Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were murdered in their home just hours after attending a party hosted by Conan O’Brien, and have now been remembered in a touching tribute at the Oscars
The Oscars have delivered a touching tribute to Rob Reiner, who was murdered in his home just hours after attending a party held by friend and Oscars host Conan O’Brien.
Billy Crystal led the tribute to Rob, after having known him for years and appearing in his film When Harry Met Sally. Billy called Rob “brilliant” and shouted out his top films, including This Is Spinal Tap and Stand By Me. The actor choked up as he spoke, his voice breaking as he recalled his time with Rob on When Harry Met Sally.
“My friend Rob’s movies will last a life time,” Billy said. He added that when his wife Michele entered his life, Rob became “unstoppable”. Billy described Rob and Michele as the “driving force” behind marriage equality in the US and said “their loss is immeasurable”.
Shortly before all of Rob’s friends took to the stage, Billy concluded with: “For those of us who had the pleasure of working with him and loving him, all we can say is: Buddy we had fun storming the castle.”
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The iconic director and his wife died just minutes apart at the ages of 78 and 70, respectively. The death of the couple was even more tragic as their 32-year-old son Nick, who has battled addiction and mental health issues, was later arrested and charged for the murders.
Hours before Rob and Michele were brutally killed in their own home, they had attended a holiday party hosted by Conan, 62. Nick joined them at the party where the father and son were seen arguing before they left, and hours later, the legendary director and his wife were dead.
Conan later said what happened to his friend was “hard to comprehend”, especially as they were friends. “I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot,” he told the New Yorker.
“My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people. And to have that experience of saying goodnight to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful.”
In December last year, just two days after Rob and Michele’s murders rocked the entertainment world, The Hollywood Reporter published an article that shared details of Conan’s festive bash. The report stated that guests questioned if Nick was a stranger who had “walked in off the street” before he was spotted arguing with Rob.
The report went on to state that the family departed the party soon after and that while festivities continued, the atmosphere “was altered” by the scenes. A few short hours later, Rob and Michele were dead.
Nick was initially to face his charges in court in early January; however, his lawyer, Alan Jackson, abruptly quit. He said at the time that “Circumstances beyond our control” forced him off the case.
Nick was then granted a public defender, and the hearing was postponed to late February. Rob and Michele were also survived by their two other children: 34-year-old eldest son Jake Reiner and 28-year-old daughter Romy Reiner.
Rob, who gave us films like The Princess Bride, was among many that received a tribute at this year’s awards, including Diane Keaton, Catherine O’Hara and Robert Redford. Rachel McAdams led the tributes to Diane Keaton and Catherine O’Hara, whilst Barbra Streisand said some touching words about Robert Redford.
Streisand shared a beautiful anecdote about Redford nicknaming her Babs when they worked together and ended the tribute with a snippet of The Way We Were, her song for the film of the same name from 1973, that she and Redford starred in.
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