15 Wonderful Moments From Rob Reiner's TV And Movie Career
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Okay, so this list starts on a heartbreaking note, but one by one, we'll try to piece that heart of yours back together. As you may have already heard, a completely horrific, senseless tragedy has befallen the Reiner family. It’s obviously not how anyone imagined a trailblazing funnyman’s life to end, so it’s definitely a reminder to do today with a smile on your face as best you can.
We sadly weren’t around for the beginning of his career in the ‘60s, so we were pleasantly surprised to see that he had some golden moments early on. As you know, he only continued to rise to new heights as the decades piled up, so generations of people have all benefited greatly from his work. On behalf of our generation and the ones before and after us, we’d like to thank him (and help rebuild our hearts) with these 15 pop culture moments from the legendary Rob Reiner.
In 1967, he made his TV debut in an episode of ‘Batman’
He played the Penguin’s delivery boy in Season 2, Episode 39: “The Penguin Declines. He even got to say one word! That word was “Batman?”
Rob and Steve Martin wrote for “The Summer Brothers Comedy Hour”
In 1968, only 3 years before his breakout role of ‘Meathead” on All in the Family, Tommy Smothers saw Reiner doing improv in a group called ‘The Committee' and hired him as a writer on the show.
He co-wrote the first episode of ‘Happy Days’
While still playing “Meathead” on ‘All in the Family’, he dipped over to write the first episode of Happy Days with Garry Marshall and Phil Mishkin.
His funniest (and his favorite) moment on ‘All in the Family’ was completely improvised
He said, “Most people come up to me after over 200 shows, they’ll say the scene I remember most is when you and Archie discussed how you put socks and shoes on. And we had this scene that just happened in improv, it was improvised. I was putting my socks and shoes on, he walked in and he goes, ‘What are you doing?’ I said, ‘What do you mean, what am I doing?’ He says, ‘You don’t put your socks and shoes on like that.’
Here, watching it is a lot funnier.
He made his directorial debut with 1984’s mockumentary ‘This Is Spinal Tap’
In one of the best comedies of all time, he wasn’t just the director. He had some amazing moments as documentarian Marty DiBergi, but quite possibly the most memorable scene was in a scene where an amp goes to 11!
He had his mom Estelle deliver the line “I’ll have what she’s having”
1989’s When Harry Met Sally has one of the most famous lines in movie history. He said, “First couple of times, she didn't do it full out,” the director said of Ryan. “And finally I sat across from Billy. And I acted it out for her. And I'm pounding the table, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ But that’s when he remembered who was sitting at the corner table. And I'm realizing I'm having an orgasm in front of my mother.”
His directorial run between 1984 and 1992 is legendary
Beginning with 1984’s Spinal Tap, he managed to also bang out The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and A Few Good Men! Having success in multiple genres like that is world-class, and they’re some of the biggest, best movies of all time.
He titled the movie ‘Stand By Me’ for great reasons
Reiner was firmly against the film’s original title, The Body. It was the title of Stephen King’s original short story, but he worried audiences would mistake it for a bodybuilding doc, a porn, or a horror film. Amongst a ton of alternatives, Stand by Me was chosen because it was considered the least unpopular option. We think it all worked out for the best.
His personal touches on ‘The Princess Bride’
20th Century Fox
As a huge fan of the book (which his father, Carl Reiner, had given him as a gift), Reiner worked closely with writer William Goldman to translate its essence to the screen. He understood the material intimately, he was heavily involved with casting, and perfectly blended multiple genres to make such a lovable film.
The tiramisu scene in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’
TriStar Pictures
Rob took on the role of Jay Mathews in the 1993 rom-com alongside Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. He acts as the matchmaker for Hanks’ Sam Baldwin, essentially setting the events of the movie in motion. One of the movie’s most hilarious moments features Rob discussing the tiramisu.
He was a complete killer as “Mad Max”
His role in The Wolf Of Wall Street is a favorite of fans everywhere. As Jordan Belfort’s dad, he was affectionately known as “Mad Max” of his “hair-trigger temper.” His very NSFW scenes about “the sides” and women’s grooming habits were utter side-splitters.
He was beloved as Bob Day on ‘New Girl’
He played Jess’ lovable dad Bob Day in 11 episodes of New Girl. Fans of the show truly loved him, and have written many great tribute posts after news of his death broke. One viewer wrote, 'One of my all time favourite shows is New Girl. Rob Reiner plays the dad in the show and comes in with the funniest stuff, and whenever I had a rough day I'd watch those episodes to get a laugh.'
He had an amazing cameo on ‘The Bear’
Season 4 of the Hulu show had Rob making a cameo as Albert Schnur, a business consultant brought in by Ebraheim to focus on making The Beef’s sandwich window a success. He came in with some great jokes in his very first scene.
'Spinal Tap II: The End Continues'
Man, we wish there was a keyboard button for the Stonehenge symbol. It would’ve made the title for this entry way better. Rob Reiner’s latest performance as Marty DiBergi had some funny bumbling moments, but he really shines as a straight man for Paul McCartney’s insane lines, and a great set up for a line about Stormy Daniels. As the funny or straight man on screen, and as an iconic writer, director, and producer, he was truly a jack of all trades in entertainment. Rest easy, Mr. Reiner. Thanks for everything!
