Billy Crystal has reflected on the “profound” loss of his longtime friend and collaborator Rob Reiner, saying he knew their relationship would be “a forever thing” after their first week working together.
Hollywood director Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead after being fatally stabbed in their Los Angeles home last year. Their 33-year-old son Nick has pleaded not guilty after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
A friendship forged on set
US actor and comedian Crystal first worked with Reiner on sitcom All In The Family, which sparked a relationship spanning nearly five decades and led to collaborations on 1980s blockbusters such as The Princess Bride and This Is Spinal Tap.
In an interview with People magazine, the 78-year-old recalled his first impression of the Emmy-winning actor and filmmaker. “He’s tall and he’s in charge,” he said.
Crystal said despite being the “new guy” on set, Reiner was “inclusive right away” and frequently asked for his input, adding: “So many times we couldn’t keep a straight face. I knew it from that first week that this is going to be a forever thing. It’s not something you can define, which makes the loss even more profound.”
Collaborations and a memorable call
The award-winning actor said he often feels the urge to call Reiner and tell him things, adding: “I don’t know if I don’t want that to keep happening or I do want it to keep happening. He encouraged me.”
The pair also worked together on When Harry Met Sally, which starred Crystal and Meg Ryan as the title characters. However, the actor admitted he was “not Rob’s first choice” for the role and said: “I said, if (Reiner) wants me then he wants me, but I know he’s seeing other people. Then the call came: ‘I always knew it was you’.”
The actor said Reiner urged him to read the script, and he jokingly said he already had and did not like it. “We laughed and laughed. He said: ‘We’ll start tomorrow,'” Crystal said.
Loss of home in wildfires
He also spoke to the magazine about losing his home during the wildfires which ravaged Los Angeles last year. The devastating blaze ripped through neighbourhoods in the Pacific Palisades and Malibu, killing 12 people and destroying thousands of homes and businesses.
“All you could see were skeletons of trees and chimneys, the ones that hadn’t fallen, stuff blowing in the streets, nobody around,” Crystal said. “It was like an episode of The Walking Dead, like this thing had just come through and wiped out everything.”
He recalled fleeing to his daughter’s house when the fires started, and said: “We took photo albums, wedding albums, photographs of our parents’ weddings. So that’s what we had and the clothes we were wearing, thinking we’ll be back in a day. We started watching the (news) coverage from the Palisades. Your life there for 46 years, the stores, where you eat, pick up your prescriptions, it’s disappearing. Oh boy, it’s blocks from the house. Then you sort of know… you’re doomed.”
“The beautiful part was being with my daughters and their husbands, my grandchildren, my brother and sister-in-law and everyone else around the country who we’re related to, texting, watching. It was a vigil, just trying to get us through the night,” he added.
