When Norman Lear died earlier this month, he left behind a legacy, not just in the world of TV, but with the people he touched. Count Rob Reiner among them.
Reiner, who is the son of late comedy icon Carl Reiner, first burst into the national consciousness on “All in the Family,” playing Michael Stivic, the liberal son-in-law of Carroll O’Connor’s bigoted Archie Bunker, who referred to him as "Meathead." It’s a role that earned Reiner two Emmy Awards and a trio of other nominations.
The pioneering sitcom was among a litany of trailblazing comedies created by Lear.
Reiner says there are many great episodes, but the one that stands out to him is when Mike and Archie, known for not seeing eye to eye on anything, get locked in a cellar.
“They start to come together and they realize that they love each other, even cutting through all of the disharmony. The two of them love each other,” Reiner tells TODAY.com in a Zoom interview.
“And I always looked at that episode. There’s basically just the two of us stuck in the cellar. I look at that as one of the best episodes because what it says is you can connect with people, even if you’re of different political stripes, because there may be a common humanity underneath that.”
Reiner knew Lear since he was a little boy and says Lear was the first person to tell his father that he was funny.
“Norman was the first guy to recognize that I had a sense of humor, and he’s been my champion for a long time,” he says. “Got me started in my directing career. I’ve said many times he’s like a second father to me. I’ve been very lucky to have him as a role model, along with my own father.”
Lear was a comedy legend, but Reiner says his influence was not overt, noting he learned by watching how Lear carried himself.
“It’s interesting because both my father and Norman, there was never any kind of ‘let’s sit down and give you advice’ about anything,” he says.
“What I got from them was just being around them and seeing how they conducted their lives. That’s the best advice I got. I saw how my dad conducted his career, how he treated other people. I saw how Norman used what he had and his strength that he had of his convictions, to stick to his guns and not back down from what he believed. Those are the pieces of advice that I got from both of them.”
Lear used his shows to shine a light on controversial topics, and Reiner has followed that example with his upcoming documentary that he produced, “God + Country,” coming out Feb. 16, which examines the rise of Christian nationalism.
He says there’s a thread with Lear, who was one of the founders of People for the American Way, whose website says was created “to fight right-wing extremism and build a democratic society that implements the ideals of freedom, equality, opportunity and justice for all. We encourage civic participation, defend fundamental rights, and fight to dismantle systemic barriers to equitable opportunity.”
“I saw with Norman, not only just in the shows that he did, the subject matters he touched on, but he also taught me that you can take your celebrity, your fame and use it to advance certain issues,” he says. “And what he started with People for the American Way, we’re hopefully shining a light on it with ‘God + Country’ because that’s really the subject matter of ‘God + Country.’”
After “All in the Family,” Reiner went on to enjoy a decorated career in film, earning an Oscar nomination and directing such hits as “Stand by Me,” “The Princess Bride,” “Misery,” “When Harry Met Sally...” and “A Few Good Men.” His first big-screen directorial effort was 1984’s “This Is Spinal Tap,” and Reiner is ready to go back to his roots by helming the upcoming sequel. It’s actually his first sequel, with shooting getting underway in February.
“For years, everybody kept saying, ‘You should do a “Spinal Tap 2.” You should do another one.’ And none of us ever wanted to do it because it’s not like you just do something. We have to have an idea of something that would make you want to do it,” he says. “And we did come up with an idea that we liked. And everything spokes from the idea. It’s not like, ‘Ooh, let’s do a “Spinal Tap 2.”’”
Making a sequel to a landmark movie like “Spinal Tap,” which helped define the mockumentary genre and remains popular to this day, is tricky. Reiner says he had to tread lightly.
“We were very nervous about doing a second one because it (has) become a classic, a cult classic, and it’s in the National Film Registry, which is a big honor,” he says. “And so sometimes you say, ‘I don’t want to touch that.’ But I think we have a way of doing it that will be different and hopefully people will enjoy it.”
Reiner, of course, also starred in the original, playing filmmaker Marty DiBergi. It’s been nearly 40 years since moviegoers were introduced to the trio that is Spinal Tap, a metal band whose tour goes awry in the mockumentary that continues to entertain audiences years after its release. It’s that passage of time that will be mined for laughs this time around.
“I think they’re going to see members of the band and also the character I play, Marty DiBergi, be 40 years older than they were and what that entails,” he says with a laugh.
Reiner confirms Elton John and Paul McCartney will appear in the sequel, which is still untitled. He notes, “I think we got a commitment from Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood.”
Reiner also says he is careful when it comes to getting big names to take part in the movie.
“Everything we do is based on an idea that we have that we say, ‘OK, that would work,’” he says. “In other words, we don’t reverse engineer it and say, ‘Let’s skip Paul McCartney or Elton John.’ We have an idea and we say, ‘Ooh, he could do that.’”
While there will be celebrity involvement, it’s the evolution of the band's members that remains critical to the “Spinal Tap” sequel.
“You have to think about these characters 40 years later,” Reiner says. “What have they been doing for all those years? We have a history of the band and we had to create a greater history up until this point. And that actually is the basis for the story of this: What has happened to these three guys over the years is the crux of what what the film is about.”