Billy Crystal led honors for Rob Reiner onstage during the In Memoriam segment at the Academy Awards on Sunday. He was joined onstage by actors from Reiner’s films, including “This Is Spinal Tap,” “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and “A Few Good Men.” Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga all took the stage to celebrate his work.
“And for us, who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, ‘Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,’ ” Crystal said.
Crystal spoke about the impact of Reiner’s filmography on the American public.
“My friend Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be — far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier and far more human,” Crystal said.
Crystal also spoke about Reiner’s wife, Michelle, and the activism campaigns the two led.
“A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both loved,” Crystal said. “Now, Rob and Michelle Reiner became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality across the United States.”
Reiner and his wife, Michelle, were killed in their home in Los Angeles on Dec. 14. Their son Nick, who was charged with two counts of first degree murder, allegedly stabbed his parents after an argument at Oscars host Conan O’Brien’s holiday party. Nick has pleaded not guilty.
After the deaths, Ryan took to Instagram to thank the late couple for having “faith in the best in people.”
“I have to believe that their story will not end with this impossible tragedy, that some good may come, some awareness raised,” Ryan wrote. “I don’t know, but my guess is that they would want that to be hopeful and humane, to be something that brings us all to a greater understanding of one another and to some peace.”
In a statement, Crystal, Larry David, Martin Short and the Reiners’ other friends said “there is no other director who has his range.”
“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,” the statement read. “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 filmmaker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”
Despite a sprawling career, Reiner received only one Oscar nomination, for best picture for 1992’s “A Few Good Men.”
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