Today’s Jewish Birthday: Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner was born March 6, 1947, in the Bronx to comedian and film producer Carl Reiner and his wife Estelle Lebost. As a child, Reiner lived in New Rochelle, New York, and later studied at UCLA’s film school. He had small parts in various television shows including Batman, That Girl, The Andy Griffith Show, Room 222, Gomer Pyle USMC, and the Beverly Hillbillies. He acted in several films including his father’s Where’s Poppa?  He also wrote for the Smothers Brother Comedy Hour, partnering with Steve Martin.

In 1970, he hit the big time in All in the Family, Norman Lear’s situation comedy, in which his father-in-law Archie Bunker, played by Carroll O’Connor, was contemptuous of his liberal views and called Reiner’s character “Meathead.” That name stuck with Reiner beyond the series. “I could win the Nobel Prize and they’d write ‘Meathead wins the Nobel Prize,'” he complained.  He did win two Emmy Awards for the role.

The 1980s saw Reiner become a successful film director including This Is Spinal Tap; The Princess Bride; Stand By Me; When Harry Met Sally; Misery, A Few Good Men, The American President, Ghosts of Mississippi, and The Bucket List. Even while directing, Reiner continued to act in various movies including Throw Momma from the Train, Sleepless in Seattle, Bullets Over Broadway, the First Wives Club, Primary Colors, EDtv, New Girl, and The Wolf of Wall Street. In December 2023, he opened a primetime CBS special, Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic.

A liberal political activist, he was a co-founder of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which challenged a voter-passed ballot measure in California that had banned same-sex marriages. In the 2000 presidential election, he campaigned for Al Gore; Howard Dean in 2004; Hillary Clinton in 2008, and Joe Biden in 2020.

Between 1971 and 1981, Reiner was married to actress and director Penny Marshall, adopting her daughter Tracy Reiner, who also became an actress. In 1989 he married photographer Michele Singer, whom he had met while directing When Harry Met Sally. Their three children are Jake, Nick and Romy. Reiner and his wife founded “Parents’ Action for Children’ which produced parenting videos emphasizing the importance of children’s early years.

Reiner had a bar mitzvah, but later self-identified as an atheist as his father had done before him.

Tomorrow, March 7: Michael Eisner
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SDJW condensation of a Wikipedia article