Director and actor Rob Reiner was found dead at home with his wife Michelle Singer Reiner | film

Rob Reiner, the director of beloved films including When Harry Met Sally, Misery, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap, has died at the age of 78 in an apparent murder, along with his wife of 68 years, Michelle Singer Reiner.

Reports first began emerging Sunday afternoon that authorities found the bodies of a 78-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman inside a home owned by Reiner in Brentwood, Los Angeles, after a request for medical assistance was made to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The Los Angeles Police Department later confirmed that detectives from the Homicide and Robbery Division were investigating the deaths as an “apparent homicide.” Both TMZ and People reported that the two suffered injuries consistent with a knife attack.

A spokesperson for the Rayner family confirmed their deaths on Sunday evening.

A family spokesman said in a statement to the media: “It is with deep sadness that we announce the tragic deaths of Michelle and Rob Reiner.” “We are deeply saddened by this sudden loss, and ask for privacy during this incredibly difficult time.”

At a news conference on Sundt’s night, LAPD Chief of Detectives Alan Hamilton said the investigation was continuing.

“At this time, the LAPD is not looking for anyone as a suspect or person of interest… and we will not do so until we conduct our investigation and move forward,” Hamilton said.

He added that Rainer’s family members would be interviewed, but “no one has been arrested. No one has been questioned as a suspect.”

Reiner has been married to photographer Singer Reiner since 1989. The couple met while directing When Harry Met Sally, which he made with girlfriend Nora Ephron after 10 years of being single. Inspired by their new romance, Reiner changed the film’s original pessimistic ending so that Harry and Sally ended up together.

Reiner, the son of famous comedian Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Repost, was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1947. He first entered acting in the 1960s, landing his first major role as Michael “Meathead” Stevich in all nine seasons of the sitcom “All in the Family.” He received two of five Emmy Award nominations for his performance, and was also nominated for five Golden Globe Awards in the role.

Reiner made his feature directorial debut in 1984 with the much-loved mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, which follows a goofy British heavy metal band. He followed it with a rapid string of successful films including Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), which is often ranked among the best romantic comedies of all time, Misery (1990), and A Few Good Men (1992), which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Reiner was particularly proud of Stand By Me, as he felt it was the first thing he had done outside of his father’s shadow. “Spinal Tap was a satire, and I love satire, but that’s something my father did,” he told The Guardian in 2018. “The Sure Thing was a romantic comedy and he did that. So, Stand By Me was the first thing I did that was just an extension of myself, and that means a lot to me.”

Subsequent films directed by Reiner included The American President (1995), The Bucket List (2007), and his final film, the 2025 sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. During his career he was nominated for four Golden Globe Awards for Best Director and three Directors Guild of America Awards.

He also continued to act in small parts, including Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle as Tom Hanks’ friend, Postcards from the Edge, The First Wives Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, The New Girl, and The Bear. He also frequently played himself in comedy films including 30 Rock, The Simpsons, Hannah Montana, The Larry Sanders Show, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Reiner also co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, the production company behind such hits as The Shawshank Redemption, Seinfeld, In the Line of Fire, City Slickers, Lone Star and Miss Congeniality. He later said that it became difficult to get financing for small films in the 2000s. “I mean, I make the films I want to make, but it doesn’t have the same kind of support system that I had, so it’s a lot more difficult,” he told The Guardian in 2018.

“Studios are looking for hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, and you’re not going to get that with a small movie… I came into this business to express myself and tell stories, not just to produce a product.”

Reiner has been a prominent political activist and critic of US President Donald Trump. He co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated a lawsuit that overturned the ban on same-sex marriage in California. He also campaigned against smoking, and considered running against then-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, but decided against it for personal reasons.

ABC Los Angeles reported that Reiner’s friends and co-workers Billy Crystal and Larry David were seen at the scene after reports surfaced.

The Reiner family had three children: Jake, Nick, and Romy. Rob Reiner was also the adoptive father of actor Tracey Reiner, the daughter of his first wife, actress and director Penny Marshall, who died in 2018.

Messages to Rainer’s representatives were not immediately responded to.