Director Rob Reiner and his wife found dead in Los Angeles home, with homicide unit investigating

Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, were the two people found dead Sunday at a Los Angeles home owned by Reiner, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.

The official could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Investigators believe they suffered stab wounds and a family member is being questioned by investigators. People magazine reported that the family member being questioned is the couple's son, Nick.

"We are going to try to speak to every family member that we can to get to the facts of this investigation," Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton, the chief of detectives, said at a briefing on Sunday night.

The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30 p.m. and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside. Reiner is long one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work includes some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and '90s, including This is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride. 

His role as Mike Stivic, nicknamed Meathead by Caroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker in the classic Norman Lear sitcom All in the Family, catapulted him to fame.

Relatives of Lear, the legendary producer who died in 2023, said they were bereft by the news.

"Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world," said a Lear family statement. "Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Reiner's death a devastating loss for the city.

"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," Bass said in a statement. "An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others."

The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner has been married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989. The two met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally and have three children together.

Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981. He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at age 98 and Marshall died in 2018.