In recent years, Rob Reiner was known more for his anti-Trump rants than he was for his acting and directing.
This week, the nation was horrified to learn that Reiner and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their home, the victims of a brutal stabbing.
According to the most recent reports, the Reiners' bodies were discovered by their daughter, with the couple's son apparently now the main suspect in the case.
Reports started to surface late on Sunday that a couple matching the ages of Reiner and his wife had been reportedly found dead in the pair's Los Angeles home.
At first, it was not clear whether this was some targeted attack or if the Reiners had walked into a robbery gone wrong.
Later in the day, however, it was reported that the bodies had been confirmed as those of the Reiners, and they were reportedly discovered by the couple's daughter, Romy.
To add even more of a shock factor to the killings, it was then reported that the top suspect in the case was the pair's son, Nick.
On Monday, it was reported that Nick Reiner had indeed been taken into custody by local police.
Nick is a recovering drug addict who has openly discussed his substance abuse struggles, also revealing that his battle had put him on the street as a homeless person in the past.
During a People magazine interview, he stated, “When I was out there, I could’ve died,” he told People magazine in 2016, speaking about being homeless. “It’s all luck. You roll the dice, and you hope you make it.”
Nick’s struggle was also used as the inspiration behind a Rob Reiner film called Being Charlie. Rob Reiner, at the time, said that making that movie helped him better understand his son’s struggles and create a stronger bond between them.
Rob Reiner was a well-known critic of Donald Trump, so it was no surprise to see the president take a shot at him in his comments following the murders. Trump stated, “A very sad thing happened last night in Hollywood. Rob Reiner, a tortured and struggling, but once very talented movie director and comedy star, has passed away, together with his wife, Michele, reportedly due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding, and incurable affliction with a mind crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME, sometimes referred to as TDS.”
Trump continued, “He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump, with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights as the Trump Administration surpassed all goals and expectations of greatness, and with the Golden Age of America upon us, perhaps like never before. May Rob and Michele rest in peace!”
Former President Barack Obama expressed his condolences, stating, “Michelle and I are heartbroken by the tragic passing of Rob Reiner and his beloved wife, Michele. Rob’s achievements in film and television gave us some of our most cherished stories on screen. 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.”
I did not like Reiner, but I would never wish such a violent death on anyone, nor the horror he likely felt knowing that it was his own son who was bringing about his end. Sadly, this was just one murder in what was a historically violent weekend, both here and around the world.
