Shocking news revealed Rob Reiner was found dead in his Los Angeles mansion, aged 78, along with his wife of 36 years, Michele Reiner.
He had an illustrious career as a film director, beginning with 1984’s genre-defining ‘rockumentary’ This Is Spinal Tap. A sequel released this year, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, was the final contribution of his directorial career.
This track record led Richard Osman to choose him as one of the four all-time greatest film directors in a recent episode of The Rest Is Entertainment.
When asked by a listener who would be on the podcast hosts’ ‘Mount Rushmore’ of directors, Osman chose Reiner alongside Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder and Steven Spielberg.
He explained: "My fourth one is Rob Reiner, only because I think he had the greatest run of movies that anyone's ever made with Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men and Stand by Me and Misery.”
Podcast co-host Marina Hyde described his film career as “unbelievable”.
Osman suggested that Reiner’s focus on comedy may be the reason others may overlook him as one of the all-time Hollywood greats: “He’s a name that wouldn’t ordinarily be put on that ‘Mount Rushmore’ but I think we need to have a little rethink about Rob Reiner and his career."
Hyde also went with Hitchcock, Wilder and Spielberg, but chose Martin Scorsese as her fourth.
"That's a hell of a snub to Rob Reiner," Osman joked.
As well as having an acclaimed career behind the camera, Reiner also acted on screen a number of times. He played the role of Marty DiBergi in both Spinal Tap films, memorably appearing alongside Christopher Guest as his character Nigel Tufnel explained how his guitar amp volume goes up to eleven.
He also appeared in three episodes of TV series The Bear, as business consultant Albert Schnur in season four this year.
