LOS ANGELES — Hollywood tributes are pouring in for comedy legend Carl Reiner, who died Monday evening in his Beverly Hills home at age 98.
“Last night my dad passed away,” Carl Reiner’s son Rob Reiner tweeted Tuesday morning. “As I write this my heart is hurting. He was my guiding light.”
Alan Alda, Bette Midler, William Shatner, Steve Martin, Mitzi Gaynor, Al Roker, Ed Asner, Ron Howard, Mia Farrow, Josh Gad, Stephen King, Yvette Nicole Brown, George Takei, John Cusack, Cary Elwes, Jason Alexander and many more stars have honored the veteran comedy actor, writer, director and producer on social media.
Carl Reiner himself was active on Twitter and recently shared a sweet tribute to his family before his death.
“Nothing pleases me more than knowing that I have lived the best life possible by having met & marrying the gifted Estelle (Stella) Lebost — who partnered with me in bringing Rob, Annie & Lucas Reiner into to this needy & evolving world,” he wrote Saturday in a tweet that has picked up viral attention in the wake of his death.
Reiner’s longtime friend Alda was among the first to salute him on Twitter, writing, “His talent will live on for a long time, but the loss of his kindness and decency leaves a hole in our hearts.”
“We love you, Carl,” he added, along with a cheerful photo of himself, Reiner and prolific director Mel Brooks.
Also among his industry admirers was Midler, who starred in the 1997 romantic comedy “That Old Feeling” — the last film Reiner directed.
“The great #CarlReiner has gone to that Show of Shows in the sky,” Midler wrote. “I worked with him, loved him, and consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have once attended lunch with his hilarious, guarrulous gang.”
Gaynor, who famously tangoed with Reiner for her Emmy-winning 1976 special, “Mitzi … Roarin’ in the ’20s,” fondly remembered him as “a genius, a good friend, & a true gent.”
“What a joyful gift (Carl Reiner) was in my life & in the lives of everyone who enjoyed his towering talent,” she tweeted. “I’ll cherish the memory of the times we spent together, & the laughter we shared. My love to his beautiful family & friends.”
Screen icon Shatner joined in celebrating Reiner’s memory by highlighting some of his greatest comedy hits.
“From the writers room of Sid Caesar to recreating those times for the Dick Van Dyke show, Carl was a master at his craft,” Shatner wrote. “I knew him only peripherally, but it was a pleasure to have known him.”
Another of Reiner’s longtime entertainment peers, Ed Asner, also offered his condolences to the family of the “Dick Van Dyke Show” mastermind and wrote, “There will forever only be one of him. May his memory be forever blessed. He leaves us with so much laughter.”
