Remembering a Comic Legend
HE KEPT US LAUGHING for more than 70 years. Carl Reiner, the writer, actor, director and producer whose credits include The 2000 Year Old Man, The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Jerk, died on June 29. He was 98. “My heart is hurting,” Carl’s son, actor-director Rob Reiner, posted on Twitter. “He was my guiding light.”
The Bronx, N.Y., native will be missed by the many people whose lives he touched, especially his longtime friend and fellow funnyman Mel Brooks. “Mel is utterly heartbroken,” an insider tells Closer. “They wrote on Your Show of Shows and became best friends. Carl just saw Mel for his 94th birthday.” The two often spent their evenings together at Carl’s house, enjoying a meal while watching Jeopardy! “[It’s] a great place because I got friendship, love and free food,” Mel once cracked.
Carl, who died of natural causes in his Beverly Hills home surrounded by family, talked to Closer in 2019 about his book Approaching Ninety-Six and the best part of his 97th birthday: “Being here,” he said. “If you’re not here, you can’t celebrate!”