Meg Ryan is mourning When Harry Met Sally director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, after their murders.
“Oh how we will miss this man,” Ryan, 64, wrote via Instagram on Wednesday, December 17, sharing a throwback photo with the late director. “Thank you, Rob and Michele, for the way you believe in true love, in fairy tales, and in laughter. Thank you for your faith in the best in people, and for your profound love of our country.”
Ryan starred as Sally in When Harry Met Sally, opposite Billy Crystal’s Harry. Rob directed the film, even changing the ending once he met Michele.
Rob and Michele were found dead of apparent stab wounds on Sunday, December 14. They were 78 and 70, respectively. The couple’s son Nick, 32, has since been arrested for their murder but has yet to enter a plea. (He appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday and was seen wearing a suicide prevention vest.)
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“I have to believe that their story will not end with this impossible tragedy, that some good may come, some awareness raised,” Ryan concluded. “I don’t know, but my guess is that they would want that to be hopeful and humane, to be something that brings us all to a greater understanding of one another and to some peace.”
Crystal, 77, has also spoken out about Rob and Michele’s deaths, issuing a joint statement with several of the couple’s friends on Tuesday, December 16.
“Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill,” the message read. “Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl [Reiner] and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master storyteller. There is no other director who has his range.”
The statement continued, “His comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant. For the actors, he loved them. For the writers, he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a filmmaker was a privilege, but that is only part of his legacy.”
Crystal’s statement further praised Rob as a “passionate, brave citizen.”
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“[He] not only cared for this country he loved, he did everything he could to make it better and with his loving wife, Michele, he had the perfect partner,” the note concluded. “Strong and determined, Michele and Rob Reiner devoted a great deal of their lives for the betterment of our fellow citizens. … They were a special force together — dynamic, unselfish and inspiring. We were their friends, and we will miss them forever.”
Along with Nick, Rob and Michele are survived by daughter Romy and son Jake. The acclaimed director was also the adoptive father of Tracy Reiner, the daughter of his late ex-wife, Penny Marshall.