I was hoping the early reporting was wrong but with the arrest it seems to confirm the worst is likely true. It is sad enough the Reiners were murdered but this is unbelievably tragic.
Such a very sad end to the lives of two people who by all reports were truly wonderful individuals.
You’re seeing different news stories than I am. Nearly all of the ones that I’ve read or heard have mentioned All in the Family prominently, and a number of them led off with something along the lines of, “Rob Reiner, who played ‘Meathead’ on All in the Family…”
To both of your points, I’m going to bet a lot of the difference is how old the article author is, or how young / old they perceive their reading audience to be.
All in the Family was first-run TV from 1971 - 1979. The humor was aimed at adults but would have been understandable by most teens but probably few tweens. Taking that cutoff, >= age 13 in 1979 anyone born after 1966 didn’t develop any affinity for the show in first run. People born in 1966 turn 60 next year.
So my unofficial guess: Nick was off the wagon, may have been making a bit of a scene at Conan’s party, Rob confronted him, they had a bit of a back-and-forth, and then Nick’s demons took over the next day.
If Nick is the guy, he needs to be on suicide watch. To sober up and realize (or be told) what you’ve done…not something a person could live with.
It will be interesting to see what defense lawyer (firm) takes it on. Not hard to imagine what the defense is likely to be–said after watching all 466 eps of L&O multiple times. Calling Danielle Melnick. 
Yep. I greatly enjoyed All in the Family in its first run, but then I’m an Old Fart. However, I don’t think I really knew at the time who Rob Reiner was (Carl Reiner’s son) and when he went on to become a famous director and political activist, it was some time before I made the connection back to “Meathead”. Later on I realized that even in his old age, Reiner’s voice and intonation were still similar to Meathead on AitF.
Nick had substance abuse and addiction issues earlier in life and possibly still, and was said to have been in and out of rehab multiple times. That may have been a factor as well.
And in contrast to All in the Family, several of Reiner’s movies are all-time classics that are still popular watches to this day. “You can’t handle the truth” is one of the most iconic scenes in film history. Listing popular bits of The Princess Bride that are still commonly referenced would take roughly 1h 38m (the film’s run time). All in the Family had nothing like the longevity of Reiner’s movies, and wasn’t even heavily syndicated like the contemporaneous MASH.
Vastly more people today know Rob Reiner’s movies than remember Meathead.
Confession: I only realized he played Meathead last night. I remember seeing some episodes of All in the Family, but was just a kid at the time.
For sure.
Nick Reiner Has Spoken Openly About His Struggles
He and his father, the director Rob Reiner, also worked together on a film that was loosely inspired by the son’s early life.
…
Nick and Rob Reiner had worked together on a movie, “Being Charlie,” that was loosely inspired by the younger Mr. Reiner’s early life. Rob Reiner directed, and Nick Reiner wrote the screenplay alongside Matt Elisofon, whom he met in rehab.The movie’s release in 2015 signaled a victory lap of sorts for Nick Reiner, who had been in and out of rehab and experienced homelessness since he was about 15.
…
When it comes to celebrity news I put TMZ on-par with the best intelligence services.
Can’t I ever write a post without an error? Drop the word “don’t”. It should say, “I’m surprised that so few of the news stories about this mention that Reiner was on All in the Family”.
Just as a point of reference:
I was an EMT in southern Indiana for around 8 years. Over that time, I was present at the scene for several body recoveries that would require a coroner to come take pictures and notes before we could move the corpse to the morgue. Even in southern Indiana, including small towns, it could take a few hours from the time that we called the coroner to the time they would arrive. And that’s in a small rural to semi-urban environment. A major metro area close to the size Reiner lived in would have several medical examiners, but it’s not a big leap for me to believe that it could take several hours for someone from their office to come and examine the scene before releasing the bodies to be moved for autopsy.
How about
To sober up and realize (or be told) what you’ve done…not something a mentally and emotionally typical person could easily live with.
Addicts are quite famous for really not giving a shit about anything except the next high. Gambling, booze, drugs, whatever. Plenty of people can rationalize damned near anything. Whatever else we might say about Nick, him being psychologically and emotionally normal / typical is not one of them.
He certainly might be a suicide risk. But IMO equally he might not be.
I suppose you could be right, but if you are… man, that’s cold.
I mean, your parents…with a knife…?
A rich man’s son who was homeless as a teen was not mentally healthy then. And probably has not become more healthy (much) since.
It seems to me that knowing Reiner’s movies is different than knowing that he was the director. A lot of people have no idea who directed the film that they watched a few hours before. Reiner’s most famous films were from 1986 to 1996. All in the Family ran from 1971 to 1978. The television series is in the past now, but so it the famous films. People sometimes watch those movies on television, streaming, or in a movie theater showing occasional old films. They also occasionally watch the television series on television.
True. However, I’d note that one, in particular – The Princess Bride – has endured as a classic, and I know a lot of people who were born well after it came out who have discovered it and love it.
All I’m saying is that Reiner’s movies have far, far more current cultural relevance than All in the Family. Thus, it’s not surprising if news articles lead with his movie production/direction credits rather than his acting credits.
I’m not sure I care so much about his film credits or career. At the moment.
I’m thinking how awful the Holiday season will be for this whole family. Forever.
Sad,sad,sad.
True. It will take many years to begin to enjoy the Thanksgiving-Christmas season.
I mean, Mom AND Dad. Wow.
At least at sentencing Nick can plead for mercy since he’s an orphan.
Too soon?