If you were to tease out a unifying thread through three of the signature films directed by Rob Reiner—This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally…—what you’d find is a tempered sweetness, a kind of resilient exultation informed by the knowledge that little in life ever goes as planned. The surprise twists in our lives make for more happiness over the long haul, because they can’t happen unless we remain awake to the possibility of joy every minute. That would be a glistening legacy for any filmmaker, and Reiner, who was found dead on Sunday along with his wife, producer Michele Singer Reiner, left us with that and more.
Reiner’s mother, Estelle, was a professional singer; his father was actor, writer, and director Carl Reiner, the creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show and a compatriot and close friend of Mel Brooks. Audiences got to know the younger Reiner from his role on the 1970s American sitcom All in the Family: as Meathead—he had a name, Michael Stivic, but no one ever remembers it—he was the liberal-minded foil to his racist, bigoted father-in-law Archie Bunker, Carroll O’Connor. As an actor, Reiner’s timing was always pinpoint perfect, a gift he’d inherited from his dad. And in real life, he held Michael Stivic-style ideals: he was a longtime supporter of Democratic candidates and causes, including a 1998 California ballot initiative that would fund early childhood programs with taxes collected from tobacco sales. He was also the driving force, economically and otherwise, behind a 2012 legal campaign designed to establish same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. And in a modern Hollywood that’s often curiously silent on current political matters, he was an outspoken critic of Donald Trump.
