Remembering Rob Reiner, a genre-forging director and a tireless force for human rights

(CNN) — Robert Reiner, the celebrated actor, director and producer, was found dead with his wife Michele at their home in Los Angeles on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Reiner family said. He was 78.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department were investigating an apparent homicide. “We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation,” LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said.

Reiner shot to stardom playing the son-in-law of Archie and Edith Bunker on the 1970s hit show “All in the Family” before going on to create a truly diverse body of incredibly successful work, including classics like “This is Spinal Tap,” “Stand By Me,” and “The Princess Bride.” He cemented his status as a leading director with “When Harry Met Sally…”, “Misery,” and “A Few Good Men,” which earned four Oscar nominations.

Reiner was born in 1947 in The Bronx, New York, to Estelle and Carl Reiner, the writer, actor, director and producer whose many decades’ worth of credits included “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “The 2000 Year Old Man.”

Reiner said he found it a challenge to step out of his father’s shadow.

“I didn’t feel the pressure from my father, I felt the pressure internally because my father had achieved at such a high level that I thought, ‘Well, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to break through,’” he told The Atlantic in 2017.

He did. Reiner earned two Emmy Awards for his role on “All in the Family” playing Mike Stivic, who would get into arguments with his conservative father-in-law on the groundbreaking show, which often explored political and social issues through comedy.

Though Reiner continued to act – he had a part on season 4 of FX’s “The Bear” earlier this year – he moved behind the camera in the 1980s, making his directorial debut with “This Is Spinal Tap,” the musical comedy that more or less invented the mockumentary.

A sequel to the film – “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” – was released in September.

Reiner exhibited extraordinary range. He followed his first film with an adaptation of Stephen King’s coming-of-age story “Stand by Me” and then directed cult comedy “The Princess Bride.”

Two years later, he entered into film history a beloved romantic comedy that still stands as a masterclass in chemistry, “When Harry Met Sally…”

Reiner told Chris Wallace last year that met his future wife Michele, a photographer, while making that film, which prompted him to change the ending to something more hopeful than he’d originally planned.

“It was going to be the two of them seeing each other after years, talking and then walking away from each other,” he said.

Reiner had previously been married to the Penny Marshall, herself a notable actor and director.

Reiner followed “When Harry Met Sally…” with another King adaptation, this one a decidedly darker entry than their first collaboration. “Misery” earned Kathy Bates an Academy Award for her role as a deranged literary fan.

The 1992 drama “A Few Good Men” was not his most famous but was perhaps his most recognized film, earning four Oscar nominations, including Reiner’s first and only for best picture.

Like his “All in the Family” character, Reiner was passionate about progressive candidates and causes. He supported Democratic presidential candidates, was an advocate for free preschool education and was credited for being a key player in getting California’s gay marriage ban overturned.

“I am unbelievably proud to be part of this,” Reiner said of his work on gay marriage. “I couldn’t have imagined that I would ever be involved in anything as historically significant as this in my life.”

“Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights – from taking on Big Tobacco to fighting for marriage equality to serving as a powerful voice in early education,” said Gavin Newsom and his partner Jennifer Siebel in a statement.

In 2024, Reiner, produced “God and Country,” a documentary focused on the rise of Christian nationalism.

“We have very prominent conservative Christian leaders speaking out against Christian nationalists because they think it undermines the teachings of Jesus,” Reiner said in an interview with CNN’s Jim Acosta.

He later told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour the United States was at the “crossroads” of democracy and autocracy. There was one way forward, he thought.

“We want people to start talking to each other,” he said.

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