Jimmy Kimmel and Jimmy Fallon used segments of their late-night programs Monday to remember actor-turned-prolific director Rob Reiner, who was killed alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, at their Los Angeles home this weekend.
Stephen Colbert, meanwhile, opted not to try to thread that tricky needle.
“Normally we start [The Late Show] with a short cold open about a major news story,” he explained in a desk segment that preceded the CBS talker’s opening credits. “But after the terrible news this past weekend—the horrifying Hanukkah massacre at Bondi beach, the tragic shootings at Brown University, and the heartbreaking deaths of Rob and Michelle Reiner—all of the stories are too dark for that.
“We are going to do a comedy show tonight,” he added, “in light of and in spite of the darkness.” And a typical Late Show commenced.
Reiner had been a guest on CBS’ Late Show twice—including a 2015 visit where he spoke about his son Nick, who was arrested late Sunday night as a suspect in his parents’ double homicide; he is being held without bail. ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! had welcomed Reiner three times (most recently this past September), while Fallon’s Tonight Show on NBC had him on twice.
The Tonight Show opened with band leader Questlove replacing his traditional episode number shout with “Meathead!,” as in Archie Bunker’s nickname for son-in-law Mike Stivic on the beloved sitcom All in the Family.
“We’re all very sad at The Tonight Show to hear about the passing of our friend and entertainment legend Rob Reiner, and his wife, Michele Reiner,” Fallon said in a message delivered from his desk following his monologue. When Rob was a guest, “everyone would line up around his dressing room to say hi or tell him something they loved,” be it All in the Family, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, A Few Good Men, When Harry Met Sally, This Is Spinal Tap, or any of the late filmmaker’s other acclaimed productions.
“Everyone felt like they had a a personal connection to Rob and his work,” Fallon reiterated. “He was one of the smartest and funniest people I’ve ever met. What a tremendous loss, and he leaves behind such a legacy.”
Sadly, much of the dialogue surrounding the Reiners’ tragic murders, and the filmmaking legacy left behind, has been derailed by President Donald Trump‘s Truth Social post—and a subsequent White House press op—that labeled Rob Reiner as “struggling,” “deranged,” and “very bad for our country.”
Trump suggested that Rob Reiner’s liberal leanings were to blame for his tragic fate.
Kimmel responded, “Just when you think he can’t go any lower, he somehow finds a way to do that.
“[B]laming his death on the fact that he is an outspoken liberal, insulting someone who’s just been murdered, who leaves children behind, without having any idea of what actually happened…,” Kimmel marveled. “It’s so hateful and vile.”
Later on JKL!, Kimmel invited guest and former First Lady Michelle Obama to reflect on her and President Barack Obama’s friendship with the Reiners, who they were supposed to see on Sunday night.
Elsewhere on Monday’s late-night scene, Seth Meyers spent more than seven minutes reflecting on Reiner’s life, his work, and the qualities that defined him both professionally and personally. The Late Night host also addressed President Trump’s social media post about the killings, which Meyers anrily criticized for lacking basic humanity.
