British comedian and Monty Python member Eric Idle has said he spoke with filmmaker Rob Reiner just hours before Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead at their Brentwood home in Los Angeles, in what authorities are investigating as an apparent homicide. Reiner was 78. Michele Reiner was 68.
Idle shared the information in a post on X early Monday, recalling a long conversation with Reiner late Sunday night. According to Idle, the two spoke for over an hour, discussing filmmaking and Reiner’s recent work on Spinal Tap II: The End Continues.
“Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour,” Idle wrote. “He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful.”
According to multiple media reports citing family sources, the couple were allegedly killed by their son, Nick Reiner. Their bodies were reportedly discovered by their daughter, Romy Reiner. The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that Nick was taken into custody on December 15 and is being held on $4 million bail. Officials have not released further details, and the investigation remains ongoing.
“I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man,” Idle added in a follow-up post, expressing shock and grief over the unfortunate news.
Who is Eric Idle?
Eric Idle is widely known for his work with Monty Python in the 1960s and 1970s. His 1978 television mockumentary All You Need Is Cash, centred on a fictional band called the Rutles, is often cited as a precursor to Reiner’s 1984 cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. Reiner later expanded the franchise with Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, released earlier this year.
The Reiner family confirmed the deaths in a statement to Variety on Sunday, requesting privacy during what they described as an “unbelievably difficult time.”
Rob and Michele Reiner had been married since 1989. They met while Reiner was working on When Harry Met Sally, the 1989 romantic comedy classic that he directed. Reiner had previously said that meeting Michele influenced how he approached the film’s ending.
In addition to Nick and Romy, the couple also shared a son, Jake Reiner, a Hollywood producer. Rob Reiner is also survived by his daughter Tracy Reiner from his first marriage to filmmaker Penny Marshall.
