Rob Reiner, Billy Crystal’s lifelong friendship defines iconic Hollywood moments

Billy Crystal and the late Rob Reiner shared a bond across nearly five decades, both on and off the screen.

Reiner, the director-star of This Is Spinal Tap, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead on Sunday, December 14, at their Los Angeles Brentwood home.

While their son Nick Reiner has been arrested and is charged with the couple's murder.

Crystal and Larry David, also a friend of Reiner's, were seen at the family’s home on Sunday. 

A neighbour told ABC 7 Los Angeles that Crystal "looked like he was about to cry." The New York Post reported he was joined by his wife, producer Janice Crystal.

Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal's bond

The friendship between Reiner and Crystal began in 1975 when the comedian-actor was cast as Reiner's onscreen pal in Norman Lear’s CBS sitcom All in the Family.

Crystal recalled in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter, “I hadn’t met Rob before, and here we were cast as best friends. What impressed me the most about Rob was, one, he was so genial, but two, he was so smart... It’s a very impressive combination of talents that I first met — plus, he was just hilarious.”

Screen partnership

Their collaboration continued in Reiner’s early films, with Crystal featuring in minor roles in This Is Spinal Tap (1984) and The Princess Bride (1987).

Their most famous partnership came with the 1989 Nora Ephron-penned rom com, When Harry Met Sally.

The filmmaker initially hesitated to cast his friend in the lead role, telling PEOPLE in 2019, “Whenever you do something this personal and you’re best friends, if it doesn’t work, it’s like, ‘Oy!’ Finally, I said, ‘Aw, f--- it; he’s perfect!’ The biggest laugh in any film I’ve ever done was a line Billy came up with: ‘I’ll have what she’s having.’”

Reiner also shared on The Howard Stern Show in 2016 that he had considered other A-listers for the part of Harry, “I had gone to Albert Brooks, I had gone to Tom Hanks, I had talked to Michael Keaton and Richard Dreyfuss… not only did [Crystal] nail it, but he contributed like crazy.”

Billy Crystal's support for Rob Reiner

The City Stickers star once reflected on their close friendship, saying, “Their onscreen bromance worked really well, and we said, ‘It feels right onstage, why don’t we just continue this in our lives?’ We became the closest of friends.”

He also praised Reiner’s father, Carl, who died in 2020: “He was an uncle to me, and Mel [Brooks] has been the same way... He was just a giant.”

Billy Crystal supported Rob Reiner as recently as the premiere of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, joking in a video message at San Diego Comic-Con, “Paul, please ask Rob what it’s like directing friends?” 

While Reiner praised Crystal’s performance and summed up their partnership with the simple description, “I got lucky.”