Hollywood has not been light on memorials to Rob Reiner and his wife Michele in the five months since their deaths, with colleagues, coworkers, friends, and more speaking in interviews, profiles, and from the Oscars stage about the impact that both Reiners had on their lives and careers (to say nothing of those on whose behalf they tirelessly advocated). We can now add an even more personal account to the list, courtesy of the Reiners’ son Jake, who posted a new essay this week memorializing his parents.
The younger Reiner shies away from any sensationalism embedded in the tragedy—including only a few small allusions to his brother Nick, who has been accused of their parents’ murders. Instead, he focuses on his relationship with both parents, reflecting on his love of musicals with his mother Michele, and his shared passion for baseball with his father. (Including noting that the Reiners managed to see baseball games at every stadium in America during their time together.) Writing about his mother, Reiner notes, “My mom was really funny and constantly complained about how nobody in the family thought she was. It always made me laugh when she’d say something sarcastic, and none of us would pick up on it because it sounded so genuine.” Of his father: “I love how he would analyze my dreams or how I felt I could come talk to him about anything. No subject was ever off-limits.”
Reiner notes that he and his sister Romy “lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” and are still struggling with a public response. (He notes that while this is his story, “Romy will tell hers in her own way and in her time.”) “I understand that people have questions about what happened,” Reiner finishes. “Some of those answers will come in time. But some parts of this belong only to our family, and keeping them private is the only way to protect what little remains of something that was taken from us.”
You can read the full essay here.
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