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Rob Reiner, the filmmaker behind some of the most beloved films of the last 40 years, was found murdered in his Brentwood home on Sunday afternoon along with his wife, photographer Michele Singer Reiner.

A report from People alleges that the Reiners were stabbed to death by their son Nick, who has a long history of struggling with addiction and homelessness. His story was the basis for the 2015 film Being Charlie, which Nick co-wrote and Rob directed.

Reiner was the son of Hollywood legend Carl Reiner, who passed away in 2020. He and Singer are survived by their four children, Tracy (whom Reiner adopted during his first marriage to fellow filmmaker Penny Marshall), Jake, Nick, and Romy.

News started to break earlier tonight, when TMZ reported that two people were found dead at the Reiner home. They weren’t initially identified, but based on their ages, it seemed likely it was Reiner and Singer. Moments after official confirmation that the victims were the Reiners, People reported that “numerous sources” named Nick Reiner as the likely killer.

Rising to fame on All in the Family from 1971 until its finale in 1979, Reiner married Marshall in 1971, but the pair divorced in 1981. Marshall, like Reiner, started as a sitcom star (on Laverne & Shirley) before becoming a successful director and producer.

In 1989, Reiner married Singer, whom he met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally…, one of Reiner’s hugely successful films.

Reiner’s first feature film was 1984’s This is Spinal Tap, and earlier this year, he released Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. In between those installments, Reiner directed, produced, and/or starred in a number of the most beloved movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, Misery, and A Few Good Men. He also continued to work as an actor (albeit often “as himself”), appearing in projects like The Jerk, Mixed Nuts, The Simpsons, and The Bear. 

During his lifetime, Reiner co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which helped drive the push to legalize gay marriage in California and the United States. He was an outspoken critic of the Trump administration and worked passionately on issues that impacted children, families, the environment, and more.

I wrote a similar-but-different version of this obituary over at The Beat, but couldn’t go to sleep without posting about it here. We at ECV offer our sincerest condolences to the Reiner family, as well as his friends and collaborators, during what must be an unimaginably difficult time.