From meeting on a TV set to collaborating on 'the greatest rom-com of all time': Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal's 50-year friendship

Rob Reiner and wife Michele Reiner's tragic deaths have sent shockwaves through Hollywood and the world.

Their son Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection to the deaths, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office. The Reiners were found dead at their Los Angeles home in Brentwood, California, on Sunday.

Tributes from stars have poured in for the 78-year-old director-actor and his photographer wife, 68. But there's one who will be especially heartbroken over the news: Reiner's close friend of more than 50 years, Billy Crystal.

Watch the videos above.

Crystal broke silence on the deaths with a joint statement being shared to The Associated Press by Crystal and his wife Janice, and some of the late director's closest friends.

They also included Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith.

They called Reiner "a master story teller".

"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. Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller," the statement read.

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"There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to 'mockumentary' to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films."

They went on to speak about his work and who he was as a person in the lengthy statement.

"Rob was also a passionate, brave citizen, who 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. 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."

They heartbreakingly added: "There is a line from one of Rob's favorite films, 'It's a Wonderful Life,' 'Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?' You have no idea."

Crystal, 77, and Reiner met on set of TV show All in the Family in 1975 and enjoyed a working relationship and enduring friendship ever since.

The Parental Guidance star, his wife Janice Crystal and comedian Larry David were reportedly seen at Reiner's Brentwood home following the news of the deaths.

It's been a tough year for Crystal, who lost his home in the Pacific Palisades to the Los Angeles fires in January.

The actor, who worked with Reiner on the iconic 1989 film When Harry Met Sally..., spoke about their decades-long friendship in a 2016 piece for The Hollywood Reporter.

Crystal recalled meeting on the set of All In The Family – fatefully, they played best friends on the show – and said it soon translated into real life.

"What impressed me the most about Rob was, one, he was so genial, but two, he was so smart," he recalled.

"It worked really well, and we said, 'It feels right onstage, why don't we just continue this in our lives?'

"We became the closest of friends."

Crystal went on to praise who Reiner was as a person.

"He has a great sense of humour but also a wonderful heart, and he tries to accomplish things that have social importance, too, like with [Reiner's movie] The American President."

Reiner is, of course, the man behind some of Hollywood's most iconic films.

They include When Harry Met Sally... which paired Crystal with Meg Ryan, A Few Good Men with Tom Cruise and Demi Moore, Stand By Me, Misery, This is Spinal Tap and fan-favourite The Princess Bride.

Crystal briefly appeared in the beloved fantasy film in 1987.

In a 2016 appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Reiner revealed why he chose Crystal to play the lead, Harry Burns, in When Harry Met Sally...

"I had gone to Albert Brooks, I had gone to Tom Hanks, I had talked to Michael Keaton and Richard Dreyfuss," Reiner said.

"Not only did [Crystal] nail it, but he contributed like crazy."

When Reiner's father, actor, comedian and director Carl Reiner died in 2020, at the age of 98, Crystal revealed he was also close to the comedy legend.

"Rob is my dearest friend and then Carl and I had a whole separate, wonderful relationship where we would speak and talk," he said on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

"He was just a giant. I mean, really, a giant."

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