Rob Reiner, more than a showman, fought for California kids

Actor and director Rob Reiner felt so passionately that every child deserves a rich education from an early age that he mused nearly three decades ago that he might be happy giving up filmmaking to devote the rest of his life to the cause of early childhood development.

He never left entertainment, but Reiner’s drive and political activism changed the lives of an untold number of young Californians. The 1998 ballot measure he championed, Proposition 10, put a tax on tobacco to pump more than $11 billion into preschools, teacher training and support for families struggling to raise their kids.

Friends and supporters recalled that work Monday, the day after Reiner and his wife, Michele, died in their Brentwood home, allegedly after an attack by their son Nick. Reiner’s allies wanted to make sure that work is not forgotten.

”What I keep coming back to is that Rob was a generational artist, a brilliant political strategist and a courageous leader,” said Ben Austin, a political strategist hired by Reiner to promote the implementation of the First 5 initiative. “Rob didn’t get enough credit for seeing around the corner on what would become a major issue for American progressive policy … the importance of nurturing early brain development and programs to support it.”

Why Reiner felt strongly about this cause

Reiner told the New York Times in 1997 that, though he grew up in privilege — the son of actor and comedian Carl Reiner — “I can trace my struggles, and the difficulties I’ve had in functioning and fitting in, to early influences.’’ He asked people to ponder how that would impact children who grew up with much less.

Once he and Michele Singer Reiner learned the science of early brain development, they felt they had to act, said Michael Trujillo, another political consultant who worked with Reiner on First 5, which refers to the first five years of life.

“He knew that the things you experience as a young kid, when your brain was being developed … helped dictate the current of your entire life,” Trujillo said. “There are kids who may never know his name who benefited from that.” His voice choked with emotion, Trujillo added: “And he just did it because it was the right thing to do.”

Reiner, who died at 78, brought more than passion to the cause. He produced a TV special, “ I Am Your Child,” hosted by actor Tom Hanks and supported by Hollywood potentates Billy Crystal, Michael J. Fox, Rosie O’Donnell and Robin Williams. It highlighted a Virginia community that promoted better outcomes for kids with increased support for kids and their families. The actor-director also had political connections from L.A. City Hall and then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa all the way up to the Clinton White House.

“He articulated, clearly and persuasively, that investing early was not charity, but a proven way to reduce crime, mitigate poverty and strengthen families and communities,” wrote Mark Friedman, the chief executive of Bay Area hospital district and former chief executive of First 5 in Alameda County, in an essay about Reiner’s activism.

A setback for early childhood funding

Reiner’s work suffered a setback in 2006, when voters rejected a measure to tax the wealthy (individuals earning more than $400,000 and couples earning more than $800,000 annually) to pay for preschool for all 4-year-olds. And the tobacco tax revenue from the earlier childhood measure dropped substantially as smoking in California declined.

It was a sad irony that 32-year-old Nick Reiner’s reported mental health demons proved far beyond the reach of the kind of interventions that the Reiners promoted for the masses. Rob Reiner and his wife struggled for years to help their second son. A family friend told The Times about years of treatment and therapy that couldn’t stanch the addiction and pain.

After Reiner and his son teamed on a semiautobiographical film about Nick’s life, his parents told a Times reporter they wondered if the end of his odyssey would be “the tragic one that a voice in the back of their heads kept telling them was coming,” the article said.

Today’s top stories

Law enforcement gathers at Rob Reiner’s Brentwood home Sunday night after he and his wife were found slain.

(Eric Thayer/Los Angeles Times)

Rob and Michele Reiner slayings

• LAPD arrested Nick Reiner on suspicion of homicide, after his parents, Rob and Michele, were found dead Sunday at their Brentwood home.
• Rob and Nick got into an argument Saturday evening at a party, family friends told The Times. Here’s a timeline of what we know.
• What we know about suspect Nick Reiner, who struggled with addiction and shared his recovery with the world.
• Michele Singer Reiner, who was killed along with her husband, was a photographer who moved from still images into filmmaking and later into producing.
• Nick’s parents reportedly had grown concerned about his mental health in recent weeks. Here’s more on how addiction tormented the Reiner family.

