Bruce Vilanch Pays an Emotional Tribute to Rob Reiner: ‘He Never Got the Auteur Crown He Deserved’
What To Know
- Bruce Vilanch shared a heartfelt tribute reflecting on his 50-year friendship with Reiner.
- Vilanch noted that Reiner had an influential body of work, attributing this to his adaptability and humility.
On December 14, legendary filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead at their Brentwood home in what authorities have ruled a homicide. Reiner was a Hollywood legend whose career as an actor, writer, director, producer, and activist touched countless lives, leaving an indelible mark on the industry, peers, and the audiences who grew up with his work.
On December 19, writer Bruce Vilanch shared a touching tribute to Reiner on social media to pay tribute to the director, with whom he shared a friendship of 50 years. In the post, he gives insight into Reiner as a person, his inner circle, and why Vilanch considers him a “mensch.”
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“I know I’m late to Rob Reiner, but 50 years of friendship might have bought me some time to think. He was one of the first people I met when I moved to Hollywood in 1975 to work on The Manhattan Transfer summer TV series,” wrote Vilanch in the post. “We were shooting at CBS Television City in Hollywood (and I still miss hearing the announcer intone that at the beginning of shows).”
“All in the Family was on the next stage, and I had gotten friendly with Jean Stapleton when I interviewed her for the Chicago Tribune, so I went over to say hello. She was sitting with Rob on the set during an ‘engineering five.’ We started talking and laughing, and then the five was over, and Rob said, ‘I’ll come get you when we break for lunch. I know a Chinese place.’ It was the one a few feet down Beverly Blvd from Fairfax, long gone — that’s not the name of the place, it’s what happened to it.”
“We had a very funny, high-caloric lunch, and that was the beginning. He was married to Penny [Marshall] then, and time spent with them was like being at the hippest comedy show in town,” continued Vilanch. “We worked in different areas of the business, but we grabbed opportunities as they came along, sometimes with Carl, whom I adored and revered — in that order.
“Rob never got his due from his peers — one Oscar nomination, and as a producer — and he never got the auteur crown he deserved, probably because he, like Sidney Lumet, was brilliantly adaptable and did not need to put his signature on everything he did. Not a judgment on those who do, just a fact,” wrote Vilanch.
“Rob (and Sidney) left a body of work that rivals anything any of the others did. Their range was astounding, a gift that hasn’t been bestowed on many since the studio system ended. beyond his work, Rob was what my people call a ‘mensch.’ A real man. A real person. Humble, humane and hilarious.
In a final note, the writer explained with a heavy heart why he was late on his tribute: “That the life of such an artist, such an activist, such a friend, should end so tragically is something that takes you a week to even approach.”
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