Director Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Reiner, 68, were murdered at their Los Angeles home, a source has confirmed to the Daily Beast. The source said the couple was found by their daughter Romy, that Rob was dead on the scene, and that Michele died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.
The news comes after authorities confirmed that two victims matching the couple’s ages were found dead in their Brentwood mansion on Sunday.
According to TMZ, Reiner and his wife suffered wounds consistent with a knife attack. People is reporting that the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, killed his parents.
Actor/director Rob Reiner (R) and Michele Reiner attend the wedding ceremony and celebration for Proposition 8 Plaintiffs Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo on June 28, 2014 at The Beverly Hilton. Lester Cohen/Getty
Reiner, the son of comedian Carl Reiner, got his show business start as “Meathead” on the immensely popular 1970s Norman Lear sitcom All in the Family. But he soon focused his attention on directing, making his feature debut with the cult classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984. Just this past year, he directed what would end up being his final film, Spinal Tap 2: The End Continues, 41 years after the original film premiered.
His work transcended genre, from the coming of age movie Stand by Me in 1986, to the fairy tale-inspired The Princess Bride in 1987, to the ultimate romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally in 1989, to the thriller Misery in 1990, which won Kathy Bates a Best Actress Oscar. After that came the celebrated Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson vehicle A Few Good Men in 1992 and Aaron Sorkin’s West Wing precursor The American President in 1995.
As an actor, he spent his later years primarily portraying himself on TV comedies like 30 Rock, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and The Simpsons, though he also had a memorable recurring role on the latest season of The Bear.
Rob Reiner and Nick Reiner discuss “Being Charlie” AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016 in New York City. Adela Loconte/WireImage
In 2015, Reiner directed the dramatic film Being Charlie, which was co-written by his son, Nick Reiner, 32, and focused on the real-life story of Nick’s struggles with addiction. “It’s not my life,” Nick Reiner said of the film at the time, but “I went to a lot of these places, so I had a lot of these stories.”
In addition to Nick, Rob and Michele Reiner shared two children, Jake and Romy. Rob Reiner also had a daughter, Tracy Reiner, from his previous marriage to director Penny Marshall.
This is a developing story and will be updated.