Rob Reiner left a lasting impression on Hollywood down to one of his final performances as a guest star on The Bear prior to his death in 2025.
“Rob is such an incredible force,” The Bear coexecutive producer and lead culinary producer, Courtney Storer, exclusively told Us on Monday, September 14, at the 2026 Emmy Awards after working with Reiner on season 4 of the FX series.
Storer, 42, noted that having Rob and his late wife, Michele Singer Reiner, join them on set “and being able to love him and get to meet him and be around him. I feel so lucky and fortunate.”
Courtney Storer. Monica Schipper/Getty Images
She continued, “He will always be missed. I think his legacy lives on in all of our hearts, and we tried to honor that within the show, even [the] ending, and he will just be missed.” (Rob played businessman Albert Schnurr on the show.)
Storer, who has been part of The Bear’s team since the series premiere in 2022, added, “They’ll both be missed forever.”
Rob and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood, California, home in December 2025 at the ages of 78 and 70, respectively. They were discovered with multiple sharp force injuries.
The couple’s youngest son, Nick Reiner, was arrested on suspicion of his parents’ murders that same month and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty in February.
News broke on Tuesday, September 15, that Nick, 33, will not receive the death penalty if he’s convicted of murder.
Rob Reiner. Jesse Grant/Getty Images for TCM
“After a careful and thorough review of all these factors, the district attorney’s office will not be seeking the death penalty in this case,” Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman told NBC News and reporters before a pretrial hearing. “That means that the maximum sentence that Mr. Reiner will be looking at is life without the possibility of parole.”
Hochman noted that his team spoke with Nick’s siblings and “they made their views very clear.” (Rob and Michele also shared son Jake, 35, and daughter Romy, 28. Additionally, Rob was the father of daughter Tracy, 62, whom he adopted during his previous marriage to the late Penny Marshall.)
“We took their views into consideration in ultimately deciding not to seek the death penalty,” the DA added.
In the wake of his and Michele’s deaths, Rob and his legacy as an actor and director have continued to be honored and remembered.
That was the case at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmys on September 5, when Rob won the posthumous award for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series thanks to his role as Albert during season 4 of The Bear.
Presenter Wendi McLendon-Covey accepted the award on his behalf and the audience gave him a standing ovation. “We all wish he was here,” she said.
Jamie Lee Curtis pays tribute to Rob Reiner at the 2026 Emmys. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP
Jamie Lee Curtis, a longtime friend of Rob and fellow actress on The Bear, honored Rob and Michele during the in memoriam segment at the Emmys one week later.
The actress, 67, teared up telling the crowd, “He was generous and kind, and funny as hell, and a friend to all, and we all miss Rob and Michele, and all those we lost this year.”
The Bear, meanwhile, paid homage to Rob during the series finale in June.
During the episode, Ebra (Edwin Lee Gibson) called Albert for advice and to tell him, “We are in business” during a phone call.
“It’s perfect. I will have all the documents, email it to you immediately. Anything else I can do?” Ebra told his friend over the phone.
While Albert couldn’t be heard on the other end, Ebra gave a nod to Rob’s iconic 1987 film The Princess Bride, replying, “As you wish.”
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