The Sound Board

This one has hit very hard.

Rob Reiner has been a hero of mine for decades. His name was almost never raised in "greatest director" lists and yet for me he was always at the top, and there is really no-one else quite like him. Many are now pointing out what an extraordinary run this was:

This Is Spinal Tap
The Sure Thing
Stand By Me
The Princess Bride
When Harry Met Sally
Misery
A Few Good Men

What is so remarkable, almost every one of this films is a different genre and are considered classics of that genre. He was a supremely gifted storyteller who wasn't big or showy, just made outstanding movies. He was also a true humanitarian and - by all accounts - a fantastic guy.

So I am heartbroken. May whatever this act of hatred was that ended his life and that of his beloved wife - they met on the set of When Harry Met Sally after he hadn't dated for a decade - never crush the joyful, exuberant spirit that lives on in the legacy of his work.

for reasons I don't completely understand, "Princess Bride" stands at the front of that list for me.

I can't begin to imagine a reason to end his and his wife's lives.

Not sure I even want to know...

I've probably told my Princess Bride story but what the hell.

I can't remember now what film we went to see back in 1987 in Beckenham, SE London. All I know is that either we were late or it was sold out or the ceiling had caved in or some such reason for why we couldn't watch whatever it was we had gone to see. It was a 3 screen cinema, and we kicked our heels wondering what to do.

Screen 2 had this lame girls / kids film adventure called The Princess Bride. The poster looked awful. But I scanned the credits and saw comedians Mel Smith and Peter Cook were in it, and thought - oh what the hell, we're here now let's give it a go.

And so it was we were 5 of probably only 100 people in all of England who saw The Princess Bride at the cinema. For years it was "my" film because it was clearly the most wonderous work of genius and no-one else had heard of it, still less seen it.

I think everyone else has pretty much caught up now.

To this day there isn't really another film with the same tone.

And as if it isn't horrible enough already:

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/1 ... h-00690682

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Wow, that's... pretty bad even by his standards.

I was just getting geared up for a Spinal Tap marathon during the holidays too. Never seen the others, but now I want to.

Very sad.

Piet De Ridder wrote: ↑Dec 15, 2025 11:12 am And as if it isn't horrible enough already:

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/1 ... h-00690682

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In the interests of balance, here is what that awful ex-president Barack Obama had to say.

And because Rob was a proud progressive and a Democrat and because he is dead and because he loathed Trump, I'm going to post a few responses to the President's "tribute" (all, needless to say, with colossal support).

Will Stancil
Genuinely think our society is lost if we can’t find a way to start caring that the ostensibly most powerful man in the world acts like this.

Neera Tanden
We have never had a person of worse character as President of the United States. It's mortifying how this great country chose to do this to itself.

zoë rose bryant
i don’t even have the words. hell isn’t hot enough

George Conway
I know I've been beating this drum for over seven years now, but @realDonaldTrump is a very and truly sick man who should be in a mental or penal institution and certainly not the White House.

Nick Cohen
What a piece of shit that man is

Adam Kinzinger
The most classless human on the planet ladies and gents

Chris D. Jackson
The damage this man has done to the character and soul of this country is almost impossible to measure. And it doesn’t end when he’s gone. He poisoned the well, and we’re going to be dealing with it for a long time.

Keith Edwards
I'm at a loss for words. This is disgusting.

Russell Moore
How this vile, disgusting, and immoral behavior has become normalized in the United States is something our descendants will study in school, to the shame of our generation.

Thomas Massie
Regardless of how you felt about Rob Reiner, this is inappropriate and disrespectful discourse about a man who was just brutally murdered. I guess my elected GOP colleagues, the VP, and White House staff will just ignore it because they’re afraid? I challenge anyone to defend it.

Call To Activism
I would like to say FUCK YOU to the following people in ADVANCE for your defense of this bullshit in the the next day or so:
1) Karoline Leavitt
2) Scott Jennings
3) Mike Johnson (who is going to say he didn’t read the post).
You are all complicit pieces of shit cowards.

Illia Ponomarenko
I'm being totally honest now - I never knew people could ever be like THAT


....and breathe.

I'd like to believe this will prove to be defining moment. Now that WOULD be a decent tribute to the great man.

As a palette cleanser, a few genuine tributes and responses:

Stephen King
I’m horrified and saddened by the death of Rob Reiner and Michele. Wonderful friend, political ally, and brilliant filmmaker (including 2 of mine). Rest in peace, Rob. You always stood by me.

Eric Idle
Rob Reiner was a lovely man. I spoke to him last night for over an hour. I always enjoyed his company. I met him at his Dad's in 1975. He was telling me about fiming at Stonehenge and his thoughts for the future. This is so awful. I shall miss him. A clever, talented and very thoughtful man. So awful.

Cary Elwes
No words…

Neil deGrasse Tyson
In a world where fewer and fewer people concern themselves with the plight of others, the loss of Rob Reiner, who cared deeply about humanitarian causes, feels that much more devastating. RIP: 1947-1925.

