UPDATE: Reiner and his wife, Michele, were killed by their son, Nick, multiple sources confirm to PEOPLE. This aligns with previous reports that stated this was a “family incident.”
EARLIER: A shocking development. Rob Reiner was found dead Sunday afternoon in his Brentwood home alongside his wife, Michele Singer. He was 78. The deaths are being investigated as a homicide.
Reiner and his 70-year-old wife were discovered dead in their home, with the couple “suffering lacerations consistent with a knife,” according to law enforcement sources who spoke to TMZ.
Some people tend to forget just how remarkable Reiner’s hot streak was in the ’80s and ’90s. Over an eight-year span, he delivered a run of mainstream classics: “This Is Spinal Tap,” “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “Misery,” and “A Few Good Men.”
As an actor, Reiner is best remembered for playing the liberal firebrand Michael “Meathead” Stivic on “All in the Family,” a role that made him a household name before his directing career took off. He later became inseparable from “This Is Spinal Tap” as the deadpan documentarian Marty DiBergi, and popped up memorably in films like “Sleepless in Seattle,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street.”
When one looks at the six Reiner classics he directed, a clear thought emerges: they are all drastically different, particularly in genre. “Spinal Tap” is a music mockumentary, “Stand by Me” is a coming-of-age film, “The Princess Bride” is fantasy with a satirical edge, “When Harry Met Sally” is a romantic comedy, “Misery” is horror, and “A Few Good Men” is a political drama. The range Reiner brought to these films was truly unheard of.
His other notable directorial efforts include “The American President,” “The Sure Thing,” and “The Bucket List.” This year, Reiner directed “This is Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” — his first film in eight years.
More to come…