Rob Reiner, a well-known Hollywood director and producer, and his wife Michele, a distinguished photographer, were discovered dead at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles on Sunday.

The fatal incident is being investigated as an alleged homicide and the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, 32, was taken into custody and is being held on $4 million bail.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner. We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time,” a spokesperson for the family said in a statement.

Rob Reiner began his career on television, appearing as the vocal Mike “Meathead” Stivic on All in the Family before becoming one of Hollywood’s most respected and versatile directors. His extraordinary string of films, including This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…, Misery and A Few Good Men, made him a director who could switch with ease from comedy to drama to thriller.

A founding partner of Castle Rock Entertainment, he was instrumental in bringing The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and Seinfeld to the screen before later turning to smaller projects and political activism. “I came in to this business to express myself and tell stories,” he told the Guardian in 2018, “not just to crank out a product,” as he later described it.

Throughout his career, Reiner worked with some of the most prominent Hollywood figures, and following his tragic passing, condolences came pouring in.

Actor John Cusack, who starred in Reiner’s film The Sure Thing, wrote on X, “Shocked by the death of Rob Reiner – a great man.”

Elijah Wood, who appeared in Reiner’s 1994 family film North, wrote, “Horrified to hear of the passing of Rob Reiner and his wonderful wife Michele. So much love to their kids and family.”

Producer and writer Norman Lear, whom Reiner’s father, Carl Reiner, a successful comedian and writer, worked with on All in the Family, posted a tribute on behalf of his family. “Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world. Norman would have wanted to remind us that Rob and Michele spent every breath trying to make this country a better place, and they pursued that through their art, their activism, their philanthropy, and their love for family and friends.” Rob often referred to Norman as to his “second father.”

James Woods, who earned an Oscar nomination for starring in Reiner’s 1996 drama Ghosts of Mississippi, said he was “devastated by this terrible event”.

Among those deeply affected by Reiner’s and his wife’s dead was Monty Python actor and creator Eric Idle. The two first met back in 1975 at Carl Reiner’s home.

At the time of his death, Eric and Rob were working with John Cleese on a reboot of the comedy series Fawlty Towers, which Reiner and his wife were producing.

Idle revealed that a day before the tragedy, he and Rob spoke on the phone. Taking to X, Idle wrote, “I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his Dad’s in 1975. He was telling me about filming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.”

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