From 'Meathead' on US television to some of Hollywood's best-loved movies, Rob Reiner's work shaped generations of viewers.
Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found dead at their Los Angeles home on 14 December, with police treating the case as an apparent homicide investigation.
For many viewers, Rob Reiner first arrived through the front door of American television as Michael "Meathead" Stivic in All in the Family, the liberal son-in-law whose constant clashes with Carroll O'Connor's Archie Bunker helped make the sitcom a cultural lightning rod.
Reiner's performance earned multiple Emmy nominations and two wins, and it also set the template for what he would become: a performer with sharp comic timing and a public figure willing to argue his corner.
By the 1980s, he had moved decisively behind the camera and began building one of the most impressive, genre-hopping directing runs of his generation. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) looked like a documentary and behaved like a joke told with a straight face, with Reiner himself on screen as filmmaker Marty DiBergi, watching the fictional band fall apart in slow motion.
From there, Reiner kept switching lanes and rarely missed. Stand By Me (1986) brought Stephen King's story of boyhood friendship and fear to the screen with a clarity that still holds up. The Princess Bride (1987) became a family favourite that never really left popular culture.
When Harry Met Sally… (1989) helped set the modern romcom standard, thanks to the chemistry between Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and a script that treated adult uncertainty as both funny and real.
Then came Misery (1990), the Stephen King adaptation that delivered Kathy Bates an Oscar-winning role, and A Few Good Men (1992), a courtroom drama that became a box-office hit and a Best Picture Oscar nominee.
Reiner also helped shape Hollywood beyond his own filmography. He co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, which went on to produce major titles across film and television, and he remained a familiar presence as an actor in later years, popping up in supporting roles while continuing to direct and produce.
Away from the screen, he was equally well known in the US for political activism. He backed liberal causes for decades and was involved in campaigns linked to same-sex marriage rights in California, as well as early childhood initiatives funded through a tobacco tax.
Reiner met Michele Singer on the set of When Harry Met Sally…, and they married in 1989.
In a statement following their deaths, California Governor Gavin Newsom described her as an "accomplished producer and photographer".
The couple had three children together, Romy, Nick and Jake Reiner.
