Rob Reiner
Robert Reiner was an American filmmaker and actor. He directed a series of acclaimed studio films in a career that spanned comedy, drama, romance, and documentary. Reiner received numerous accolades, including winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Hugo Award, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and nine Golden Globe Awards. He was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and received the Chaplin Gala Tribute at the Film at Lincoln Center in 2014. Three of his films have been inducted into the National Film Registry.
Reiner was born in New York City to Estelle and Carl Reiner, who were themselves actors. Reiner began his career as an actor before transitioning to filmmaking. He rose to prominence with his portrayal of Michael "Meathead" Stivic in the 1970s American sitcom All in the Family, a role that earned him two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor and appeared as Snake in The Partridge Family.
He directed a string of critically acclaimed films starting with the heavy metal mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, followed by the romantic road comedy The Sure Thing, the coming-of age drama Stand by Me, the adventure romance The Princess Bride, the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., the psychological thriller Misery, the legal drama A Few Good Men, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the political romance The American President. He acted in films such as Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, The First Wives Club, Primary Colors, EDtv, and The Wolf of Wall Street. He also co-founded the production company Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987.
Reiner was also a liberal political activist who advocated for causes such as LGBTQ rights, early childhood education, and environmental protection, and who campaigned for a variety of Democratic candidates. Reiner chaired the 1998 campaign to pass California's First 5 childhood education initiative, and in 2008 he and his wife, Michele, co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge against California's same-sex marriage ban.
On December 14, 2025, Reiner and his wife were found stabbed to death in their Los Angeles home. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and the case is ongoing.
Early life
Robert Reiner was born into a Jewish family in the Bronx, New York City, on March 6, 1947. His parents were the actors Estelle and Carl Reiner. His siblings are poet, playwright, and author Annie Reiner and painter, actor, and director Lucas Reiner. The family lived on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. Later in his childhood, they lived at 48 Bonnie Meadow Road in New Rochelle, New York. Reiner had no middle name. "My mother didn't have a middle name, my father didn't have one, so they didn't give me one." Carl Reiner loved baseball and took Rob to his first Major League Baseball game in 1951, a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium: "It was Mickey Mantle's first year in the Majors and Joe DiMaggio's last...I was four years old, and I stayed through both games. I was fascinated. I was hooked at that point."The family eventually moved to Los Angeles, where Reiner made his television acting debut at age 14 on the series Manhunt. In the early 1960s, he served as a trainee and apprentice at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania. He attended Beverly Hills High School and studied at the UCLA Film School. He was at UCLA for two years, from 1964 to 1966, but did not graduate with a degree.
Career
1960–1969: Early work and acting roles
In the late 1960s, Reiner acted in bit roles on several television shows including Batman, That Girl, The Andy Griffith Show, Room 222, Gomer Pyle – USMC, and The Beverly Hillbillies. At age 19, Reiner and actor Larry Bishop were part of an improv group, and performed as the opening act for Carmen McRae at the Hungry I club in San Francisco. He began his career in television writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968 and 1969, working alongside Steve Martin and Carl Gottlieb as his writing partners. In 1969 he directed a one-act play at the Oxford Theatre in Los Angeles, and starred in another, both written by his friend Philip Mishkin. During this period, he also appeared in several films, including some directed by his father such as Where's Poppa?. Reiner and Jeff Bridges both had roles in a school desegregation picture from United Artists called Halls of Anger. Also in 1970, Reiner starred in and wrote for Headmaster, providing an opportunity to work again with Andy Griffith. Headmaster was the first of five TV comedies on which Reiner and frequent writing partner Mishkin collaborated. Headmaster, The Super, Free Country, and Morton & Hayes were all canceled after one season.1970–1979: ''All in the Family'' and stardom
In the 1970s, Reiner became widely known for playing Michael Stivic, Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, on Norman Lear's 1970s situation comedy All in the Family, which was adapted from the British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part. The series was the most-watched television program in the United States for five consecutive seasons. The character's nickname "Meathead" became closely associated with Reiner, even after he left the role and established himself as a director. Reflecting on the enduring association, Reiner remarked, "I could win the Nobel Prize and they'd write 'Meathead wins the Nobel Prize. For his performance, Reiner won two Emmy Awards, received three additional nominations, and earned five Golden Globe nominations.In October 1971, Reiner appeared as a guest in an episode of The Partridge Family. The following year, Reiner, Mishkin, and Gerry Isenberg created the situation comedy The Super for ABC, starring Richard S. Castellano, about the life of a harried Italian-American building superintendent in New York City; the show ran for one season during the summer of 1972. In 1978 Reiner co-wrote an ABC-TV movie called More Than Friends, in which he starred opposite his then-wife Penny Marshall. Early in the film, Reiner's character lamented, "Whaaat? I have no sex appeal? That hurts my feelings. And I'm going to be bald on top of it."
