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Comedian Conan O’Brien has addressed the tragic and shocking deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, in Brentwood, California. The couple, allegedly murdered by their son Nick, attended a holiday gathering at O’Brien’s home just hours before their bodies were discovered on December 14, 2025.
Nick Reiner, who has battled mental health issues and substance abuse for several years, is currently in custody, awaiting trial for the murder of his parents.
O’Brien opened up to The New Yorker about the devastating news, saying, “To have that experience of saying goodnight to somebody and having them leave, then finding out the next day that they’re gone… I was in shock for quite a while afterward.”
He continued, “There’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful. I often think about Rob’s passion for issues affecting our country, his dedication, and how he actively engaged with the world. To have such an influential voice silenced in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend.”
“There’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful. And I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend.”
O’Brien lauded Rob for his talent and influence in making a string of hits such as Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, An American President and A Few Good Men.
“If you can make one great movie, that’s impressive. It’s almost an impossible feat. To make two means that you’re one of the greats. To make seven — in, like, a nine-year, ten-year, eleven-year period — is insanity,” he said.
“With [This is] Spinal Tap alone, if that’d been the only thing he ever did, he influenced my generation enormously,” he added. “It was like a splitting-the-atom moment. You have those moments where you see something truly remarkable.”
O’Brien will host the Oscars on March 15.