love you dearly, and I always will,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Streisand said, \u201cThe last note I ever wrote to Bob, I ended it with I love you, too. I signed it, Babs.\u201d<\/p>\n The Oscar orchestra swelled as a photo of Redford filled the giant screen.<\/p>\n Standing behind a podium, with her own conductor in the aisle, Streisand picked up a mic and sang, \u201cSo it’s the laughter we will remember whenever we remember the way we were.\u201d She received a standing ovation.<\/p>\n Among others included during the in memoriam were Robert Duvall<\/a> and Catherine O’Hara.<\/a><\/p>\n Rachel McAdams paid tribute to women who died, singling out Diane Keaton.<\/p>\n \u201cBelieve me when I say there is an actress of my generation who was not inspired by and enthralled with her absolute singularity,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n McAdams recited a Girl Scout song and poem Keaton used to say on film sets:<\/p>\n “Make new friends, but keep the old.<\/p>\n One is silver, the other is gold.<\/p>\n A circle is round, it has no end.<\/p>\n That\u2019s how long, I will be your friend.”<\/p>\n