Emmy-Winning Actor and Noted Director Rob Reiner Has Died at 78

Rob Reiner—the Emmy-winning actor and beloved director of films including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally…, and Misery—was reportedly found dead at his Los Angeles home on Sunday, December 14, alongside his wife, film producer Michele Singer Reiner. The circumstances of both deaths are actively under investigation.

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner in 1988.

Photo: Getty Images

Born in the Bronx in 1947 to actor parents Estelle and Carl Reiner, Reiner began his career as an actor on shows including Batman, That Girl, and The Beverly Hillbillies, and wrote for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968 and 1969 alongside writing partner Steve Martin. Reiner’s breakthrough, however, came when he played Archie Bunker’s son-in-law Michael Stivic on the 1970s Norman Lear sitcom All in the Family—a performance for which he won two Emmys and received five Golden Globe nominations.

Later in his life, Reiner redefined himself as one of the best-known and most acclaimed directors in Hollywood through his work on romantic comedies including When Harry Met Sally… and The American President. His 1992 military courtroom drama A Few Good Men, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and Jack Nicholson, was nominated for the Academy Award for best picture.

Reiner returned to acting in his later years, appearing on TV series including New Girl, 30 Rock, and on the most recent season of The Bear, as well as in the 2013 film The Wolf of Wall Street. At the time of his death, Reiner had also completed Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale, the final sequel to his influential 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer.

Reiner and Singer Reiner, who met while Reiner was directing When Harry Met Sally… and married in 1989, were deeply politically active and known for championing progressive causes. Reiner co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court challenge against California’s anti–gay marriage Proposition 8; led the effort to establish his home state’s historic Ahmanson Ranch as a state park and wildlife refuge instead of a commercial real estate development; and, in 1997, Reiner and Singer Reiner founded the I Am Your Child Foundation to draw attention to the importance of brain development and enrichment in early childhood.