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Albert Brooks is reeling over the loss of his longtime friend Rob Reiner and the director’s wife, Michele Singer Reiner.
“Rob was my oldest friend. It’s that simple. He’s the person that I’ve known the longest. I met him when I was 14 years old. So I’m still in that not believing it stage,” Brooks, 78, told CBS News in a clip from the upcoming special CBS News: Rob Reiner — Scenes From a Life released on Friday, December 19. “I know it happened, but you know, I’m driving around and all of a sudden — I actually two days ago, I called his number.”
Rob and Brooks’ friendship began when they met at Beverly Hills High School in drama class. Six decades later, Rob and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood, California, home on Sunday, December 14, with apparent stab wounds, leaving their loved ones heartbroken. (Rob and Michele are survived by sons Jake, 34, and Nick, 32, and daughter Romy, 27, as well as Rob’s adopted daughter, Tracy, 61, from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.)
Hours after Rob and Michele’s bodies were found, Nick was arrested near the University of Southern California campus on suspicion of murder and held without bail. Nick was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Tuesday, December 16, and is facing life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted.
Nick appeared in court for the first time wearing a suicide prevention vest on Wednesday, December 17. His lawyer, Alan Jackson, told the court it was “too early” for him to enter a plea. An arraignment date was set for January 7, 2026.
Albert and his wife, Kimberly Brooks, were among some of Rob and Michele’s friends who spoke out in a joint statement on Tuesday with Billy and Janice Crystal, Martin Short, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith, following news of the murders.
“Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us,” read the statement shared with The Associated Press. “Absorbing all he had learned from his father, Carl, and his mentor, Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
“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,” the statement continued. “For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. 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 film maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.”
The statement highlighted Rob’s work outside of the realm of film, including his activism and philanthropy.
“Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife, Michele, he had the perfect partner. Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens … They were a special force together-dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever,” the statement concluded. “There is a line from one of Rob’s favorite films, It’s a Wonderful Life, ‘Each man’s life touches so many other lives, and when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?’ You have no idea.”
CBS News: Rob Reiner — Scenes From a Life airs on CBS Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT and will stream on Paramount+.
