Montclair Film · CC BY 2.0

Directed This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally..., and A Few Good Men — a run of studio films that moved fluidly between comedy, drama, and romance. Before any of that, he spent nine years playing Michael "Meathead" Stivic on All in the Family, winning two Emmys for it. He was the son of Carl and Estelle Reiner, both actors, and later became known for political activism. Reiner died in December 2025.