The 32-year-old son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and photographer Michele Singer Reiner was arrested and booked for his parents’ murders, the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday — a harrowing development to killings that have astonished Hollywood.
The couple’s bodies were discovered at their Brentwood home after 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, according to a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Fire Department, which responded to a request for medical aid. Nick Reiner was taken into custody at 9:15 that night and booked at 5:04 a.m. Monday. He is being held in a Los Angeles County jail with no bail.
“As a result of the initial investigation, it was determined that the Reiners were the victims of homicide. The investigation further revealed that Nick Reiner … was responsible for their deaths,” the LAPD stated in a news release. The case is being handled by the department’s Robbery-Homicide Division. On Tuesday, it will be sent to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
The entertainment industry is reeling from the news of the Reiners’ brutal deaths, which capped a weekend filled with both domestic and international tragedy. A makeshift memorial sprung up at Reiner’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, where fans laid flowers and lit candles. As of Monday, the Brentwood street where the slain couple lived remained cordoned off by police tape.
Reiner, the 78-year-old son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, enjoyed a successful directing and acting career that spanned decades. He had been married to his wife, Singer Reiner, for 36 years.
In addition to Nick, the couple shared a son named Jake and daughter Romy. Reiner, who was previously married to actress and director Penny Marshall, was also the adoptive father of her daughter, Tracy Reiner.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the family said in a statement shared with multiple media outlets. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Reiner and his son Nick collaborated on the 2015 film “Being Charlie,” which was inspired by Nick’s history of drug addiction. Reiner directed the family drama — starring Cary Elwes and Nick Robinson as father and son — and Nick co-wrote the screenplay with Matt Elisofon, whom he met in rehab. Substantial portions of the story come directly from the Reiners’ lives, including times when the title character is living on the street or in homeless shelters.
When the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, Nick told the Los Angeles Times, “I really wasn’t sure I wanted to do this.” His father added, “It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows. And then making the movie dredged it all up again.”
Still, Reiner said the filmmaking process helped him process his son’s rehab stints and their fights: “To be honest, by the time we got to the point of making the movie it didn’t matter if we actually did,” he said. “Because our relationship had gotten so much closer.”
The son of entertainers Carl and Estelle Reiner, Rob Reiner earned two Emmy Awards for his role as Mike “Meathead” Stivic on the sitcom “All in the Family” and turned in memorable performances in movies such as “Sleepless in Seattle” and “Throw Momma From the Train.”
Beginning with “This Is Spinal Tap” in 1984, Reiner directed a run of indelible films, including “Stand by Me,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” “A Few Good Men,” “The American President” and more. His prolific career extended into the 2020s, when he directed a documentary about his friend Albert Brooks, had a recurring role this summer in Season 4 of “The Bear” and recently released a “Spinal Tap” sequel, “The End Continues.”
Singer Reiner worked as a photographer in the late 1980s, picking up film-set jobs to supplement her income. She is credited with photographing Donald Trump for the cover image of his 1987 book, “The Art of the Deal.” (The day after the Reiners died, President Trump bashed the director on Truth Social and attributed the couple’s deaths to “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”)
One fateful assignment brought Singer Reiner to the New York set of “When Harry Met Sally…,” where she and Reiner met and fell for each other before marrying in 1989. Their love story inspired Reiner to change the ending of his iconic film.
“Originally, Harry and Sally didn’t get together,” Reiner told the Guardian in 2018. “But then I met Michele and I thought, ‘Okay, I see how this works.’”
Their marriage evolved into a creative partnership. Singer Reiner worked on several of her husband’s films, including as a special photographer on “Misery.” She was also involved in Reiner’s advocacy work. In the past decade, Singer Reiner collaborated with him as a producer on projects such as the 2017 drama “Shock and Awe,” the 2023 documentary “Albert Brooks: Defending My Life” and “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” this year.
Reiner was a beloved figure in Los Angeles, a celebrity whose fame and influence transcended the entertainment industry. He was involved in state and national politics, advocating for early-childhood education and the legalization of same-sex marriage.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called Reiner “a bighearted genius” who made the state “a better place through his good works.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass described his death as “a devastating loss for our city and our country.”
Friends of the Reiner family expressed their grief after news of the couple’s deaths surfaced.
Elwes, who starred in “The Princess Bride” before reteaming with Reiner on “Being Charlie,” posted to Instagram a photograph of their chairs on the 1987 film’s set and wrote, “No words…”
Kathy Bates, who won an Academy Award for her lead performance in Reiner’s 1990 psychological thriller “Misery,” shared in a statement that she was “horrified hearing this terrible news.”
“I loved Rob,” she said. “He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist. He also fought courageously for his political beliefs. He changed the course of my life. Michelle was a gifted photographer. … My heart breaks for them both.”
Jerry O’Connell, who was 11 years old when he starred in the coming-of-age drama “Stand By Me,” said Monday on “CBS Mornings” that Reiner “was like a father to me.”
“Everything I have is because of Rob Reiner,” O’Connell said. “It’s just a sad, shocking day.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis and her husband, Christopher Guest, who co-wrote and starred in both “Spinal Tap” films with Reiner, issued a joint statement describing themselves as “numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and [Michele] Singer Reiner.”
“Our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them,” the couple wrote. “We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve.”
“New Girl” creator Elizabeth Meriwether and cast members such as Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone expressed their condolences on Instagram. Reiner was featured in several episodes as the father of Deschanel’s protagonist. (Curtis played Deschanel’s mother and Reiner’s ex-wife.)
“Rob Reiner was the absolute warmest, funniest, most generous of spirits,” Deschanel wrote alongside photos of herself and Reiner in the sitcom. “A truly good human being. An incredible artist and such a playful and fun collaborator. I cherish the time we spent working together and the many films he made that have shaped who I am.”
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