1980–1996: Transition to directing and acclaim
Beginning in the 1980s, Reiner established himself as a director of several successful Hollywood films spanning multiple genres. His early works include cult classics such as the rock-band mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, the coming-of-age drama Stand by Me, and the comedic fantasy The Princess Bride. He also appeared as faux-documentarian Marty Di Bergi in This Is Spinal Tap. He frequently collaborated with film editor Robert Leighton, who also worked on several films with fellow director-actor Christopher Guest.Reiner directed a number of critically and commercially successful films through his company, Castle Rock Entertainment. These include the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally..., which has been ranked among the all-time best of its genre; the tense thriller adaptation of Stephen King's novel Misery, for which Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress; and his most commercially successful work, the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Subsequent films directed by Reiner include the political romance The American President and the courtroom drama Ghosts of Mississippi. Reiner continued to act in supporting roles in a number of films and television shows, including Throw Momma from the Train, Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, and The First Wives Club.
1997–2025: Continued work as a director, later acting roles, and final films
Reiner went on to direct films such as The Story of Us and Alex & Emma, in which he also appeared, and the uplifting comedy The Bucket List. He appeared in the films Primary Colors and EDtv, and parodied himself with cameos in works such as Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star and 30 Rock. In 2013, Reiner played Jordan Belfort's father in the Martin Scorsese film The Wolf of Wall Street.Decades after All in the Family, Reiner returned to television with a recurring role on New Girl. In addition to playing Jess's dad Bob Day on New Girl, his late-career TV guest star work included "politically infused roles" on The Good Fight, When We Rise, and the miniseries Hollywood, and business consultant Albert Schnur on The Bear.
In 2015, he directed the semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie, co-written by his son Nick. He directed and played a major supporting role in the journalism drama Shock and Awe. In November 2023, Reiner and journalist Soledad O'Brien launched the ten-part podcast series Who Killed JFK?. In December 2023, Reiner opened the primetime CBS special Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic with a tribute to, and conversation with, Dick Van Dyke.
His final completed film, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, was released three months before his death. In August 2025, Reiner filmed Spinal Tap performing at Stonehenge for a concert film, Stonehenge: The Final Finale, with musical guests Eric Clapton, Shania Twain and Josh Groban. Final Finale was planned for a 2026 theatrical release. The film's release was put on hold following Reiner's murder.
Political views and activism
Reiner was a liberal activist. He was a co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge against California Proposition 8 that banned same-sex marriage in the state.In 1998, Reiner chaired the campaign to pass California Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Initiative, which created First 5 California, a program of early childhood development services funded by a tax on tobacco products. He served as the organization's first chairman from 1999 to 2006. His lobbying, particularly as an anti-smoking advocate, led to his likeness being used satirically in the South Park episode "Butt Out", where he was depicted as a morbidly obese, hypocritical tyrant.
Reiner came under criticism for campaigning for Proposition 82, a ballot measure to fund public preschools, while serving as chair of the First 5 Commission. He resigned from his position on March 29, 2006. An audit later concluded that the commission had not violated state law and had clear legal authority to conduct public advertising campaigns related to preschool. However, the auditor reported that the commission awarded more than $77 million in media contracts without reviewing their costs. Proposition 82 ultimately failed to win approval.
Reiner was a member of the Social Responsibility Task Force, an organization advocating moderation where social issues such as violence and tobacco use intersect with the entertainment industry. He was also active in environmental causes, successfully leading the effort to preserve California's Ahmanson Ranch as a state park and wildlife refuge rather than as a commercial real estate development. In July 2007, he introduced the reunited Spinal Tap at the London Live Earth concert.
Reiner was mentioned as a possible candidate to run against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006 but declined for personal reasons. He was quoted as saying "I don't want to be an elected official, I want to get things done." He campaigned extensively for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election, and he campaigned in Iowa for Democratic candidate Howard Dean ahead of the 2004 Iowa caucuses. He endorsed Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election, and in 2015 donated $10,000 to Correct the Record, a political action committee supporting her 2016 presidential campaign. After the 2016 election, Reiner continued to campaign against Donald Trump, calling him racist, sexist, homophobic, and antisemitic. He remarked that Harvey Weinstein is a "bad guy" but that Trump was "also an abuser".
Reiner served on the advisory board of the Committee to Investigate Russia. He and David Frum launched the site in September 2017, accompanied by a video narrated by Morgan Freeman warning that "We are at war" and that Russia had attacked the United States. Other advisory board members at the time of launch included James Clapper, Max Boot, Charles Sykes, and Norman Ornstein. By November 2020, the board also included Evelyn Farkas, Michael Hayden, Michael Morrell, Leon Panetta, and Clint Watts.
Reiner endorsed Joe Biden for president in the 2020 United States presidential election. In June 2021, Reiner announced he was developing a television project, The Spy and the Asset, about the relationship between Trump and Vladimir Putin. He said the series would explore the leaders' childhoods and trace their lives up to the point where they intersect. Reiner said he was collaborating with writer Ward Parry on the project.
In September 2025, Reiner gave an interview with CNN, where he spoke out against Trump and the Federal Communications Commission. He said it "may be the last time you ever see me", in reference to the suspension of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!''