Photo by Montclair Film - Wikimedia Commons
Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner at the Montclair Film Festival 2016.
Rob Reiner was a quiet celebrity. He grew up in show business as the son of comedian Carl Reiner, the man behind “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and being around famous people seemed as natural as walking. He wore no false airs and was happy to pursue the work he enjoyed.
As an actor, he left an indelible mark in the ‘70s for his role in Norman Lear’s “All in the Family.” Reiner played Michael Stivic, the unwanted son-in-law of Carol O’Connor’s Archie Bunker. Archie was the hard-hatted advocate of anti-liberalism and Michael was a shaggy-haired protest kid. It was a hilarious clash of values and temperaments, which allowed Archie to score an occasional point and Michael to sometimes be wrong.
Although he continued acting, in the ‘80s he changed focus to directing. While never selling as many tickets as Steven Spielberg or given the respect accorded to Martin Scorsese, he made memorably entertaining pictures that stuck with viewers. For me, the best was his first, This Is Spinal Tap (1984), a knowing spoof of rock music and the music industry that didn’t catch on immediately but rapidly gained a cult following. The film’s fictional Milwaukee concert venue, Shank Hall, became real. Promoter Peter Jest saw Spinal Tap with me at the Northridge Cinema and swore that if he ever opened a club, he’d call it Shank Hall. In Reiner’s final film, the sequel, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025), one of the band members wears a Milwaukee Shank Hall t-shirt.
The rock satire was ripe for a remake, but in between the two Taps, Reiner moved comfortably between genres. Highlights include the coming of age Stand by Me (1986), adapted from a Stephen King story; the fantasy comedy The Princess Bride (1987); the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally (1989); and the military court room drama A Few Good Men (1992). Returning to Stephen King for material, Misery (1990) contained an unforgettable performance by Kathy Bates as any celebrity’s nightmare—the psychotic fan.
Reiner was also an activist whose causes included curbing smoking and supporting the environment and public education. He was asked to run for governor of California against Arnold Schwarzenneger but declined.
Rob Reiner murdered? It’s gotten hard to be shocked by bad news, given the carnage in Gaza, Ukraine and places overlooked by Western media; the Hanukkah killings in Australia; the continuous “mass shootings” in America. But let’s take a moment to be shocked by the social media post on Reiner’s death by the current occupant of the White House.
