Director-actor Rob Reiner and his wife Michele have been found dead at their Los Angeles home, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the investigation.
The official could not publicly discuss details of the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Investigators believe they suffered stab wounds and a family member is being questioned.
The Los Angeles Fire Department said it responded to a medical aid request shortly after 3:30pm on Sunday and found a 78-year-old man and 68-year-old woman dead inside.
Detectives with the Robbery Homicide Division were investigating an “apparent homicide” at Reiner’s home, said Captain Mike Bland with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Los Angeles police have not confirmed the identities of the people found dead at the residence in the upscale Brentwood neighbourhood on the city’s west side that’s home to many celebrities.
Reiner is one of the most prolific directors in Hollywood, and his work includes some of the most memorable movies of the 1980s and ’90s, including This is Spinal Tap, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally and The Princess Bride.
His role as Meathead in the 1970s TV classic All in the Family alongside Carol O’Connor’s Archie Bunker catapulted him to fame.
Reiner turned 78 in March.
Messages to his representatives were not immediately returned Sunday night.
The son of comedy legend Carl Reiner, Rob Reiner has been married to photographer Michele Singer Reiner since 1989.
The two met while he was directing When Harry Met Sally and have three children together.
Reiner was previously married to actor-director Penny Marshall from 1971 to 1981.
He adopted her daughter, Tracy Reiner. Carl Reiner died in 2020 at age 98 and Marshall died in 2018.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called Reiner's death a devastating loss for the city.
“Rob Reiner’s contributions reverberate throughout American culture and society, and he has improved countless lives through his creative work and advocacy fighting for social and economic justice,” Bass said in a statement.
“An acclaimed actor, director, producer, writer, and engaged political activist, he always used his gifts in service of others.”
Killings are rare in the Brentwood neighbourhood.
The scene is about two kilometres from the home where O.J. Simpson’s wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were killed in 1994.
