Carl Reiner LIFE & TIMES OF A COMEDY LEGEND
BELOVED comic genius Carl Reiner, who made America laugh for more than 60 years, died
June 29 of natural causes at his Beverly Hills home at age 98, and The National ENQUIRER is taking a look back at his incredible life in pictures!
The famous funnyman — who was a gifted writer, director and performer — left behind an enormous legacy of work.
Born in the Bronx, the former machinist created “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and won multiple Emmy Awards for his writing on that series. He based the sitcom on his experiences as a scribe in the 1950s alongside comedy giants like Mel Brooks and
Neil Simon for Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows.”
The TV veteran also directed many big-screen comedies, including “Oh, God!” with George Burns and Steve Martin’s “The Jerk.” In addition, he formed a lifelong friendship with fellow comedy icon Mel, and the pair won Grammy Awards in 1998 for their famed “2000-Year-Old Man” routine. “Carl was a giant, unmatched in his contributions to entertainment,” said his devastated pal.
“So whether he wrote or performed or he was just your best friend — nobody could do it better.”
Meanwhile, Martin called him “my greatest mentor in movies and life.”
In his later years, he reignited his career as an actor, appearing in all three films in the “Ocean’s Eleven” series, stealing scenes from heavyweights like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts.
“Carl Reiner made every room he walked into funnier, smarter, kinder,” George said in a statement.
“His was a life well lived and we’re all the better for it.” Dick Van Dyke tweeted, “His scripts were never just funny, they always had something to say about us.”
Another television giant, Jerry Seinfeld, said, “Anyone in comedy who got to know or even just meet Carl Reiner felt that they had been given a great gift.”
Carl passed the gift of showbiz on to son Rob
Reiner, 73, who became an accomplished actor and director himself, and called his late dad “my guiding light.”