Robert Reiner is an American actor, director, producer, and activist.
As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael Stivic,
son-in-law of Archie and Edith Bunker, on All in the Family.
That role earned him two Emmy Awards during the 1970s.
As a director, Reiner was recognized by the Directors Guild of America with nominations
for the coming of age drama comedy Stand by Me, the romantic comedy film When Harry Met
Sally..., and the courtroom drama A Few Good Men.
He also directed the psychological horror thriller film Misery, the romantic comedy
fantasy adventure film The Princess Bride and the heavy metal comedy-mockumentary This
Is Spinal Tap.
He studied at the UCLA Film School.
Early life Reiner was born to a Jewish family in The
Bronx, New York, and is the son of Estelle Reiner, an actress, and Carl Reiner, a comedian,
actor, writer, producer, and director.
As a child, Reiner lived at 48 Bonnie Meadow Road in New Rochelle, New York; the home of
the fictional Petrie family in The Dick Van Dyke Show, created by Rob's father, was 148
Bonnie Meadow Lane.
Career Reiner began his career writing for the Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968 and 1969.
A few years later, Reiner became famous playing Michael Stivic, Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law,
on Norman Lear's 1970s situation comedy All in the Family, which was the most-watched
television program in the United States for five seasons.
The character's nickname became closely associated with him, even after he had left the role
and went on to build a high-profile career as a director.
Reiner has stated, "I could win the Nobel Prize and they'd write 'Meathead wins the
Nobel Prize'."
In 1972, Reiner, Phil Mishkin, and Gerry Isenberg created the situation comedy The Super for
ABC.
Starring Richard S. Castellano, the show depicted the life of the harried Italian American superintendent
of a New York City apartment building and ran for 10 episodes in the summer of 1972.
Reiner and Mishkin co-wrote the premiere episode.
Beginning in the 1980s, Reiner became known as a director of several successful Hollywood
films.
Some of these films—Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, and This Is Spinal Tap— remain highly
popular with fans, with the latter two being cult classics.
He often collaborates with film editor Robert Leighton, whom he also shares with fellow
director-actor Christopher Guest as their go-to editor.
Reiner has gone on to direct other critically and commercially successful films with his
own company, Castle Rock Entertainment, such as When Harry Met Sally..., Misery, and his
most commercially successful work, A Few Good Men.
He has also been the target of modern satire, notably in a South Park episode entitled "Butt
Out".
Reiner has made cameos on a number of movies and television shows, including Throw Momma
from the Train, Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, The First Wives Club, Primary
Colors, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, New Girl, EDtv, and 30 Rock.
Personal life
Rob Reiner married actress/director Penny Marshall in 1971 and adopted Marshall's daughter
from a previous marriage, actress Tracy Reiner.
Reiner and Marshall divorced in 1981.
Reiner was introduced to his future wife, photographer Michele Singer, while directing
When Harry Met Sally.
That meeting not only resulted in his deciding to change the ending of that movie, but he
also eventually married Singer in 1989.
They have three children.
In 1997, Reiner and Singer founded the "I Am Your Child Foundation," now "Parents' Action
for Children," a non-profit organization promoting early childhood development by producing and
distributing celebrity-hosted educational videos for parents.
Reiner has devoted considerable time and energy to liberal activism in recent years.
His lobbying as an anti-smoking advocate in particular, earned his likeness a satirical
role in a South Park episode titled "Butt Out".
Reiner is a co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which initiated the court
challenge against California Proposition 8 which banned same-sex marriage in the state.
In 1998, Reiner chaired the campaign to pass Prop 10, the California Children and Families
Initiative, which created First 5 California, a program of early childhood development services,
funded by a tax on tobacco products.
He served as the first chairman of First 5 California, from 1999 to 2006.
Reiner came under criticism for campaigning for a ballot measure to fund state-run preschools
while still chair of the First Five Commission, causing him to resign from his position on
March 29, 2006.
An audit was conducted, and it concluded that the state commission did not violate state
law and that it had clear legal authority to conduct its public advertising campaigns
related to preschool.
In the end, Prop 82 failed to win approval, garnering only 39.1% support.
Reiner was mentioned as a possible candidate to run against California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger in 2006 but decided not to run for personal reasons.
He campaigned extensively for Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore in the 2000 Presidential election,
and he campaigned in Iowa for Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean just before the 2004
Iowa caucuses.
He endorsed Hillary Clinton for president for the 2008 election.
Reiner is a member of the Social Responsibility Task Force, an organization advocating moderation
where social issues and the entertainment industry meet.
He was criticized by the critically acclaimed animated television series, South Park, for
his negative portrayal of tobacco smokers in the media.
Reiner is also active in environmental issues, and he successfully led the effort to establish
California's Ahmanson Ranch as a state park and wildlife refuge rather than as a commercial
real estate development.
He introduced Spinal Tap at the London Live Earth concert in July 2007.
Reiner has stated that his childhood home was not observantly Jewish, although he did
have a Bar Mitzvah.
He identified himself as having no religious affiliation on the January 13, 2012 episode
of Real Time with Bill Maher.
Reiner later told Huffington Post contributor Debra Oliver that while he rejected organized
religion, he was sympathetic to the ideas of Buddhism.
Filmography References
External links Rob Reiner at the Internet Movie Database
Rob Reiner's biography, awards, and milestones at Hollywood.com
Rob Reiner Archive of American Television Interview
American Foundation for Civil Rights at Wehoconfidential.com Rob Reiner interview video at the Archive
of American Television