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Hollywood lost a lot of good ones since last year. Diane Keaton, James Van Der Beek, Cary Hiroyuki-Tagawa, Catherine O’Hara, Robert Duvall, Val Kilmer, Robert Redford, to name just a few. But the loss of writer/director Rob Reiner, who was found dead near his wife, producer Michele Reiner, last December, was especially devastating given the violent circumstances. At the Oscars, the late filmmakers received an emotional tribute featuring the stars of Reiner’s movies standing hand in hand.
At the 98th Academy Awards, the annual In Memoriam tribute began with a tribute to Rob and Michele Reiner. Billy Crystal, a close friend of the Riners who starred in When Harry Met Sally, began the segment with a four-minute speech about Reiner’s most iconic movies. “I first met Rob Reiner in 1975, when I was cast as his best friend in an episode of All in the Family,” Crystal said onstage. “It went so well, I said, ‘It’s fun playing your friend. Why don’t we keep it going?’ And it was a thrill to see him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller.”
Starting with This Is Spinal Tap, Crystal’s speech zips through The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and, of course, When Harry Met Sally. Recalled Crystal: “With an Oscar-nominated Nora Ephron script, Bruno Kirby, Carrie Fisher, Meg Ryan, and myself, it was New York in the fall. Katz’s Deli, ‘I’ll have what she’s having,’ baby fishmouth, pecan pie, and Harry telling Sally, ‘When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.'”
He continued, “Audiences lined up to see his charming, funny films. So, he gave them Misery.”
It’s a testament to Reiner’s incredible work that Crystal didn’t stop there. The speech continued with a few words for Misery (for which Kathy Bates won the Academy Award for Best Actress), A Few Good Men, and The American President.
“My friends, Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes,” said Crystal. “Because they were about what makes us laugh, and cry, and what we aspire to be: far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human. And when Michelle Singer entered his life, they were unstoppable. A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both loved.” Crystal credited Rob and Michele Reiner for their roles in creating the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which led to legal same-sex marriage in the United States.
Crystal closed his speech by telling “the millions who have enjoyed his films” that it meant “everything” to Rob Reiner that his work was loved. “And for us, who had the privilege of working with and knowing him, and loving him, all we can say is: Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.” The segment ended with many of the stars from Rob Reiner’s films, including Michael McKean, Jerry O’Connell, Wil Wheaton, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Meg Ryan, Kathy Bates, John Cusack, Daphne Zuniga, and more, standing together as the In Memoriam tribute continued.