Rob’s legacy

• Rob Reiner found a way to please everyone — by going his own way, film critic Amy Nicholson writes.
• Rob Reiner’s humanity was a signature of his TV work, in front of and behind the camera, television critic Robert Lloyd writes.
• As news of Rob Reiner’s killing worsens, let’s remember his legacy rooted in empathy, culture critic Mary McNamara writes.
• From Rob Reiner, a life of political activism driven by compassion. From Trump, a grave dance, columnist Steve Lopez writes.

California’s Prop. 50

• Republicans and Democrats begin a high-stakes court battle over the fate of California’s Prop. 50.
• The Newsom-led proposition, which changes the state’s congressional districts and ultimately could help determine party control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms, has been strongly opposed by Republicans.

A new California-led public health initiative

• Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the initiative Monday and tapped former CDC leaders who have been critical of the Trump administration’s health policies to lead it.
• The Public Health Network Innovation Exchange is poised to“modernize public health infrastructure and maintain trust in science-driven decision-making,” according to the governor’s office.

What else is going on

• Federal officials say they foiled a New Year’s Eve terror plot in Southern California, arresting four people on suspicion of plotting an attack.
• Leaders of a cult-like SoCal group have been charged with murdering a missing member and a 10-year-old.
• Trump’s immigration raids take a toll on child-care workers in California and nationwide.
• Anthony Geary, “General Hospital” legend and eight-time Daytime Emmy winner, has died at 78.
• LA28 releases new details on how to buy tickets for the 2028 Olympics.

Commentary and opinions

• Rob Reiner’s tragic slaying and Trump’s awful response, news and culture critic Lorraine Ali writes.
• Trump’s callous political attack on Rob Reiner shows a shameful moral failure, columnist Anita Chabria writes.
• Serious backlash to a Netflix/Warner Bros deal may come from European regulators, argues columnist Michael Hiltzik.
• The Rams are going to win the Super Bowl and nobody can stop them, columnist Bill Plaschke writes.

This morning’s must read

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• 6 actresses on refusing the boxes Hollywood tried to put them in.
• The Jumbo’s Clown Room icon who is L.A.’s best-kept Pilates secret.
• A photographic look into L.A.’s nightlife in its most tender moments.
• “This feels like home.” A fashionably late night out to the Pico Rivera Sports Arena.

For your downtime

The production company Spesh films comedian Ahmed Bharoocha at the Lyric Hyperion in Los Angeles on Nov. 22.

(Karla Gachet/For The Times)

Going out

• Comedy shows: Find your way into a Spesh show to share some much-needed laughs.
• Music: Give yourself the best holiday gift possible and see “Ben Platt: Live at the Ahmanson.”
• Food: Begin your holiday eating extravaganza planning with this list of 26 L.A. restaurants serving dine-in and takeout feasts for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Staying in

• Music: Listen to Kehlani’s “Folded” to understand why its success wasn’t an accident, but divine intervention.
• Movies: Watch Mary Bronstein’s “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” and hear from her how it came to life.
• Recipe: Embrace the chilly season with Winterdoodles (Snickerdoodles With Eggnog Custard).
• ✏️ Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and jigsaw games.

A question for you: What is the best Christmas gift you received?

Michelle McDonald said, “The best Christmas gift I ever received was actually homemade … our son was born on Christmas Eve. This year my husband and I will celebrate with him the 25 years of joy and delight that he has brought into our lives.”

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Len Kendall stands on the lot where his family’s Pacific Palisades home burned down during the January wildfires. His wife, Sharlot Kendall, holds hands with the couple’s 3-year-old daughter.

(Kayla Bartkowski/Los Angeles Times)

Today’s great photo is from staff photographer Kayla Bartkowski of Len Kendall, along with his wife, Sharlot and the couple’s 3-year-old daughter. The couple, standing on the lot where their Pacific Palisades home burned down during the January fires, are among dozens of homeowners who were victims of the Palisades and Eaton fires who have found it hard to get mortgage relief.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Jim Rainey, staff reporter
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, Fast Break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
June Hsu, editorial fellow
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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