Dick Van Dyke 'couldn’t sleep' after Rob and Michele Reiner’s deaths, wife Arlene Silver says
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Dick Van Dyke was unable to sleep after learning that close friends Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner had been found dead at their Brentwood home. The news broke just one day after Van Dyke celebrated his milestone 100th birthday.
The actor’s wife, Arlene Silver, shared the emotional toll the news took on them in an Instagram video posted Monday, describing a weekend that abruptly shifted from joy to shock.
Van Dyke family shaken by deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner
“Such a weird, wonderful, awful weekend,” Silver, 54, said in the video. “I can't not talk about this horrible thing.”
Silver explained that Van Dyke’s birthday celebration had been joyful and overwhelming in the best way, making the sudden tragedy even harder to process. “Dick's birthday was so amazing, so over-the-top beautiful,” she said. “I was relieved and happy, and then this happened yesterday.”
According to Silver, Van Dyke stayed awake through the night as the first reports emerged.
“He didn't sleep,” she said. “He wanted to stay up. We didn’t know what happened. It just said, the first reports are two people found in the house.”
Rob Reiner and Dick Van Dyke shared lifelong family ties
The deaths hit especially close to home given the decades-long bond between the families. Rob Reiner first met Van Dyke as a teenager through his father, Carl Reiner, who created 'The Dick Van Dyke Show,' which aired from 1961 to 1966 and became one of television’s most beloved comedies.
Silver said her own connection to the Reiners began before she even met Van Dyke. “I was always a fan of Rob’s work before I ever knew him,” she said.
She recalled that Rob and Carl Reiner were the first people she met when she began dating Van Dyke, and that she immediately felt welcomed.
“Rob and Michele were always together, like Dick and I,” Silver said. “And I always felt part of the Reiner family; they always treated me like part of their family. And this is just unbelievable.”
Silver also reflected on the emotional weight of the tragedy in the context of Hollywood’s elder statesmen, many of whom helped shape American television and film together. “I can't imagine if Norman Lear and Carl were alive for this,” she said, referencing Reiner’s close friend and mentor, the 'All in the Family' creator.
“It’s terrible,” Silver added. “I want to celebrate Dick, I want to keep doing that, but I also want to acknowledge this horrible thing.”
Nick Reiner charged in deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner
Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in what authorities later described as an apparent homicide. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree m*rder, with a special allegation that he used a knife.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the charges at a press conference on Tuesday, December 16. If convicted, Nick faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
Hollywood mourns Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner
In the days since the couple’s deaths, tributes have poured in from across the entertainment world, honoring both their professional legacy and their personal impact.
Norman Lear’s family told The Hollywood Reporter they were “devastated” by the loss.
“Norman often referred to Rob as a son, and their close relationship was extraordinary, to us and the world,” the family said.
Others who have paid tribute include longtime collaborators and newer colleagues alike, from Zooey Deschanel and Kate Hudson to Carol Kane, Jerry O’Connell, Kathy Bates, and many more.
