Nick Reiner, the middle son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, photographer Michele Reiner, was arrested Monday morning in connection with the deaths of his parents. This was reported by outlets such as TMZ and People magazine, which also stated that the 34-year-old is being held on $4 million bail. Police have not yet officially confirmed the arrest.
Rob Reiner, 78, the renowned director of The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, and his wife, Michele, 68, were found stabbed to death in their home in Brentwood, an upscale neighborhood in Los Angeles, on the afternoon of Sunday, December 14.
The Los Angeles Times and USA Today reported that Reiner Jr.’s arrest is recorded in the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department records as taking place at 9:15 p.m. on Sunday and was entered into the files at 5:04 a.m. Monday. However, the news was not released until Monday morning. At 9 p.m. on Sunday, city detectives had held a press conference, stating that no one was in police custody and that they were not pursuing any suspects.
Nick Reiner struggled with addiction throughout his life. He began using substances when he was little more than a child, and by the age of 15 he was already in rehab. He distanced himself from his parents and even lived on the streets for periods of time. For more than a decade, he had been reconnected with his family. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Times reported that detectives were investigating someone in the family in connection with the couple’s deaths.
According to the tabloid TMZ, Rob, Michele, and Nick Reiner were together on Saturday at a Christmas party held in the city by actor and comedian Conan O’Brien, a friend of the family. At the party, the two men reportedly had a heated argument. Shortly afterward, the couple left the party. In recent months, according to the U.S. media outlet, Michele had told some of her closest friends about her concerns for her middle son over his addiction and mental health problems.
The son of renowned comedy actor Carl Reiner, Rob was one of the best-known and most prolific directors of the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, directing films that became part of popular culture. His directorial debut was Sonny Boy in 1974, but from there came gems of cinema and popular culture such as The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and Stand by Me (two of the most beloved Stephen King adaptations), A Few Good Men — the only one to earn him an Academy Award nomination, for Best Picture, in 1993 — North; The American President; The Story of Us; Now and Then; Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and the various installments of the mock rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap.
Rob and Michele Reiner married in 1989 after meeting on the set of When Harry Met Sally. He had previously been married from 1971 to 1981 to actress and director Penny Marshall, whose daughter he adopted. The couple had three children: Jake, 34, Nick, 32, and Romy, 28.
The worlds of film, culture, and politics have been devastated by the deaths of the Reiners, who were known for their cultural involvement but also for their activism. The Obamas expressed their “heartbreak,” and former vice president Kamala Harris, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have also shared words of affection for them. In the world of cinema, condolences have come from actors such as Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Josh Gad, James Woods, Christopher Guest, and Sean Astin, actor and president of the actors’ union.
One of the most controversial reactions came from Donald Trump, whom Reiner openly opposed. The president wrote on social media that the filmmaker died “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 […] He was known to have driven people CRAZY by his raging obsession of President Donald J. Trump,” the Republican said, “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!”
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