Conan

Hours before filmmaking legend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home, they attended a holiday party at Conan O’Brien’s house.

Now, two months after the tragedy, the comedian has broken his silence about the death of his good friends.

“To have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward,” O’Brien said in an interview for “The New Yorker Radio Hour” podcast. “I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful.”

As host of the Dec. 13 party, O’Brien was among the last people to see the Reiners alive. Their 32-year-old son, Nick, was arrested the following night and charged with murdering his parents. Two sources who attended the party described witnessing a loud verbal exchange between Nick Reiner and his parents.

In an interview published Friday, O’Brien said he and his wife were very close with the couple, describing them as “just such lovely people.”

O’Brien praised Rob Reiner’s talent as a director and his tireless advocacy efforts. The “When Harry Met Sally …” director was a prominent Democratic donor, noted critic of President Trump and a champion for causes such as early childhood education and gay marriage.

“I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend,” O’Brien told The New Yorker.

O’Brien said he considers Reiner “one of the greats” given his impressive track record of directing a series of blockbuster movies.

“To make seven — in, like, a nine-year, 10-year, 11-year period — is insanity,” O’Brien said. “With ‘Spinal Tap’ alone, if that’d been the only thing he ever did, he influenced my generation enormously.”

O’Brien fondly recalled first watching the rock mockumentary “This is Spinal Tap” in college, calling it a “splitting-the-atom moment.”

The pair were not only friends, but also collaborators. Reiner was a guest on a 1999 episode of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien,” and also appeared on episodes of O’Brien’s podcast, “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend,” in 2023 and 2025.

Authorities allege Nick Reiner fatally stabbed his 78-year-old father and 70-year-old mother at their Brentwood home sometime in the early morning hours of Dec. 14. The couple’s bodies were discovered in the master bedroom by their daughter around 12 hours later, and Nick Reiner was arrested that night in South L.A. by Los Angeles police.

Nick Reiner was charged with two counts of first-degree murder on Dec. 16 and has yet to enter a plea. In January, his arraignment was postponed to Monday after his lawyer, famed defense attorney Alan Jackson, stepped down and was replaced by a public defender.

Nick Reiner has a history of struggles with mental health and substance use. It is unclear how prominently those struggles will feature in criminal proceedings.

Times staff writers James Queally and Richard Winton contributed to this report.

CONAN O’Brien has broken his silence after his friend Rob Reiner was at his party just hours before being killed.

Reiner, 78, and Michele allegedly had their throats slit while they were in bed and their son Nick was charged with murder.

Reiner and Michele had attended O’Brien’s holiday party the night before the killings on December 24, last year.

The couple arrived at that party with Nick because they were reportedly afraid to leave him alone.

Conan O’Brien told The New Yorker: “I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot.

“My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people.

“And to have that experience of saying goodnight to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they’re gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward. I mean, there’s no other word for it. It’s just very — it’s so awful. It’s just so awful.”

O’Brien admitted it is still “hard for me to comprehend” the tragedy.

Reiner’s son Nick faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole if he’s convicted. 

The death penalty has not been ruled out.

This comes after Reiner told friends he was terrified of his own son and feared he could hurt him just hours before the Hollywood legend and his wife were found dead.

Nick, 32, had been living in the guesthouse of his parents’ $13.5 million Brentwood estate.

He had struggled with drug addiction since his teens, undergone at least 18 stints in rehab and experienced periods of homelessness.

Sources say Nick behaved erratically at the holiday party and unsettled guests.

According to MailOnline, Reiner told friends: “I’m petrified of him”.

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this but I’m afraid of my own son. I think my own son can hurt me.”

At one point, Reiner introduced Nick to Bill Hader.

Nick then interrupted Hader mid-conversation, according to accounts.

Hader reportedly told him he was “in the middle of a private conversation.”

Nick reacted angrily, stood still, stared at Hader and stormed off.

It was moments later that Reiner approached friends and voiced his fear.

Hours after the gathering, prosecutors allege Nick returned home and killed both his parents in the early hours of Sunday, December 14.

On the Sunday afternoon, a masseuse contacted the Reiners’ 27-year-old daughter Romy after being unable to gain entry to the home.

Romy rushed to the house and found her father’s body before fleeing in distress.

She later learned her mother had also been killed.

Billy Crystal was seen outside the home with his wife Janice, wiping away tears as police arrived.

Crystal later joined Albert Brooks, Larry David, Martin Short and Barry Levinson in a statement praising Reiner as “a great comic actor” and “a master storyteller.”

Police said both victims were found in the master bedroom and no other suspects were located.

Nick was arrested around 9pm on Sunday near the Expo/Vermont Metro station.

Earlier that morning, he had checked into a Santa Monica hotel.

About an hour before his arrest, he was seen acting nervously while buying a Gatorade at a gas station.

Nick has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and is being held without bail.

The legendary career of iconic director Rob Reiner

FAMED actor, director and producer Rob Reiner, 78, died on December 14 alongside his wife Michele Singer, 68, in an apparent homicide.

Here is a look at the prodigious list of achievements the Hollywood powerhouse earned before his tragic and sudden death.

Director’s Beginnings

• Reiner was born in New York City on March 6, 1947, to legendary comedy writer Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Reiner
• He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles film school before breaking into the entertainment industry

Hollywood Career

• Reiner first found fame as an actor playing Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the iconic sitcom All in the Family from 1971 to 1979
• In 1984, he directed his first film This Is Spinal Tap – a mockumentary following a fictional heavy metal band
• Reiner went on to direct cult classic films like The Princess Bride in 1987 and When Harry Met Sally… in 1989
• Other notable movies made by the director include Misery, The American President, and A Few Good Men, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture
• The production company he co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, has also produced hits like Seinfeld and The Shawshank Redemption
• Reiner didn’t halt his acting career either, recently starring in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013 and The Bear in 2025

Personal Life

• Reiner married actress Penny Marshall in 1971 and adopted her daughter, Tracy, from a previous marriage. The couple divorced in 1981
• He met photographer Michele Singer while shooting When Harry Met Sally
• They married in 1989 and had three children: Jake, born 1991, Nick born 1993, and Romy born 1997)
• Nick opened up about his struggle with drug addiction in 2016. The movie Becoming Charlie, directed by Reiner, was based on Nick’s story
• Reiner was an outspoken Democratic activist and a fierce critic of Donald Trump