‘Stand by Me’ cast honours Rob Reiner: Former child stars remember father-like filmmaker

Rob Reiner’s tragic death on December 14, along with his wife Michele Singer Reiner, sent shockwaves across Hollywood.

Among the many tributes pouring in for the late filmmaker, the former child actors from his 1986 directorial Stand by Me have also shared theirs.

The film’s principal cast composed of Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell have released their heartfelt commemorations of Reiner. The group’s fourth member, River Phoenix, passed away in 1993 from a drug overdose.

O’Connell reflected on the unexpected news during an appearance on CBS Mornings, December 15.

“Rob was like a father to me,” he told host Gayle King, before adding that Reiner helped launch his career with the classic film, saying, “Everything I have is because of Rob Reiner.”

While Feldman shared his passionate tribute to the multi hyphenated artist in an all-caps caption posted to Instagram, saying that Reiner became a “surrogate father” for him and Phoenix, the two kids during filming who “had no fathers” around the set.

Wheaton opened up about the loss in a blog post published on his official website, describing Reiner as a “generational talent”.

“The world knows Rob as a generational talent, a storyteller, and humanitarian activist who made a difference with his art, his voice, and his influence,” he wrote. “I knew that man, but I also knew a man who treated me with more kindness, care, and love than my own father ever did.”

Rob Reiner had directed River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, Jerry O’Connell, and more in Stand by Me — released in 1986 and based on a novella written by Stephen King, The Body.

The late director once described his experience working on the film as one of the “richest” he ever had, while praising child actors for having “great instincts”.