Rob Reiner is fighting for marriage and child equality in California

The rest of the country may remember Hollywood legend Rob Reiner for his work in front of and behind the camera, but in California he leaves behind a political legacy that continues beyond his famous films and film and television roles.

Reiner, a longtime Democratic activist, donor and fundraiser, played a critical role in legalizing same-sex marriage in California and was a driving force behind California’s landmark early childhood development program. First 5.

Those who worked closely with him in state politics were shocked and heartbroken to learn that Reiner, 78, was found stabbed to death along with his wife, Michelle Singer Reiner, at their home in Brentwood on Sunday.

Police investigators announced Monday that their son, Nick Reiner, 32, had been arrested and charged with their murder. Rob and Nick Reiner once worked together a semi-autobiographical film about Nick Reiner’s lifelong struggles with addiction.

“I can’t believe it,” former California Gov. Gray Davis told CalMatters Monday in a phone interview. “I mean, Rob and Michelle have been a part of Sharon and I’s lives for over 30 years.” Sharon Davis is the former governor’s wife.

Davis said he’ll never forget when Rob Reiner in 1991 invited him — then California’s comptroller-elect — to hang out on the set of Reiner’s A Few Good Men. Davis had to watch for hours as actors including Tom Cruise, Kevin Bacon, Demi Moore and Jack Nicholson did their scenes.

“I thought, ‘I’m so proud to live in a country that makes quality movies,'” Davis said.

But a few years later, the two became something of a colleague. Davis was elected governor the same night in 1998 that Reiner’s Proposition 10 ballot initiative passed. The initiative created a new tobacco tax that funds the under-5 programs now in every California county.

Davis said the two were at the same party on election night in 1998 when the results came out. Davis said he and his administration later worked with Reiner to ensure the implementation of the First 5 program. Davis appointed Reiner to chair the California Commission on Children and Families, a position he held until 2006. Reiner resigned mid accusations that he used taxpayer funds to promote his Proposition 82, a failed ballot initiative that sought to tax the wealthy to fund preschool for all children.

“Rob wasn’t just a talker. He was a doer,” Davis said. “A lot of other people would give a nice speech, come to a press conference and then think their job is done, and we certainly appreciate that. I mean, they have other things to do, but the difference was that Rob called you and said, ‘What can I do next?'”

Mike Roos, a former California legislator, political strategist and lobbyist, worked closely with Reiner on his Prop. campaign. 10. He said the two men got to know each other and it was clear to Russ that Reiner loved his children very much.

“It was just one of the most horrible things I could imagine, knowing him and knowing his love and the investment he made in each one of those kids in that family,” Russ said, “but especially how he cared and spoke so thoughtfully about the struggles that Nick had in that period of time that I knew him.”

Reiner would later help found the American Foundation for Equal Rights. The group paid for the legal fight against Proposition 8the 2008 ballot measure that banned same-sex marriage in California. The US Supreme Court struck down Proposition 8 in 2013.

Chris Perry, the former CEO of First 5 and the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit that overturned Prop. 8, said Rob and Michelle Reiner also stood by her and her wife, Sandy Steer, as they and the other plaintiffs defended their right to marry in the landmark case.

“They continued for five years to support the cause by speaking out, giving more support to the cause, giving media interviews and, more importantly, being kind and generous … year after year after year,” Perry said. “They cared about us as people through this whole process. They left this indelible impression on all of us about what it means to be a true leader, not only to make something possible, but to stand by people during the battle.”

She said Reiner was not just a figurehead at First 5. He attended Commission on Children and Families meetings every month and was deeply engaged in discussions about “how to invest, where to get results, how to hold people accountable,” she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said over the weekend that Reiner’s impressive professional body of work, which includes “When Harry Met Sally,” “Stand by Me” and “The Princess Bride,” has taught “generations how to see the good and righteousness in others — and (encourage) us to dream bigger.”

“That empathy extends far beyond his films,” Newsom said in a statement. “He made California a better place through his good deeds. Rob will be remembered for his remarkable filmography and his outstanding contributions to humanity.”

Rainers donated about $2.7 million in Democratic aid during his lifetime, The New York Times reported, including $100,000 to support then-President Joe Biden’s re-election in 2024. He later joined actor George Clooney in calling for Biden to step down, saying, “We need someone younger to fight back.”

Not everyone had nice things to say about Reiner. President Donald Trump, whom Reiner has often criticized, called Reiner a “tortured and struggling but once very talented filmmaker and comedy star” in a social media post. He suggested that Reiner’s death was related to a “mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP SYNDROME.

U.S. Democrat Laura Friedman, who represents the Hollywood area, said in an interview that she was “really sick when I saw Donald Trump’s post about this horrible murder.”

Friedman, a former film and television producer, said Reiner’s art reflects his politics. She said he stands for integrity for one another and against bigotry — unlike Trump, who she said has the “unique ability to divide Americans and make people angry.”

Rayner, she said, often uses humor to “bring us together … and do it in a way that’s kind of tender and loving at the same time.”