The Creative Arts Emmys just proved that Hollywood isn’t forgetting Rob Reiner anytime soon.
The legendary Jewish director and actor won a posthumous Emmy award last week for his role as Albert Schnurr in season four of “The Bear.” After Reiner’s name was called for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, attendees gave an emotional standing ovation before presenter Wendi McLendon-Covey accepted the award on his behalf. The win comes nine months after Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found tragically murdered in their home.
The award is Reiner’s third Emmy — his previous two wins were for playing Michael “Meathead” Stivic in the Norman Lear comedy “All in the Family.” For his first win in 1974, Reiner missed the ceremony due to illness and father Carl Reiner accepted the award in his place. “There was a question that was asked maybe 100,000 times to his mother and myself: How do we feel having a son like Rob doing this part?” Carl Reiner remarked during the speech. “And his mother Estelle, myself, my daughter Anne and my little son Lucas are very, very, very proud of you, Rob.”
When Reiner won for the second time in 1978, he was there to accept the award himself. Though, sweetly, his father accompanied him to the stage, let him speak and then gave him a kiss on the cheek, saying, “This is for your mother.”
This year’s award is not necessarily the last Emmy Rob Reiner will ever win, however. Reiner’s final role as George Washington in “Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness” could theoretically land him in the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy series category again at the 2027 Emmys, should Television Academy voters choose to nominate him for it.
Regardless, Emmys or not, the monumental contributions Reiner made to American cinema and television are undeniable. May his memory continue to be a blessing.
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