Billy Crystal, Martin Short, Albert Brooks & Larry David Release Joint Statement About Their Friend Rob Reiner

A group of Rob Reiner‘s closest friends has released a joint statement following the actor’s tragic passing.

Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their Brentwood home in California by their daughter, Romy Reiner, on December 14. Their son Nick Reiner was set to be charged with double homicide in their deaths, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman announced on Tuesday, December 16.

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Billy Crystal, Albert Brooks, Martin Short, Larry David & Many Others Release Touching Statement

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A joint statement was released by Billy and Janice Crystal, Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith on Rob and Michele Reiner’s passing

“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,” they wrote in a statement to the Associated Press.

“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,” the statement added. “We were their friends, and we will miss them forever,” it said, before concluding with a quote from one of Reiner’s favorite films, the Christmastime classic “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,” they concluded.  

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Romy Reiner Called Billy Crystal After Discovering Her Parents’ Bodies

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Legendary actors Billy Crystal and Larry David were spotted at Reiner’s house on the night of the actor’s passing, ABC 7 Los Angeles reported, adding that they “stayed briefly before departing,” with Crystal being described by a neighbor as looking “like he was about to cry.”

TMZ added that Crystal saw the bodies of Reiner and his wife after they were killed. 

“Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ Rob and Michele’s daughter Romy called Crystal and his wife not long after she called police to report finding her parents brutally murdered inside their Brentwood home Sunday,” the outlet wrote. “Sources with direct knowledge tell us Billy and his wife raced over to the house — and were there so quickly, one source tells us — the couple actually saw their slain friends … and wanted to say their goodbyes.”

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