While Hollywood continues to grieve the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, the director’s friend Corey Feldman revealed his first reaction to hearing the tragic news and the subsequent arrest of their son Nick Reiner.
“As we watched the news unfold, I was actually the first one who said, ‘I think it was his son,’” Feldman, 54, told cameras in The Rob Reiner Story: A Hollywood Tragedy – ABC News Special, which aired on ABC Tuesday, December 16. “It’s awful. It’s the worst thing I could imagine. … Accepting that fact that this could have happened in his home from his own son, it sent shivers and chills down all of us.”
In the episode, reporters and loved ones revisited Rob’s iconic legacy as a famed actor and director while also reflecting on his and Michele’s tragic and shocking deaths. In addition to Feldman, who starred in Reiner’s 1986 film Stand By Me, the special included commentary from ABC News contributors Chris Connelly and Larry Hackett.
Feldman, who has also battled addiction in his life, offered his thoughts on Nick’s longtime battle with drugs and the fraught relationship that developed with his parents because of it, explaining, “When you grow up living around drug addiction and alcoholism, it’s a lot easier to accept it and process it when it comes to your own family. When we don’t understand the plight of our friends and family, and we don’t understand what a slippery slope addiction is, it’s hard to have empathy for it.”
“All I could think is, ‘Oh my God, there’s no way this could have happened to my friend,’” Feldman remembered thinking after learning of Rob’s death.
Rob and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood, California, home on Sunday, December 14, with apparent stab wounds. Nick, 32, was arrested on Monday, December 15, on suspicion of murder hours after his parents’ bodies were found. He is being held without bail.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced in a Tuesday press conference that Nick has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is facing life in prison without parole or the death penalty if he is convicted.
“Rob Reiner was a brilliant actor and director, an iconic force in our entertainment industry for decades,” Hochman said. “His wife, Michelle Singer Riner, was an equally iconic photographer and producer. Their loss is beyond tragic and we will commit ourselves to bringing their murderer to justice.”
Rob and Michele were seen with Nick at Conan O’Brien’s Christmas party one day before their deaths on Saturday, December 13. A source told Us that Nick acted “creepily” at the event and asked people “if they were famous” before leaving. Additionally, TMZ reported Nick and Rob got into a “very loud argument” at the celebration.
The son of actors Carl and Estelle Reiner, Rob’s career spanned six decades, with him gaining notoriety for his acting work in the sitcom All in the Family for eight seasons throughout the ‘70s. Additionally, he appeared in Sleepless in Seattle (1993), The First Wives Club (1996) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), in addition to his unforgettable work behind the camera.
Some of Rob’s greatest directorial features included This Is Spinal Tap (1984), When Harry Met Sally (1989), A Few Good Men (1992) and The Bucket List (2007). His life and career is being remembered in tributes shared by his fans, friends and former collaborators after his death, including Jerry O’Connell, Zooey Deschanel and Jamie Lee Curtis.
“Christopher and I are numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends Rob and Michele Singer Reiner and our ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them,” Curtis, 67, said in a statement to Us Weekly on Monday on behalf of her and her husband, Christopher Guest. (Curtis, 67, costarred with Rob in New Girl, while her husband, Guest, 77, worked with Rob on a number of films, including This Is Spinal Tap and its 2025 sequel.)
“There will be plenty of time later to discuss the creative lives we shared a the great political and social impact they both had on the entertainment industry, early childhood development, the fight for gay marriage and their global care for a world in crisis. We have lost great friends. Please give us time to grieve,” she concluded.
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