Legendary Hollywood film-maker and actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele have been found dead in their Los Angeles home.
Authorities are investigating the incident as an apparent homicide after police and firefighters were called to the couple’s house on Sunday afternoon in the upmarket Brentwood neighbourhood of LA.
Police said a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman were both pronounced dead at the home. Police said no suspect or person of interest was currently being sought.
Reiner is known for directing classic films such as The Princess Bride, This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally, Misery and A Few Good Men.
The son of comedy great Carl Reiner, he started his career in the 1960s and made it big playing Meathead in groundbreaking TV sitcom All in The Family in the 1970s, which scored him two Emmy Awards.
He achieved futher success with cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984, which he directed as well as playing on-screen director Marty DiBergi.
That began a run of classic Hollywood movies directed by Reiner, including Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990) and A Few Good Men (1992), the latter of which scored him an Academy Award nomination for best picture.
He reunited with Spinal Tap for long-awaited sequel Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, which was released this September.
Reiner also co-founded the successful Castle Rock Entertainment production company.
He was married to actress Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981 and is the adoptive father to Marshall’s daughter, actress Tracy Reiner.
He married Michele Reiner, an actress, photographer and producer, in 1989. The couple have three children together.
Michele owned the Reiner Light photography agency and production house.
LA mayor Karen Bass called the incident a “devastating loss for our city and country”, and paid tribute to the couple’s charity work for childhood development and LGBTQ+ advocacy.
“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,” she said.
