Editor’s note: This story has been updated since its initial publication.
Reactions of disbelief continued after actor-director Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 68, were found dead in an apparent homicide, with their younger son now booked in jail as the suspect.
Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested and booked in Los Angeles County Jail on suspicion of murder, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell announced Monday during a brief comment at a news conference.
Police later Monday reported Nick Reiner was being held without bail. Previously authorities said bail was set at $4 million.
The department’s Robbery-Homicide Division is handling the investigation, McDonnell said. He added he couldn’t comment specifically about a search warrant that investigators were pursuing for the Reiners’ home. But he added the search warrant would be a “critical piece of our investigation.”
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said it has not determined any criminal charges.
The couple was stabbed to death, authorities reported. A family member found the bodies at the Reiners’ home in the upscale Brentwood area. McDonnell said police responded at 3:40 p.m. Sunday to a call about the bodies.
Rob Reiner was the son of the late comedy writer, producer and actor Carl Reiner, whose credits included creating CBS’ “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” Rob Reiner rose to fame playing liberal graduate student-turned-professor Michael Stivic, whom Queens bigot Archie Bunker called “Meathead,” on CBS’ “All in the Family.” Reiner went on to become a director of popular movies, including two from the 1980s, “Stand By Me” and “The Princess Bride.” The New York City native cast his mother, Estelle Reiner, as the woman saying “I’ll have what she’s having” when Meg Ryan’s character fakes an orgasm in a restaurant in “When Harry Met Sally” (1989).
This reporter was on the set of “A Few Good Men” (1992) in a Burbank soundstage and saw Reiner direct Tom Cruise, playing Navy defense attorney Lt. j.g. Daniel Kaffee, in a conference room scene with a client. Gesturing a bit with his hands, an enthusiastic Reiner stood in the set and showed his passion for directing as he discussed the scene and its emotional context with Cruise and other actors.
Reiner gave some insight into his rapport with actors as he sat on stage with Kathy Bates last April during a screening of “Misery” (1990), which Reiner directed, during the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood. Reiner said he knew immediately that Bates was ideal for the role of an obsessed and dangerous fan keeping a murder mystery author, played by James Caan, hostage in the film based on the Stephen King novel.
“Kathy, she’s such a dedicated actress, and she’s so focused on wanting to make this work, she would take the character home with her … And she said, ‘I can’t get it out of my head,'” Reiner said. “I said to her, ‘You have to trust you have one of the great acting instruments of all time, and you can leave that character here at the studio and go home and be yourself and not be worried you won’t be able to pick it up again.'”
Bates won an Oscar for the role.
In a statement after the couple’s deaths, Bates, who stars in CBS’ “Matlock” reboot, said she was she was “absolutely devastated. I loved Rob.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she was heartbroken by the deaths.
“I knew Rob and have tremendous respect for him,” Bass posted on X. “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 [which banned same-sex marriages]. They were true champions for LGBTQ+ rights.”
Bass said Rob Reiner improved “countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice.”
Former President Barack Obama said he and Michelle Obama were heartbroken by the loss of the Reiners.
“Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen,” Obama posted on X. “But beneath all of the stories he produced was a deep belief in the goodness of people — and a lifelong commitment to putting that belief into action. Together, he and his wife lived lives defined by purpose. They will be remembered for the values they championed and the countless people they inspired. We send our deepest condolences to all who loved them.”
President Donald Trump commented on Reiner in a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, calling the apparent homicide a tragedy but noting Reiner’s opposition to the president. Reiner was a frequent and vocal critic of Trump.
