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Hollywood movie director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their home in California Sunday afternoon, prompting the Los Angeles Police Department to launch a homicide investigation.
A spokesperson for the family said in a statement: “It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Tributes have poured in from across the entertainment industry, with former President Barack Obama, California Governor Gavin Newsom and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi also paying their respects to the lifelong Democrat and outspoken political activist.
What has happened?
Paramedics and firefighters were called to the property on Chadbourne Avenue in the city’s Brentwood neighborhood at approximately 3.38pm Sunday, after the bodies of a man and woman, aged 78 and 68 respectively, were discovered and subsequently identified as the famous couple by law enforcement.
Investigators believe the couple suffered multiple stab wounds, according to the Associated Press.
People magazine has since reported that the couple’s daughter Romy, who lives nearby, was the person who found the bodies, citing multiple sources.
A neighbor told ABC7 that comedy icons Larry David and Billy Crystal – who starred in Reiner’s beloved romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... – visited the crime scene separately. Crystal was seen leaving the home looking distraught.
What has the LAPD said?
Alan Hamilton, Deputy Chief of the LAPD, said at a press conference that the department’s investigation was being handled by the Robbery Homicide Division and that it would “continue over the coming days.”
“We’re waiting for the legal process to move forward,” Hamilton said.
“We have to obtain a search warrant for the residence. Once that is complied with, we will be conducting a full crime scene investigation on the interior and exterior of the residence and the surrounding neighborhood.”
Has anyone been arrested?
Hamilton said that investigating officers are not currently seeking anyone as a suspect or a person of interest in the case.
“We’re going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation,” he added.
It has since been reported that a family member is being questioned.
Who were the Reiners?
Reiner was the son of legendary comedy performer and director Carl Reiner, known for his decades-long partnership with Mel Brooks.
Rob Reiner got his start in acting in the 1970s sitcom, All in the Family, where he played Michael "Meathead" Stivic.
He began his career as a filmmaker with the cult mockumentary This is Spinal Tap (1984) and subsequently directed one hit after another, across genres - Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally…, Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992).
He directed 23 feature films in all. A long-awaited sequel to his breakthrough hit, This is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, was released earlier this year.
Reiner also co-founded the successful production company Castle Rock Entertainment. He was a gifted character actor, playing the Scorsese-esque director Marty DiBergi in Tap and stealing scenes in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) as Leonardo DiCaprio’s temperamental father Max Belfort.
His first wife was fellow director Penny Marshall. He met photographer Michele Singer while making When Harry Met Sally... when they were introduced by cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld.
The couple married in 1989 and have three children, sons Jake and Nick and daughter Romy. Reiner also had another daughter, Tracy, from his first marriage.