Rob Reiner’s death and legacy
Post Reports
The Washington Post
4.4 • 5.1K Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 22 minutes
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Summary
Rob Reiner is the director of classics that include “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally” and “This is Spinal Tap.” His wife Michele Singer Reiner worked alongside him and was famous in her own right, including photographing what would become the cover of Donald Trump’s book “The Art of the Deal.” The Reiners were advocates for Democratic candidates and causes.
News of their deaths over the weekend sparked an outpouring of grief – and was met with more shock when the couple’s son Nick Reiner was arrested on suspicion of murder in his parents’ deaths. Features reporter Sonia Rao explains what we know about the killings so far and the public’s reaction – including disparaging comments by the president.
Today’s show was produced by Sabby Robinson. It was edited by Peter Bresnan and mixed by Sam Bair.
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Correction: A previous version of this episode description misspelled Michele Singer Reiner's first name.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | From I'll Have What She's Having to You Can't Handle the Truth. |
| 0:06.7 | Rob Reiner's films gave us some of the most iconic movie moments of all time. |
| 0:11.6 | He directed more than 20 films, including when Harry met Sally, a few good men, and the Princess Bride. |
| 0:22.4 | On Saturday afternoon, Reiner and his wife, Michelle Singer, were found dead in their Los Angeles |
| 0:28.8 | home. |
| 0:30.2 | He was 78, and she was 70. |
| 0:33.5 | Late Sunday night, their son, 32-year-old Nick Reiner, was arrested on suspicion of their murder. |
| 0:40.2 | He's now being held in an L.A. Correctional Center without bail. |
| 0:44.8 | The Reiner's were Hollywood royalty. |
| 0:47.4 | He and actor, director, her a photographer, and a producer. |
| 0:51.5 | They both were influential in democratic politics and causes, |
| 0:55.0 | and the news of their deaths |
| 0:56.9 | have devastated |
| 0:57.9 | both the entertainment |
| 0:59.0 | and political worlds. |
| 1:06.5 | From the newsroom of the Washington Post, |
| 1:08.8 | this is Post Reports. |
| 1:10.7 | I'm Colby Echowitz. It's Tuesday, December 16th. |
| 1:14.9 | Today we speak to Post features reporter Sonia Rao about the death of Rob Reiner, |
| 1:19.9 | his cultural and political legacy, and how President Donald Trump responded to Reiner's passing. |
| 1:34.1 | Thank you. Trump responded to Reiner's passing. Sonia, thank you so much for joining me. |
| 1:36.4 | Hi. Thank you for having me. |
... |
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