John Cusack
At a loss for any words that make sense - RIP Rob and Michelle.

Jerry O'Connell
Love you, Rob. Sincerely.

Maria Shriver
I loved Michele and Rob Reiner. They were among my closest friends. We raised our kids together, from mommy and me on up. We laughed together, we cried together, we played together, we dreamed together. We had dinner this past week, and they were in the best place in the their lives: loving one another, loving their friends, their family, their country. They never gave up on our country. They wanted to make it better. They always, always wanted to make our world better, and they were willing to fight to make it the country they loved.

I loved them, and I knew they loved me, for any friend like that is such a gift. They gave me and all their friends that gift all the time. They loved their kids so much, and they never stopped trying to be really good parents. My love is with their family. I’m so sad for them. I’m devastated, gutted, shocked, stunned, and so deeply saddened, as are all of the people who loved them and who they loved. I hope people remember them as two deeply talented, kind, fun, loving, good, patriotic people who loved each other deeply.

I’ll miss you, Michele. I’ll miss you, Rob. I love you both. Thank you for your friendship. God bless you both. Life will not be the same without you here, that’s for sure.

Guy Rowland wrote: ↑Dec 15, 2025 11:49 am In the interests of balance, here is what that awful ex-president Barack Obama had to say.

See? Both sides are equally bad!

I suppose nothing should surprise me at this point, but I'm really struggling to comprehend the levels of narcissism and pettiness it must take to be reading about someone else's tragic death and immediately think "hey, I wonder how I can make this about me?".

There are times when I think "well that's that then - he has finally sunk to the absolute lowest possible level. Even he can't go any lower."

I'm not going to say that again, probably ever. There is no limit to the man's depravity.

Rest in Peace Rob and Michele Reiner. You made the world a better place!

For one day in one thread, for the wonderful Rob who gave the world characters such as Derek Smalls, Wesley, Harry and Sally.... this is open season.

The thing is - maybe you think Trump's politics are right and great. Maybe you think tarrifs work. Live and let live and all that.

But the MAN. This character.

Pretend - oh sweet pretend - this was a fictional world called Planet Urth. A beloved man has died in a great country, the whole nation is in mourning, and the president that country wrote those words. Without knowing ANYTHING ELSE about him, unless he were under some kind of evil magic spell or the influence of hard drugs, he could not be anything other than a terrible person.

You can't write Donald Trump as a character and have him not be awful. It's just not possible.

I had an employer who was so awful that I referred to him as “The Devil.” My wife hated him. I described him to others as having “snakes in his head.”

I feel the same way about Trump. His endless starvation for approval, his bullying, his lack of empathy all come from a deep sickness, a cancer of the soul.

It’s cold comfort, but this is not a happy, secure person. This is a monster who was loathed (mother, father?) and loathes himself despite the clownish braggadocio.

RIP, Rob and Michele Reiner.

Both All in the Family and This Is Spinal Tap had a big impact on me when I was young; and neither would have been the same, or perhaps even possible, without Rob Reiner. I also enjoyed a lot of his other work. Today is a very sad day.

At this point, I'd like to veer off topic briefly to revisit our forum policy about political discussion. Rob Reiner was a multifaceted artist and political activist. It makes sense to discuss his accomplishments as an artist in The Arts forum of The Sound Board site. However, his legacy as an activist and the reactions of the political world, while worthy of discussion, would be better served in a different venue, such as the BWW.

If we’re serious about growing this site, I think public political discussion could alienate some musicians who might be on the fence about joining TSB and instead, attract people who might rather discuss politics than music.

I recommend that we keep this thread alive for discussion of Rob Reiner the artist and also create a Rob Reiner political activist thread in the BWW for the other posts here and additional similar discussion.

Best,

Geoff

I don’t mind alienating whoever feels alienated by threads such as these, Geoff. If trying to grow TSB would mean being careful NOT to alienate those people, I’d rather stay small.
(And this has also got nothing whatsoever to do with politics, in my view.)

But you’re right that we do have a more suitable area for conversations such as these, especially if the thread continues in the direction it’s taken these last few posts. If no one minds, we can move it there. Let me know.

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Honestly - I think keep it here.

The discussion here is about Rob Reiner, his work, his character and the fallout of his and his wife's murder. President Trump made his intervention. The responses to that are not about politics - in fact I specifically made that point. It is about Trump's humanity, comparing with Rob. It is specifically about ability - other otherwise - of moments like this to transcend politics.

If we get involved in ICE and tarrifs, by all means let's have a spin-off BWW thread. I vote this one stays as is.

It seems to me that the politics in BWW itself was alienating members and potential members, so it seems it wouldn’t matter where you moved it if people are prone to being offended by (sometimes rancorous) debate.

The matter became so divisive it seemed that the entire future of TSB depended on BWW becoming moribund as indeed it seems to have become. I stopped posting there.

Dunno if there’s actually a place here to discuss much of anything outside of music and entertainment. I thought that was what was desired? Color me confused.