Shock has gripped the film industry after renowned Jewish filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, were found dead at their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. A special investigative team was dispatched to the residence of the director of The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap. Local authorities initially suspected a break-in that ended in a double murder after the couple were found with apparent stab wounds, but People magazine reported that the two were likely killed by their son, Nick.
Nick Reiner, 32, is the second son of Rob and Michele. He has spoken openly about struggling for years with recurring drug addiction. In a 2016 interview with People, he said he began using drugs as a teenager and was sent to rehab at age 15, but his addiction worsened and eventually left him homeless.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas. I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun,” he said in the interview. He added that over the years, he entered and left rehabilitation facilities more than 10 times.
That experience later inspired the autobiographical screenplay for the 2015 drama Being Charlie, which his father adapted for the screen as director. At the time, Nick said he had been living at home for an extended period and was readjusting to life in Los Angeles and being close to his family.
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Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, with their children — Nick (right), Romy and Jake
(Photo: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Reiner, who came from a Jewish family in New York, is considered as one of the most prolific, successful and beloved filmmakers in the United States. He began his entertainment career as an actor and rose to prominence in the 1970s as one of the stars of the television series All in the Family, winning two Emmy Awards for his role as Mike Stivic. He was also praised for acting roles in films including Throw Momma From the Train (1987), Bullets Over Broadway (1994) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).
His greatest contribution to American culture, however, came as a director, beginning in 1984 with the cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which recently received a sequel. A year later, he directed the comedy The Sure Thing starring John Cusack, and in 1986 cemented his status as a leading Hollywood filmmaker with the coming-of-age drama Stand by Me, based on a Stephen King story and starring River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell and Kiefer Sutherland.
At that stage in his career, Reiner felt confident enough to experiment across genres, often turning those projects into enduring hits. Among them was the fantasy adventure The Princess Bride (1987), starring Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin, which became one of the most beloved cult films of all time. Two years later came the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally…, starring Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal, which also played a role in Reiner’s personal life through his relationship with Michele, and became a defining film for many couples in the late 1980s.
He continued to explore different genres with the psychological thriller Misery (1990), starring James Caan and Kathy Bates; the legal drama A Few Good Men (1992), starring Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson and Demi Moore, which earned a best picture nomination; and The American President (1995), starring Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox.
Other films directed by Reiner include the political thriller Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) starring Alec Baldwin; the comedy Rumor Has It… (2005) starring Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner; the comedy-drama The Bucket List (2007) starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman; the biographical drama LBJ (2016) starring Woody Harrelson as President Lyndon B. Johnson; and the political drama Shock and Awe (2017), starring Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, James Marsden and Milla Jovovich. In 2023, he also directed the documentary Albert Brooks: Defending My Life. More recently, he reunited with the members of the fictional band Spinal Tap, both as director and reprising his role as their iconic manager, Marty DiBergi.
Reiner’s father, Carl Reiner, was himself a television legend who created the iconic 1960s series The Dick Van Dyke Show. Just a day earlier, Van Dyke — who also starred in Mary Poppins — celebrated his 100th birthday.
Reiner was married to actress and director Penny Marshall beginning in 1971 and adopted her daughter, Tracy, but the couple divorced in 1981. Eight years later, he married photographer Michele Singer. He has said that meeting her during the filming of When Harry Met Sally… inspired him to change the movie’s ending. The couple have three children: Jake, Nick and Romy.
First published: 05:58, 12.15.25