Rob Reiner, 'When Harry Met Sally' director, 'All in the Family' actor and political activist, dead at 78

Rob Reiner, a writer, director, producer, histrion and governmental activistic whose vocation successful Hollywood spanned much than six decades and included immoderate of the astir iconic titles successful movie history, was recovered dormant Sunday with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, astatine the location they shared successful Brentwood. He was 78.

“It is with profound sorrow that we denote the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a spokesperson for the household said successful a connection Sunday. “We are heartbroken by this abrupt loss, and we inquire for privateness during this unbelievably hard time.”

Reiner volition beryllium remembered arsenic the manager of the seminal 1980s rom-com “When Harry Met Sally,” the histrion whose quality “Meathead” faced disconnected regularly against Archie Bunker, and the governmental activistic who backed aboriginal puerility programs successful California and railed loudly for years against President Trump.

The oldest kid of comedian Carl Reiner and vocalist Estelle Reiner, Robert Reiner was calved March 6, 1947, successful the Bronx, N.Y. Raised by a begetter who won 11 Primetime Emmys and a Grammy successful summation to the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Rob Reiner attended Beverly Hills High School and studied movie astatine UCLA. He past went to enactment successful Hollywood arsenic an histrion and writer earlier moving connected to directing and producing.

Reiner’s penning credits successful the 1960s included “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour,” “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” and the TV movie “Where the Girls Are.” In the 1970s, among galore credits, helium wrote respective episodes of “All successful the Family” arsenic good arsenic the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast successful 1978 and episodes of “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

Reiner joined Penny Marshall, prima of TV’s “Laverne & Shirley,” successful 1971 and adopted the daughter, Tracy, who Marshall had from a erstwhile marriage. Reiner and Marshall divorced successful 1981.

The 1980s would spot him penning “This Is Spinal Tap” arsenic good arsenic the archetypal “Comic Relief,” hosted by Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, and Whoopi Goldberg. That and the twelve “Comic Relief” telethons that followed raised consciousness and wealth to combat poorness successful the U.S. and elsewhere.

“This Is Spinal Tap” successful 1984 further established Reiner’s comedic sensibilities successful the American milieu. His enactment took a melodramatic crook erstwhile helium directed the 1986 adaptation of Stephen King’s novella “Stand by Me,” which starred Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell, but helium returned to drama with 1987’s “The Princess Bride” starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin. Also successful 1987, helium co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment.

Then helium directed what would look arsenic 1 of the astir beloved rom-coms ever — “When Harry Met Sally,” starring Crystal and Meg Ryan.

On the acceptable of the movie helium met lensman Michele Singer and the 2 joined successful 1989, the twelvemonth the movie came out. They went connected to person 3 children, Jake, Nick and Romy, calved successful 1991, 1993 and 1997, respectively.

Reiner was yet nominated for a champion representation Academy Award successful 1994 for “A Few Good Men,” starring Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise, though the movie mislaid retired that twelvemonth to Clint Eastwood’s Western “Unforgiven.”

Reiner’s enactment had sweeping taste impacts. Three of his movies, “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride” and “This is Spinal Tap,” are connected the National Film Registry. The operation “up to eleven,” coined successful “This Is Spinal Tap” during an improvised series betwixt Reiner and Christopher Guest, is successful the Oxford English Dictionary.

“It’s weird that thing that we conscionable threw disconnected similar that abruptly becomes portion of the lexicon of our lives,” Reiner said connected NPR’s “Fresh Air” successful September. “It’s precise unusual however these things person taken root.”

In 2015, Reiner was the shaper connected “Being Charlie,” a play based connected his family’s struggles portion lad Nick was addicted to hard drugs and rotating successful and retired of rehabs and homelessness.

“It was very, precise hard going done it the archetypal time, with these achy and hard highs and lows,” Rob Reiner told The Times successful 2015. “And past making the movie dredged it each up again.”

Growing up, Reiner balanced conflicting feelings astir his narration with his ain father, who was idiosyncratic helium powerfully admired but besides felt arsenic if didn’t afloat cognize him. That dichotomy inspired a country successful “Stand by Me” erstwhile Gordie declares his begetter hates him.

“Loving your begetter and looking up to your begetter doesn’t needfully mean you’re feeling that back,” Reiner said connected “Fresh Air” successful September, recalling however penning that country made him cry. Reiner, added, however, that helium had 2 “great guides” successful his life, his father, who died successful 2020, and “All successful the Family” creator Norman Lear.

Reiner was a writer connected “The 40th Kennedy Center Honors” successful 2017, capping a vocation that included myriad assortment amusement penning credits. “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” which helium directed, was his last task arsenic a scribe. “Spinal Tap astatine Stonehenge: The Final Finale,” owed retired successful 2026, was his last directing credit.

Reiner was nominated 5 times for supporting histrion Emmys for his “All successful the Family” work, winning successful 1974 and 1978. He was nominated for 2 Emmys successful 2024 for the documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life.”

A staunch liberal, Reiner besides emerged arsenic a unit successful California authorities and kid payment and acquisition issues, and campaigned for statesmanlike candidates including erstwhile Vice President Al Gore, endorsed erstwhile Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for president and spoke up for President Biden’s reelection. Reiner was besides an unapologetic professional of President Trump.

He campaigned successful California against baccy usage and successful 1998 saw the transition of Proposition 10, which called for a taxation connected baccy products to beryllium spent connected aboriginal puerility programs. Reiner became president of the First 5 California Children and Families Commission successful January 1999. He resigned successful March 2006 amid accusations that the committee had utilized taxation wealth to boost his run for the yet unsuccessful Proposition 82, which would person raised income taxes connected affluent Californians to wage for preschool for 4-year-olds. An audit aboriginal concluded that helium and the committee had not violated authorities law.

“Rob Reiner has ever enactment California’s kids first, and I convey him for the large enactment helium has done implicit the past 7 years,” then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said successful a connection astatine the time. “Because of Rob’s efforts, California has go a nationalist person successful providing aboriginal puerility wellness and acquisition services for our youngest children and their families.”

Times exertion Brittany Levine Beckman contributed to this report.