Rob Reiner

Robert "Rob" Reiner (born March 6, 1947 in The Bronx, New York) an American actor, anti-tobacco activist, director, producer, and writer. He is the eldest son of writer / actor / producer Carl Reiner.

Biography

Background

Reiner was born in The Bronx, New York, and lived as a child in New Rochelle, New York, where his family resided at 48 Bonnie Meadow Road, similar to the fictitious address of 148 Bonnie Meadow Road, as the Petries on The Dick Van Dyke Show. When Reiner was about 13, the family moved to the Los Angeles area, where Reiner attended Beverly Hills High School and the University of California, Los Angeles. Reiner was married to actress-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1979. He then married Michele Singer Reiner in 1989.

All in the Family

He became famous playing Michael "Meathead" Stivic, Archie Bunker's liberal son-in-law, on the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, which was the most-watched television program for five years in the United States (1971–1976).

Films

In the 1980s and 1990s, Reiner was best known as a director of successful Hollywood films. Some of these films — such as The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap — have achieved cult status. The latter film, intended as a parody of rock documentaries, was so successful in imitating the style of rock films that many viewers were inadvertently fooled into thinking that the subject of the film, the fictitious heavy metal group "Spinal Tap," really existed.

He then went on to direct other critically and commercially successful films like Stand By Me, Misery, A Few Good Men, and his most famous work - When Harry Met Sally..., which has become a classic romantic comedy. However' his career has taken a plunge in recent years, starting with North, which was critically panned (notoriously by Roger Ebert). His subsequent films Alex & Emma and Rumor Has It have been unsuccessful both critically and commercially.

Production

In addition to his creative work with cinema, Reiner also had a significant administrative role, as founder and long-time co-owner of Castle Rock Entertainment. He named the production company after the fictitious town featured in many stories by Reiner's frequent collaborator, Stephen King.

Political activism

In the late 1990s and continuing into the 2000s, Reiner has taken a vocal role supporting certain education-related proposals in California, including serving as a primary spokesman for the successful 1998 cigarette-tax initiative. He also campaigned in Iowa for Democratic Presidential candidate Howard Dean just before the 2004 Iowa caucus. Reiner had been mentioned as a possible candidate to run against California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2006, but decided not to run for personal reasons.

Reiner has been criticized for his keeping his job with the state First Five Commission (a California state government institution) while at the same time campaigning for a proposition which would fund state-run preschools. The criticism caused Reiner to resign from his position with the First Five Commission on March 29, 2006. An audit of the commission's funds will be conducted in the face of accusations of misuse of state money for the political campaign for his proposition. Proposition 82 failed with 39.1% support.

He has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post since May 2005.

Television

The Partridge Family - Snake (1971)
All in the Family - Michael Stivic (1971-1978)
Happy Days - Cowrote the first episode (1974)
Likely Stories, Vol. 1 - Director (1981)
Morton & Hayes - Narrator (1991)
Curb Your Enthusiasm - Cameo in Season 2, Episode 5 (2001)

Film

The Jerk - Truck Driver (uncredited) (1979)
This Is Spinal Tap - Director, costar (1984)
The Sure Thing - Director (1985)
Stand By Me - Director (1986)
The Princess Bride - Director (1987)
When Harry Met Sally... - Director (1989)
Misery - Director (1990)
A Few Good Men - Director (1992)
Sleepless in Seattle - Jay (1993)
North - Director (1994)
The American President - Director (1995)
Ghosts of Mississippi - Director (1996)
The Story of Us - Director, actor (playing "Stan") (1999)
Alex & Emma - Director (2003)
Rumor Has It - Director (2005)

Trivia

The term "Meathead", referring to Reiner's character Mike Stivic in All in the Family, became a pop culture reference. Indeed, Reiner has stated that "I could win the Nobel Prize and they’d write 'Meathead wins the Nobel Prize.' " ^*.

Parodies

Rob Reiner was the subject of a parody in the South Park episode "Butt Out," which criticized his objection to smoking as hypocritical and fascist, due to the fact his weight problem was just as big a danger, if not more than smoking. Another episode, "Gnomes," has a character claiming, "We're as low and despicable as Rob Reiner using children for political purposes."

In yet another parody, in The Simpsons episode "Million Dollar Abie," Reiner is the spokesman for Los Angeles in a commercial calling for a football team there. He is shown driving over pedestrians and covering names on the Hollywood Walk of Fame with his own during the commercial.

External links

Rob Reiner Image Gallery as the Meathead on All in the Family

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