Rob Reiner, who was born into Hollywood comedic royalty and forged his own path directing films that marked America's mood through humor, satire and nostalgia, died Sunday.
He was 78.
Reiner, who was active for more than four decades, is best known for a string of films from the 1980s into the 1990s now considered modern classics: "Stand by Me," "The Princess Bride," "When Harry Met Sally...," "Misery" and "A Few Good Men," among others.
The filmmaker was found dead alongside wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, at their home in Los Angeles, according to a source close to the Reiner family.
Rob Reiner's father was actor and comedian Carl Reiner, creator of one of the postwar era's most successful television series, "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
As a young adult growing up in Los Angeles, Rob Reiner attended Beverly Hills High School and completed studies at nearby UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television.
He was launched into the homes of America in 1971 with the comedic TV drama "All in the Family," on which he played the son-in-law of its patriarch, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor), and his foil.
The two sparred, with Reiner's "Meathead" challenging his elder's conservative views of women, people of color and LGBTQ communities. The clashes drew bursts of laughter and, sometimes, gasps, from the show's studio audience and from home viewers. They reflected the nation's changing outlook in the decade as baby boomers began to dominate music, film and sometimes politics. Reiner won an Emmy in 1974 for his portrayal.
Reiner has said that in real life O'Connor helped him transition to directing after the show ended in 1979, and by the mid-1980s "Meathead" had grown up to become a marquee director.
The film that got him off the starting line was the satire "This Is Spinal Tap," a look at an aging British hard rock band that has no self-awareness, an allegory for his generation, in ways.
Reiner plays a documentarian, and the film rolls out with wholly deadpan humor with the help of Reiner collaborators Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer. One of the film's most legendary bits happens when Guest's character explains he has had an amplifier's maximum volume changed from 10 to 11, insisting it's louder because of the graphic transformation.
The 1984 release was hailed by critics and became enough of a cult classic that Reiner returned to the band this year with September's release of "This is Spinal Tap II."
He established Castle Rock Entertainment as an independent production house in 1987 and churned out box office hits.
By the 1990s, Reiner had become a director of history, finding sentimental feelings in titles such as "Stand By Me," "The American President" and "Albert Brooks: Defending My Life," the latter a documentary about the work of the comedic actor.
He remained active in Hollywood through the latter half of 2025, doing interviews and promotion for "This is Spinal Tap II."
Reiner had been a mainstay of fundraising support for the Democratic Party and its top candidates for office, including when President Joe Biden was hoping for a second term.
In October, Reiner criticized President Donald Trump's administration, describing the political climate as “beyond McCarthy era-esque.”
“Make no mistake: We have a year before this country becomes a full-on autocracy and democracy completely leaves us," he said in an interview on MSNBC (which has since been rebranded as MS NOW).
“I believe the way to stop it is to educate people who may not understand what democracy is. They may not know what the impact of losing it is,” he added. “We have to explain it, us storytellers have to explain to them what they’re going to wind up with if an autocrat has his way."
In 2008, he co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which fought for same-sex-marriage rights in California. He also launched a ballot initiative in California 27 years ago that established a tobacco tax to fund an education and development program, First 5, for the state's youngest children.
“An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, [Rob] always used his gifts in service of others,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said in a statement, adding that “he and Michele fought for early childhood development and marriage equality, working to overturn Proposition 8. They were true champions for LGBTQ+ rights.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom also issued expressed his condolences to the Reiner family, highlighting Reiner's political advocacy.
"Rob was a passionate advocate for children and for civil rights — from taking on Big Tobacco to fighting for marriage equality to serving as a powerful voice in early education," Newsom said in a statement.
Reiner "made California a better place through his good works," he wrote.
