Billy Crystal has paid tribute to his close friend Rob Reiner after the director and his wife Michele Singer were killed over the weekend.
The couple’s son Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with their deaths on Tuesday (16 December). The 32-year-old was arrested on Sunday, hours after the bodies of his parents were found, by his sister, at their Brentwood estate.
Crystal, who starred alongside Meg Ryan in Reiner’s 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, shared a joint statement alongside other stars, including Larry David, Albert Brooks, Martin Short and Get Shorty director Barry Levinson.
They praised Reiner as a “master storyteller” whose “comedic touch was beyond compare”.
Read the full statement shared with Associated Press below:
“Going to the movies in a dark theatre 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. 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.
“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 filmmaker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”
The statement ended with a quote from one of Reiner’s favourite films, Frank Capra’s 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?” they wrote, adding: “You have no idea.”
Crystal and his wife Janice were called to the scene of the crime by Reiner’s daughter Romy shortly after she discovered her parents’ bodies on Sunday.
The actor first met Reiner on the set of All in the Family, the US sitcom adaptation of Till Death Us Do Part.
He looked back on their friendship in 2016, telling The Hollywood Reporter that, soon after being cast as best friends on the show, they “became the closest of friends” in real life and “spent all kinds of time together” when Crystal moved to New York.
Crystal recalled attending an early screening of When Harry Met Sally, where they both realised the now iconic orgasm scene would go down in history, which ends with a character played by Reiner’s mother Estelle stating: “I’ll have what she’s having.”
He said the reaction “was thunderous”, adding: “We just grabbed each other’s hands because we knew something exciting was about to happen with this movie.”
Reiner’s son Nick reportedly attended Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party with his parents on Saturday, hours before their bodies were found. Sources told NBC News that some partygoers found his behaviour concerning.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said charges against Nick may carry a maximum sentence of life in prison or the death penalty. He is expected to appear in court once he’s medically cleared.
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