Larry David, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Albert Brooks, more pen letter remembering Rob Reiner

"Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range," the late director's friends write.

By Drew Gillis  |  December 17, 2025 | 10:37am
Screenshot: 60 Minutes/YouTube
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Larry David, Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Albert Brooks, more pen letter remembering Rob Reiner

The world continues to grapple with the untimely deaths of Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner. Much of the information we’ve learned since Sunday night has only reinforced the tragic nature of their deaths, but there has also been an outpouring of love and admiration from people who worked with and knew the couple. Jerry Seinfeld wrote that Reiner “saw something no one else could” when he was trying to get Seinfeld off the ground and that he “saved us from cancellation.” Kathy Bates, who starred in and won an Oscar for Reiner’s Misery, remembered him to NBC News as a “brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist.”

Last night, several of Reiner’s friends shared a joint letter with the Associated Press (via The Guardian) wherein they also remembered his character and artistic talent. Billy and Janice Crystal, Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan Zweibel and his wife Robin, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and his husband, Lou Mirabal; Barry and Diana Levinson, and former US ambassador to Spain James Costos and his partner, Michael Smith were the signers of the letter, which remembers Reiner as “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,” reads the letter. It adds later, “Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens.” You can read the whole letter for yourself below. 

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. 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 film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.

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 … They were a special force together – dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.

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.

 
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