Hollywood legends like Billy Crystal, Larry David, and Albert Brooks wrote in the wake of Rob and Michele’s murders, “We will miss them forever.”

Rob Reiner’s closest friends release joint statement after his tragic death: Read their emotional words

Hollywood legends like Billy Crystal, Larry David, and Albert Brooks wrote in the wake of Rob and Michele's murders, "We will miss them forever."

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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December 16, 2025 11:27 p.m. ET

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Rob Reiner in 2017. Credit:

Neilson Barnard/Getty

Rob Reiner touched so many lives over the course of his impactful career in Hollywood that tributes have been pouring in since the deaths of the filmmaker and his wife, Michele, on Sunday.

A group of the *Stand By Me* filmmaker's closest friends and collaborators have now released a solemn yet uplifting joint statement commemorating his legacy as both an artist and human being.

Signatories Billy and Janice Crystal, Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson, and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith wrote a lengthy missive shared with * *on Tuesday.

"Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller."

Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal attend the TCM Classic Film Festival in 2019 in Hollywood.

Emma McIntyre/Getty

"There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to 'mockumentary' to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films," the statement continues.

"His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant. For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy."

The Reiners' group of close associates noted that "Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife Michele, he had the perfect partner. Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens."

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"They were a special force together-dynamic, unselfish and inspiring," the statement continues. "We were their friends, and we will miss them forever."

The statement reads in closing, "There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, *It's a Wonderful Life*, 'Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?' You have no idea."****

Rob Reiner and Larry David in Los Angeles in 2019.

Gregg DeGuire/Getty

Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were found dead of an apparent homicide in their Brentwood, Calif., home on Sunday afternoon. Their 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, was taken into police custody that evening and was charged with the murders of his parents on Tuesday. If convicted as charged, the Reiners' son faces life in prison without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

On Monday, PEOPLE reported that Crystal and David were spotted visiting the Reiners' home in the hours after their bodies were discovered by Romy Reiner, their 27-year-old daughter.

Crystal and David collaborated on numerous films and series over the years, including David's series *Curb Your Enthusiasm*, on which Reiner guested;* When Harry Met Sally*, which Reiner directed and Crystal starred in; and *All in the Family*, in which the real-life friends appeared for an episode as friends.**

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