Rob ReinerBirth Place: The Bronx, New York, USA Date of Birth: March 6, 1947 Heritage: American Famous for: His role as Mike Stivic in 'All in the Family' Contact Rob Reiner | 
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When Harry Met Sally Background: American director, producer, writer and actor Rob Reiner rose to fame in the 1970s playing Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton's son-in-law, Michael Stivic, in the groundbreaking sitcom “All in the Family,” a role he had from 1971 to 1978. The role brought him two Emmy Awards and five Golden Globe nominations. Commenting about costar Carroll O'Connor, he said, “He couldn't have been more different from Archie Bunker. He cared about the little guy. He shone a light on bigotry and ignorance and hope. Arguably, he created the single most indelible character in the history of American television.” He branched out to feature film directing in 1984 with the cult hit “This Is A Spinal Tap” and continued to score a string of box office hits with “Stand By Me” (1986), “The Princess Bride” (1987), “When Harry Met Sally…” (1989), “Misery” (1990) and “A Few Good Men” (1992), which brought him an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. He nabbed Golden Globe and DGA nominations for “Stand By Me,” “When Harry Met Sally…” and “A Few Good Men” and an additional Independent Spirit nomination for the first. He received his next Golden Globe nomination for “The American President” (1995). Reiner's more recent directing credits include “Ghosts of Mississippi” (1996), “The Story of Us” (1999), “Rumor Has It...” (2005) and “The Bucket List” (2007). In 1996, he jointly picked up a National Board of Review Award for his acting performance in “The First Wives Club” (1996). Reiner is the cofounder of Castle Rock Entertainment. For his motion picture work, Reiner was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 12, 1999. He has been awarded the 1994 American Cinematheque Award from the American Cinematheque Gala Tribute, People's Choice Awards Honoree at the 1997 People's Choice Awards, the 1997 Creative Achievement Award from the American Comedy Awards, the 2001 Career Achievement Award from the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the 2003 Dream Director Award at the Young Hollywood Awards. He also won the 2001 Golden Eddie Filmmaker of the Year Award from the American Cinema Editors. Along with wife Michelle Singer-Reiner, he received the Humanitarian Award from the 1997 Women in Film Crystal Awards. Since the late 1990s, Reiner has split his time between movies and activism. He is an avid supporter of environmental issues and a member of the Social Responsibility Task Force. On politics, Reiner supported Al Gore during his 2000 presidential campaign and Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean and Hillary Clinton in the 2008 election. Reiner has been married twice. He and present wife Michelle Singer have three children together. In the late 1980s, he was linked to actress Elizabeth McGovern.
Childhood and Family: Born Robert N. Reiner on March 6, 1947, in The Bronx, New York, Rob Reiner was raised in New Rochelle, New York, by the famous comedian Carl Reiner (born on March 20, 1923), who wrote and performed on TV shows such as NBC's “Your Show of Shows” and CBS' “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” and actress turned cabaret singer Estelle Reiner (passed away on October 25, 2008). He has a sister named Sylivia Ann Reiner (poet, playwright and author), and a brother named Lucas Reiner (painter). When Rob was 13 his family moved to Los Angeles, California, where he attended Beverly Hills High School. He was high school friends with Richard Dreyfuss, Albert Brooks and Bonnie Franklin. After graduating in 1964, he studied drama at the University of California. He also performed with the comedy troupe The Session. Rob married actress/director Penny Marshall (born on October 15, 1943) on April 10, 1971. Shortly thereafter, he adopted Penny's daughter from a previous marriage, Tracy Reiner (born on July 7, 1964). The couple divorced in 1979. Rob married Michele Singer on May 19, 1989. They welcomed their first child, son Jake Reiner, in 1991. The family welcomed a second son, Nick Reiner, on September 14, 1993, and a daughter, Romy Reiner, on December 27, 1997.
