Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) was an American actor, author, comedian, director and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades.

[10] He had an older brother, Charles, who served in the 9th Division in World War II; his ashes are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

The night before he was scheduled to ship out for an unknown assignment, he attended a production of Hamlet by the Special Services entertainment unit.

Following an audition before actor Major Maurice Evans and Captain Allen Ludden, he was transferred to Special Services.

[17] Over the following two years, Reiner performed around the Pacific theater, entertaining troops in Hawaii, Guam, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima until he was honorably discharged in 1946.

[16] Reiner performed in several Broadway musicals (including Inside U.S.A. and Alive and Kicking) and had the lead role in Call Me Mister.

[18] Reiner also wrote for Caesar's Hour with Brooks, Simon, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, Mel Tolkin, Mike Stewart, Aaron Ruben, Sheldon Keller, and Gary Belkin.

[19] He assumed the role of head writer and semi-regular on The Dinah Shore Chevy Show during the 1959–60 television season.

Reiner was a solid straight man to Caesar, but with Brooks he is the second-banana supreme... guiding his partner's churning comic mind.

[23][24]In 1958, he wrote the initial 13 episodes of a television series titled Head of the Family, based on his own personal and professional life.

[26] His first film directorial effort was an adaptation of Joseph Stein's play Enter Laughing (1967), which, in turn, was based on his semi-autobiographical 1958 novel of the same name.

[3] Balancing directing, producing, writing, and acting, he worked on a wide range of films and television programs.

To be designated a genuine cult classic, it is of primary importance that the film fail to earn back the cost of making, marketing, and distributing it.

is a treasure of a movie: A sly, civilized, quietly funny speculation on what might happen if God endeavored to present himself in the flesh yet once again to forgetful Man.

[32] Reiner also appeared in both The Jerk, playing a version of himself, and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid.

[33] In 2000, Reiner was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the Kennedy Center,[3] where he was honored by fellow friends and comedians Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Steve Martin, Rob Reiner, Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, and Joy Behar.

[37] He claimed he knew how to play the role; in a teleconference, he said, "I spent my youth, from the time I was 6 to 18, living next to the Bronx Zoo.

[42] In 2010, he guest starred in three of the first-season episodes of Hot in Cleveland as Elka Ostrovsky's (Betty White) date and reprised his role in February 2011.

[citation needed] He narrated the Bernard Rogers children's piece “The Musicians of Bremen” on a Delos compact disc release.

He also read for books on tape, among them Aesop's Fables and Jack and the Beanstalk (Running Press, 1994), as well as Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, The Prince and the Pauper, and Letters from the Earth (New Millenium, 2001).

They talked at a diner about his comedy career and Reiner invited Seinfeld to come and have dinner with Mel Brooks and himself.

[45] Reiner's final role was in Home Movie: The Princess Bride, a project that Jason Reitman had envisioned to engage his celebrity friends to help raise money for charity during the COVID-19 pandemic, with actors filming their own takes on scenes from The Princess Bride at their own homes.

"[49] Reiner expressed his philosophy on writing comedy in an interview in the December 1981 issue of American Film: You have to imagine yourself as not somebody very special, but somebody very ordinary.

[57] His favorite topics were movies and Donald Trump, but his final tweet was a reminiscence about Noël Coward performing in Las Vegas.

[citation needed] His final interview was a webisode of Dispatches From Quarantine, which was posted on YouTube by the Jewish arts organization Reboot and Temple Beth Am.

[61][62] According to his nephew George Shapiro, Reiner had been in good spirits all day, and had spent the evening watching television with Mel Brooks; afterward, at around 10:00 pm, he became unsteady and fell while walking with the assistance of his housekeeper.

[63] Upon news of his death, fellow comedians and other figures in the entertainment industry gave tributes and remembrance, including Brooks, Alan Alda, Steve Martin, Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, Dick Van Dyke, Carol Burnett, George Clooney, Bette Midler, Bernadette Peters, and Sarah Silverman.

[66] Jones mentioned his time with Reiner during their work on Father of the Pride and expressed his gratitude for his kindness and lessons.

[67][non-primary source needed] Over Reiner's long television and film career, he earned numerous awards.

[69] In 2017, Carl and his son Rob Reiner became the first father-son duo to have their footprints and handprints added to a concrete slab at Grauman's Chinese Theater.