Filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife found dead of apparent homicide at Brentwood home

Filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead at their Brentwood home on Sunday afternoon in an apparent double homicide. TMZ reported that their deaths are attributed to lacerations consistent with a knife.

The couple's son, Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested on Sunday at 9:15 p.m. and taken into custody the following day at 5:04 a.m. for an alleged felony charge, according to Los Angeles Sheriff's Department records. He is now being held without bail, after having his $4 million bail rescinded. Multiple sources who have spoken with family members say Nick killed his parents, according to PEOPLE.

Rob's family said in a statement to Variety, “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.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed it responded to a call of a medical emergency around 3:38 p.m. on South Chadbourne Ave. on Dec. 14. The deceased were described as a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman, the ages of Reiner and his wife.

The Los Angeles Police Department Robbery and Homicide Division responded to the scene and confirmed that the home belongs to Reiner.

In a press conference Sunday evening before Nick's arrest, LAPD Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton revealed that the police needed to obtain a search warrant to enter the residence at that time and that the Los Angeles County Coroner would provide the official identification of the victims.

A neighbor said actors Billy Crystal and Larry David arrived separately at the house Sunday evening and stayed briefly before departing, ABC7 reported.

Reiner’s career in Hollywood spans more than five decades, both in front of and behind the camera. He first rose to fame in the 1970s as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the groundbreaking sitcom All in the Family, becoming a familiar face during one of television’s most influential eras.

He made his directorial debut with 1984’s seminal mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, following it up with a string of classics: Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery, and A Few Good Men.

Born in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1947, Reiner is the son of late comedian, actor, writer, producer, and director Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at the age of 98, and actress and singer Estelle Reiner. Rob and his family relocated to Los Angeles when he was 13. He attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of California, Los Angeles.

In 1989, Rob married photographer and author Michele Singer Reiner, whom he met while directing When Harry Met Sally. Rob later said the meeting convinced him to change the movie's ending. They shared three children: Jake, Nick, and Romy.

Rob was previously married to actress and filmmaker Penny Marshall, who died in 2018 due to complications from diabetes at the age of 75. The couple married in 1971, and Rob adopted her daughter, actress Tracy Reiner, from a previous marriage. Rob and Marshall divorced amicably in 1981.

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Rob recently reunited with Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer for the film’s sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which was released in September. The director, who reprised his role as fictional documentarian Marty DiBergi for the sequel, spoke with Entertainment Weekly in July and reflected on the original film’s pop culture legacy.

“I had a conversation the other day with Ricky Gervais, and he was saying that The Office, the original Office that he did, and then the American version, was inspired by Spinal Tap,” he said. “And so that, to me, those are the greatest compliments in the world. When you see this kind of documentary style being used as a way of telling stories, it's very satisfying. Especially somebody you respect, like Ricky. I mean, he's brilliant. And to hear him say that, and Ben Stiller, I had a conversation with him, and he said the same thing. So that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool."

UPDATED: This article has been edited to reflect Nick Reiner's arrest and related developments, including his bail being rescinded.

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