Authorities Probe Reports of ‘Apparent Homicide’ After Legendary Filmmaker Behind Stand By Me and The Princess Bride Is Found Dead at Los Angeles Home With Wife
Hollywood reacts in disbelief, with tributes calling him “one of the greatest filmmakers of all time.”
Gallery: Rob Reiner — a life in pictures
Interview: Rob Reiner on Trump, family, and the stories behind his most beloved films
Reports say filmmaker Rob Reiner, best known for classics such as When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap, has died at the age of 78 alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, in what authorities are describing as an apparent homicide.
According to initial reports, emergency services were called to a home owned by Reiner in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on Sunday afternoon following a medical aid request made to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Authorities later discovered the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman inside the residence.
The Los Angeles Police Department subsequently confirmed that detectives from its Robbery-Homicide Division are investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide.” Media outlets including TMZ and People reported that the victims appeared to have sustained injuries consistent with a knife attack, though officials have not released further details.
Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times that a family member was being interviewed as part of the investigation into the deaths.
A spokesperson for the Reiner family later confirmed the deaths on Sunday evening.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family said in a statement released to the media. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss and ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
At a press conference on Sunday night, LAPD chief detective Alan Hamilton said the investigation into the deaths remained ongoing.
“At this time, the LAPD is not identifying any suspects or persons of interest,” Hamilton said. “That will not happen until we have conducted a thorough investigation and are able to move forward.”
Rob Reiner was best known for directing some of Hollywood’s most enduring films, including Stand By Me, A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally.
Reiner had been married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989. The couple met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally, a project he developed with longtime collaborator Nora Ephron after a decade of being single. Inspired by his relationship with Singer Reiner, Reiner altered the film’s original, more downbeat ending so that Harry and Sally ultimately ended up together.
Born in the Bronx, New York, in 1947, Reiner was the son of legendary comic actor Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Lebost. He began his career as an actor in the 1960s, rising to prominence as Michael “Meathead” Stivic in all nine seasons of the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family. Reiner earned two Emmy Awards from five nominations for the role, along with five Golden Globe nominations.
Reiner made his feature directorial debut in 1984 with the cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, a sharp satire following a hapless British heavy metal band. The film marked the beginning of an extraordinary run of critical and commercial successes, including Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989) — widely regarded as one of the greatest romantic comedies ever made — Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992), which earned an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
Reiner often cited Stand By Me as the film closest to his heart, describing it as the first project that truly felt like his own. “Spinal Tap was satire, and I love satire, but that was something my father had done,” he told the Guardian in 2018. “The Sure Thing was a romantic comedy, and he had done those too. So Stand By Me was the first thing I did that was purely an extension of myself, and that meant a lot to me.”
In the later years of his career, Reiner directed films including The American President (1995), The Bucket List (2007), and his final project, the 2025 sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. Across his career, he received four Golden Globe nominations for best director and earned three nominations from the Directors Guild of America.
Reiner also continued acting throughout his career, often appearing in small but memorable roles. He played Tom Hanks’ friend in Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle and appeared in films including Postcards From the Edge, The First Wives Club and The Wolf of Wall Street, as well as television series such as New Girl and The Bear. He frequently portrayed exaggerated versions of himself in comedies including 30 Rock, The Simpsons, Hannah Montana, The Larry Sanders Show and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Beyond directing and acting, Reiner was a co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind acclaimed films and television series such as The Shawshank Redemption, Seinfeld, In the Line of Fire, City Slickers, Lone Star and Miss Congeniality. In later years, he acknowledged that securing financing for smaller, mid-budget films had become increasingly difficult. “I’m making the movies I want to make, but it’s not with the same kind of support system I once had,” he told the Guardian in 2018. “That makes it much more challenging.”
“Studios are seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in profit, and you won’t achieve that with a small movie,” Reiner once said. “I came into this business to express myself and tell stories, not just churn out a product.”
Reiner was also a dedicated political activist and outspoken critic of former US president Donald Trump. He co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which launched the legal challenge that ultimately overturned California’s ban on same-sex marriage. Additionally, he led campaigns against smoking and, in 2006, briefly considered running against then-California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but ultimately decided against it for personal reasons.
ABC Los Angeles reported that Reiner’s longtime friends and collaborators, Billy Crystal and Larry David, were seen at the scene following the reports.
Rob and Michele Reiner had three children: Jake, Nick, and Romy. He was also the adoptive father of actor Tracy Reiner, the daughter of his first wife, the late actor and director Penny Marshall.
Requests for comment from Reiner’s representatives were not immediately returned.
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