Esteemed actor, director, and marriage equality activist Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in their Los Angeles home Sunday afternoon, numerous media outlets report. Police are calling their deaths a homicide, and a family member is being questioned, according to the Los Angeles Times. They had suffered stab wounds, local TV station KTLA reports.
“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,” a family spokesperson said.
Rob Reiner first became famous as Michael “Meathead” Stivic, the liberal son-in-law of bigot Archie Bunker (Carroll O’Connor) on the groundbreaking situation comedy All in the Family. The show, which ran from 1971 to 1979, dealt with many social and political issues and featured gay and transgender characters. Reiner won Emmys as Best Supporting Actor in a comedy in 1974 and 1978.
He went on to direct numerous popular movies, including This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, A Few Good Men, The American President, LBJ, and The Story of Us. A sequel to This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary about a heavy metal band, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, came out this year. Another sequel, Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale, has been completed and is slated for release in 2026, according to IMDB.
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Reiner’s greatest contribution to the LGBTQ+ community was as cofounder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which funded the legal fight against Proposition 8, the California ballot measure that revoked marriage equality in the state. In 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality, but Prop. 8, approved by voters that November, amended the state constitution and therefore nullified that ruling.
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Two same-sex couples, Kris Perry and Sandy Stier, and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo, sued over Prop. 8 after they were denied marriage licenses. The American Foundation for Equal Rights hired famed lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies — the two attorneys who argued opposing sides of Bush v. Gore in 2000 — to argue the case against Prop. 8.
U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled in 2010 that Prop. 8 violated the U.S. Constitution. California state officials in two consecutive administrations declined to defend Prop. 8, so a conservative group called ProtectMarriage.com took up the defense. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld Walker’s ruling in 2012, and the following year, the U.S. Supreme Court let that decision stand, ruling that ProtectMarriage.com lacked legal standing to argue the case.
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In 2011, Reiner likened the Prop. 8 case to the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education, which determined that separate is not equal.
“We don’t believe in separate but equal in any other legal position except this,” Reiner said of marriage equality in an appearance on Morning Joe. “We feel that this is the last piece of the civil rights puzzle being put into place.”
He performed as right-wing activist David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, in a staged reading of Dustin Lance Black’s play 8, about the fight against the proposition.
Reiner announced plans in 2011 to make a film about marriage equality, but the project was never realized.
He continued to be an ally, however. At the Human Rights Campaign’s Los Angeles dinner in 2019, he spoke out for LGBTQ+ equality, saying, “We have to move past singling out transgender, LGBTQ, black, white, Jewish, Muslim, Latino. We have to get way past that and start accepting the idea that we're all human beings. We’re all human beings, we all share the same planet, and we should all have the same rights, period. It's no more complicated than that.”
Reiner was the son of Carl Reiner, a legendary writer, director, and performer (Your Show of Shows, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid), and Estelle Reiner, who delivered the line “I’ll have what she’s having” after Meg Ryan showed how to fake an orgasm in When Harry Met Sally…. Estelle Reiner died in 2008 and Carl Reiner in 2020.
Rob Reiner’s first wife was actress Penny Marshall, who, like him, became an in-demand director with films such as A League of Their Own. He was the adoptive father of Marshall’s daughter, Tracy Reiner, who appeared in A League of Their Own and several other films. Rob Reiner and Marshall were married from 1971 to 1981.
He married Michele Singer in 1989; she was a photographer he had met on the set of When Harry Met Sally…. She was a producer on several of her husband’s films, including Spinal Tap II and the documentaries Shock and Awe, about the Iraq War, and Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, a profile of the comedian. Separately, she produced a documentary about Christian nationalism, God & Country.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released this statement: “This is a devastating loss for our city and our country. Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice. An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.
“Personally, I am heartbroken by the tragic loss of Rob and his wife Michele. I knew Rob and have tremendous respect for him. Among his numerous contributions, Rob helped create First 5 California, a landmark initiative funded by a tobacco tax to support early childhood development programs. He and Michele fought for early childhood development and marriage equality, working to overturn Proposition 8. They were true champions for LGBTQ+ rights.
“I want to thank all of the first responders who were called to this tragic event. The investigation is ongoing. I'm holding all who loved Rob and Michele in my heart.”
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