Ghosts of Mississippi

The successful director of movies that run the gamut of styles from This is Spinal Tap and The Sure Thing to Stand By Me, Misery and A Few Good Men, Rob Reiner has also produced, written and acted in a great many of the most popular films of the past two decades. But it was in his Emmy award-winning portrayal of Michael “Meathead” Stivic, in the CBS comedy series All in the Family (1971-1979), that Reiner made himself a household name.

Reiner was born March 6, 1947, in the Bronx, NY, to comedian Carl Reiner and actress/singer Estelle Reiner. Rob’s first large-screen acting role was in his father’s film Enter Laughing (1967). He had a series of guest roles in television series like The Alfred Hitchcock Hour, Gomer Pyle and The Beverly Hillbillies, and other small film roles in Where’s Poppa? (1970) and Summertree (1971), before he landed the part in All in the Family.

He co-wrote the first episode of the series Happy Days in 1974, and in 1978 he wrote and produced the romantic-comedy More Than Friends, along with Penny Marshall, his wife from 1971 to 1979. The film told the story of their on-again, off-again, on-again relationship.
In 1984, Reiner directed and produced his first movie, the “rockumentary” This is Spinal Tap, to great acclaim. He went on to direct and/or produce The Sure Thing (1985), Stand By Me (1986), The Princess Bride (1987), When Harry Met Sally (1989), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), North (1994), The American President (1995), Ghosts of Mississippi (1996), The Story of Us (1999), Alex and Emma (2003), Rumor Has It (2005) and The Bucket List (2007).. Among the films he has acted in are Postcards From the Edge (1990), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), Bullets Over Broadway (1994), Bye, Bye Love (1995), The First Wives Club (1996), Primary Colors (1998), EdTV (1999), and The Story of Us (1999).

In 1998, Reiner spearheaded a drive to add a tax on cigarettes in California, and to use the money to pay for early childhood development programs. The drive passed by a narrow margin and already has brought in more than $700 million. Reiner founded and chaired the “I Am Your Child” Foundation, a national non-profit organization to raise awareness about the importance of early childhood development and school readiness.

Reiner is married to Michelle Singer, a photographer, and they have three children together, plus a stepdaughter. —AnswerNote