Career: The son of a noted comedian, Rob Reiner knew he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father Carl Reiner. While attending college, he co-founded the improvisational comedy troupe The Session, through which he performed various sketches. In 1967, he made his first film appearance by playing the supporting role of Clark Baxter in “Enter Laughing,” a comedy directed and scripted by his father. He also began appearing in episodes of TV sitcoms, such as “Hey, Landlord” (1966-1967), “That Girl” (1966-1967), “The Andy Griffith Show” (1967), “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.” (1967-1969) and “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1969). In the late 1960s, Reiner joined the comedy group The Committee. In a performance in Los Angeles, he caught the eye of Tommy Smothers of the musical comedy team the Smothers Brothers and was recruited to write for the popular CBS variety comedy show “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (1967), where he was paired with another up and coming comedian Steve Martin. After the show’s cancellation in 1969, he returned to acting with a supporting role of Leaky Couloris in the teen drama “Halls of Anger” (1970), which was directed by Paul Bogart, before being reunited with his dad in the comedy film “Where's Poppa” (1970), starring George Segal and Ruth Gordon. It was not until the following year that Reiner scored a big breakthrough when he landed a regular role on the Norman Lear created sitcom “All In The Family,” opposite Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton. An adaptation of the British television comedy series “Till Death Us Do Part,” the show was a huge success in America and became the most watched TV show from 1971 to 1976. Cast as Michael Stivic, Gloria’s (played by Sally Struthers) Polish American husband, he was nominated for five Emmy Awards and won in 1974 for Best Supporting Actor in Comedy and in 1978 in the category of Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. He was also nominated for the Best Supporting Actor - Television five times at the Golden Globe Awards. Reiner left the show in the 1978. In addition to acting, he also wrote the episodes “Mike's Hippie Friends Come to Visit” (1971), “Flashback: Mike Meets Archie” (1971), “Flashback - Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 1” (1972) and “Flashback - Mike and Gloria's Wedding: Part 2” (1972). While on “All in the Family,” Reiner also appeared as a guest in several TV series, including “Getting Together” (1971), “The Odd Couple” (1974), “The Rockford Files” (1976) and “Good Heavens” (1976) and executive produced and headlined the short lived series “Free Country” (1978). He also supported Michael Douglas and Jack Warden in the Anthony Newly directed drama “Summertree” (1971), acted with his then-wife Penny Marshall in the independent film “How Come Nobody's on Our Side” (1975) and costarred with Alan Arkin in “Fire Sale” (1977), which was directed by Arkin. He was reunited with Marshall in the TV film “More Than Friends” (1978), which he also wrote with Phil Mishkin. Outside of acting, he produced and wrote the ABC sitcom “The Super” (1972) and wrote episodes of TV series, such as “Happy Days” and “Saturday Night Live.” After Reiner left “All in the Family,” he reprised his famous role of Michael 'Meathead' Stivic in two episodes of “Archie Bunker's Place,” a revamped version of “All in the Family,” and performed with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Billy Crystal and Harry Sheareron, among other comedians, in the sketch comedy show “The T.V. Show,” which he also executive produced and wrote (both 1979). That same year, he had an unaccredited part in his father's movie “The Jerk.” His father went on to direct him in his Broadway debut, “The Roast” (1980). In 1982, Rob wrote, co-produced and costarred in the TV film “Million Dollar Infield,” but did not move into feature film directing until two years later with “This Is Spinal Tap” (1984), which he also wrote with Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer and starred in with Guest, McKean and Shearer. A mock musical documentary about the fictional heavy metal band Spinal Tap, the film enjoyed minor success upon its release but has since achieved cult status. He made his second directorial effort with the comedy “The Sure Thing” (1985), which starred John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga and Nicollette Sheridan and was written by Stephen L. Bloom and Jonathan Roberts. Reiner’s directing career gained a significant boost in 1986 with “Stand By Me,” a touching coming of age drama based on Stephen King's “The Body.” Starring Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell and Kiefer Sutherland, the film received critical raves and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. It was also a box office success. The film grossed over $52 million against an original budget of $8 million. For his work, Reiner earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture, a Directors Guild of America nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures, an Independent Spirit nomination for Best Director, and a Readers' Choice Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1988 Kinema Junpo Awards. In 1987, Reiner produced “The Princess Bride,” which was adapted by William Goldman from his novel of the same name. An offbeat fairy tale that combined comedy, romance, adventure and fantasy, the film earned generally positive reviews from critics and became an instant classic. The cast included Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, André the Giant, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk, Fred Savage, Wallace Shawn, Carol Kane and his frequent collaborator Billy Crystal. Reiner won a People's Choice Award at the 1987 Toronto International Film Festival for the film. Also in 1987, Reiner appeared in “It's Garry Shandling's Show” and stepped in front of the film cameras as an actor in Danny DeVito's directorial debut “Throw Momma from the Train,” which costarred DeVito and Crystal. He also formed the production company Castle Rock Entertainment, which was named after a fictional Maine town in Stephen King's work, in 1987 with Alan Horn, Glenn Padnick, Martin Shafer and Andrew Scheinman. Reiner closed out the decade with the successful romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally…” (1989), starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. Written by Nora Ephron, the film was well received by critics and Reiner picked up a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture, a DGA nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures and a BAFTA Film nomination for Best Film. Costing approximately $16 million to produce, the film collected over $92 million at the domestic box office. 