Rob Reiner, All in the Family Star and When Harry Met Sally Director, Dead at 78 Along with Wife in Apparent Homicide

Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their Brentwood, Calif., home in an apparent homicide.

Rob Reiner has died at the age of 78. He and his wife, Michele, were found dead by apparent homicide inside their Brentwood, Calif., home on Dec. 14, TMZ first reported. According to multiple sources, the couple were killed by their son Nick, and their bodies were discovered by their daughter Romy.

Around 3:30 p.m., the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call to provide medical aid, the LAFD told PEOPLE. When they arrived, they found a man, 78, and a woman, 68. Both were dead at the scene. Sources confirm the deceased were Rob and Michele.

The Reiners had been married since 1989.

Reiner became famous for his role as Mike — a.k.a. Meathead — on the 1970s classic Norman Lear sitcom All in the Family. After leaving the series, he became a successful director, with iconic movies including This Is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally…and A Few Good Men.

Reiner was born in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1947. His father was legendary comedian Carl Reiner and his mother was actress and singer Estelle Lebost.

Reiner didn’t know at the time that his future wife, Penny Marshall, was living across the street. She told PEOPLE in 1976 that the one time they came close to meeting was when she got Carl’s autograph in a grocery store; she kept it.

The Reiners moved to Beverly Hills when Rob was 12. “Rob was independent very early, maybe too early,” Carl told PEOPLE in 1976. “He was racing to be me, I guess. I rocked him and I diapered him, but I didn’t give him enough of myself. He has a strong sense of making it on his own.”

He attended Beverly Hills High School, where his classmates included Richard Dreyfuss and Albert Brooks. Then he attended film school at UCLA.

By the late ‘60s, Reiner was making appearances on TV, with guest spots on That Girl, Batman, The Andy Griffith Showand The Partridge Family. He was hired as a writer for The Smothers Brothers show; one of his coworkers in the writers’ room was a young Steve Martin.

In Los Angeles, he met Marshall, whose brother was director Garry Marshall. They fell in love and married in 1971. PEOPLE called the couple “Hollywood’s Hapsburgs” because of how many of their family members were in the business. Reiner also adopted Marshall’s daughter Tracy from a previous marriage.

Marshalland Reiner both auditioned for All in the Family, though only Reiner booked a role. The sitcom, which ran for nine seasons, became an enormous hit; for seasons 2 through 6, it was the No. 1 show on television. Reiner received five Emmy nominations for his role as Meathead, winning twice.

“The show was a total collaborative effort,” Reiner told PEOPLE about the series, whose ensemble cast included Carroll O’Connor as Archie, Jean Stapleton as Edith and Sally Struthers as Gloria.

Just as All in the Family fell from its perch, a new show rose: Laverne and Shirley, starring Marshall as Laverne. “I love it!” Reiner told PEOPLE in 1976. “I’d like my family to be in control of the airwaves as long as possible.”

Reiner and Struthers left the show in 1978 after its penultimate season. Reiner was focused on developing his own projects as a writer and director.

He and Marshall also ended their marriage. She told PEOPLE in 1980 that it wasn’t a dramatic end. “We just asked each other, ‘Is this it? Are we happy? I don’t think so.’ So we decided to try a separation.” Their divorce was finalized in 1981. They remained on good terms until Marshall’s death in 2018.

Reiner made his directorial debut with 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, the mockumentary about a fictional rock band. The film was critically acclaimed, though it was not a box-office success. Once it was released on VHS, it became immensely popular. It was chosen for the National Film Registry in 2002.

Reiner’s next films were 1985’s The Sure Thing and 1986’s Stand By Me. The latter became one of the most iconic of the ’80s and featured future stars like Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman and Kiefer Sutherland. Richard Dreyfuss also appeared in a small role.

“That’s the one that means the most to me, that has the most emotional connection for me of all the films I’ve made,” Reiner told Slash Film in 2023. “I don’t know if it’s my best, but it’s the one that means the most to me.”