Yesterday (June 29), actor, director, and comedy legend Carl Reiner passed away at the age of 98. Reiner left behind an indelible legacy on film and television. Reiner was one of the creators of The Dick Van Dyke Show, as well as directing some of the most successful comedies of the 20th century, including The Jerk, Where’s Poppa?, Oh God!, and All Of Me. Not to mention his acting performances in films such as It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World and the Ocean’s franchise.
In the early days of his career, Reiner took part in several Broadway musicals, and also worked with some of comedy’s greatest legends like Mel Brooks and Neil Simon on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows and the sketch comedy program Caesar’s Hour. Reiner and Brooks later formed a comedy duo on The Steve Allen Show. According to Reiner, as he told fellow comedian Jerry Seinfeld on Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, Brooks came over to Reiner’s house every night to eat dinner and watched taped episodes of Jeopardy.
In 2000, Reiner was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center. He also won several Primetime Emmy Awards, was inducted into the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960, and has had his hand-and-footprints preserved at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood with his son, Rob Reiner, who followed his father’s footsteps in joining the entertainment business.
Reiner married actress and singer Estelle Lebost in 1943, and they remained married until her death in 2008. Together, they had three children: Rob, author Annie Reiner, and artist Lucas Reiner. He is survived by his children and his granddaughter Tracy Reiner.
Rob said on Twitter, “Last night my dad passed away. As I write this my heart is hurting. He was my guiding light.”
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