Billy Crystal, Larry David and Others Remember Rob Reiner as a 'Master Story Teller'

Rob Reiner, left, with Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan during an anniversary screening of “When Harry Met Sally” in 2019.Credit...Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Billy Crystal, Larry David, Martin Short and several other prominent figures and close friends of Rob Reiner’s released a statement on Tuesday memorializing the Hollywood director, according to The Associated Press. Mr. Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in their home in Los Angeles on Sunday. Their son Nick Reiner, 32, has been charged with murder in their deaths.

In their statement, the friends of Mr. Reiner said: “Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller.

“There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.” Mr. Crystal, a close friend of the Reiners who starred in several of his movies, including “The Princess Bride” and the romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally,” was seen late Sunday leaving the Reiners’ home, not long after their bodies had been discovered. Mr. Reiner was also a longtime friend and collaborator of Mr. David’s, having produced Mr. David’s show “Seinfeld” and appeared as an exaggerated version of himself in Mr. David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Along with Mr. David, Mr. Crystal and their wives, the statement was issued on behalf of Martin Short, Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Marc Shaiman, Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson, James Costos and Michael Smith, according to The A.P. “His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant,” the statement continued. “For the actors, he loved them. For the writers, he made them better. “His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a filmmaker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/us/billy-crystal-larry-david-rob-reiner-statement.html