1990 found Reiner making a brief return to the small screen portraying Max King III in the TV series pilot “Partners in Life,” opposite Kevin Pollak and Jennifer Jason Leigh. He then costarred with Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Quaid and Gene Hackman in the Mike Nichols directed drama “Postcards from the Edge” (1990), with a screenplay by Carrie Fisher based on her 1987 semi autobiographical novel of the same name. He then appeared with his father in the time travel comedy “The Spirit of '76” (1990), the directorial debut of his younger brother Lucas Reiner. Also in 1990, he returned to the director's chair to helm James Caan and Kathy Bates in the thriller “Misery,” another adaptation of Stephen King's work. Produced in partnership between Castle Rock Entertainment and Columbia Picture, the film was well received by audiences and critics and scored over $61 million at the box office against a budget of $20 million. Under his direction, Bates won Academy and Golden Globe Awards for her portrayal of Annie Wilkes. In 1991, Reiner created the sitcom “Morton & Hayes,” with long time partner Phil Mishkin. Debuting on CBS on July 24, 1991, the show was axed after six episodes. He also served as a host and executive produced the show. He quickly bounced back as the director and producer of the courtroom drama “A Few Good Men” (1992), based on a Broadway play of the same name by Aaron Sorkin. Starring Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Pollak, Kevin Bacon, J.T. Walsh and Kiefer Sutherland, the film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Nicholson), Best Film Editing and Best Sound and five Golden Globe Awards. Apart from Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, Reiner also picked up a DGA nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures. At the box office, “A Few Good Men” earned over $141 million in the U.S. and $96 million in foreign countries. Back to acting, Reiner was cast as the friend of Tom Hanks in Nora Ephron's “Sleepless in Seattle” (1993), offered a notable supporting turn as Sheldon Flender in Woody Allen's “Bullets Over Broadway” (1994), opposite Dianne West, John Cusack, Jennifer Tilly and Chazz Palminteri, and played Dr. Kinsky in “Mixed Nuts” (1994), which reunited him with director/writer Nora Ephron. He also appeared in Sam Weisman's “Bye Bye Love” (1995), Jason Alexander's “For Better or Worse” (1995), “Hugh Wilson's “The First Wives Club” (1996), from which he shared a National Board of Review for Best Acting by an Ensemble, and Larry Bishop's “Mad Dog Time” (1996). In 1994, Reiner produced and directed the drama film “North,” based on Alan Zweibel's “North: The Tale of a 9-Year-Old Boy Who Becomes a Free Agent and Travels the World in Search of the Perfect Parents.” The film received primarily negative reviews and was a box office failure. It collected six Razzie nominations, including Worst Director for Reiner and Worst Picture, which Reiner shared with Alan Zweibel. He leaped back the following year with the romantic “The American President,” which brought him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Director - Motion Picture. The film was written by Aaron Sorkin and starred Michael Douglas, Annette Bening, Martin Sheen, Michael J. Fox and Richard Dreyfuss. He followed it up by directing Alec Baldwin, Whoopi Goldberg, James Woods, William H. Macy and Craig T. Nelson in the civil rights drama “Ghosts of Mississippi” (1996), from which Woods earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting portrayal of Byron De La Beckwith. After co-writing and directing the documentary “I Am Your Child” (1997), Reiner resumed his acting career with a supporting role in Mike Nichols' “Primary Colors” (1998). It was followed by another supporting role in Ron Howard's “Edtv” (1999) and a cameo in Albert Brooks' comedy “The Muse” (1999). 1999 also found him directing, producing and acting in the drama film “The Story of Us,” which starred Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer. In 2001, Reiner's voice could be heard as a studio executive in the Frank Darabont helmed drama “The Majestic,” starring Jim Carrey. He then directed and produced the romantic comedy film “Alex and Emma” (2003), where he also played he character Wirtschafter, executive produced, helmed and acted in the made for TV film “Everyday Life” (2004) and played Futterman in the 2005 TV series “Hopeless Pictures.” In 2005, he stepped behind the camera to direct Jennifer Aniston and Kevin Costner in the comedy “Rumor Has It...,” which was written by Ted Griffin, who was originally hired to direct the film before being replaced by Reiner. After lending his voice to the 2006 animated film “Everyone's Hero,” as Screwie, Reiner directed Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman in the drama “The Bucket List” (2007), written by Justin Zackham. Despite a mixed reception, the film was a success at the box office. “This is kind of a little minefield here. You want to get the tone right for it. This is a subject that you have to deal with comically. It's still got to be funny. You want sentiment, not sentimentality. These are all the sidewalls you want to not fracture the picture on. Not that I don't like an easy job.” Rob Reiner (on producing “The Bucket List”) His last film, “Flipped,” adapted from a young adult novel of the same name by Wendelin Van Draanen, is slated to be released on September 17, 2010, with Reiner directing and sharing the screen writing credit with Andrew Scheinman.
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