Rob Reiner, a filmmaker, activist and former UCLA theater student, was found dead Dec. 14. He was 78.
Reiner, who attended UCLA from 1964 to 1966, was found dead along with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in their Brentwood home. Nick Reiner, the couple’s son, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of his parents.
The actor-director created dozens of Hollywood films, including “When Harry Met Sally,” “This is Spinal Tap” and “The Princess Bride.” Reiner served on the advisory board for the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television and earned the UCLA Medal – the university’s highest honor – in 2000.
Jackie Wong, the executive director for First 5 California, a nonprofit that advocates for young children and families, said Reiner advocated for programs that supported early childhood development in the 1990s – something she said was not top of mind for policymakers at the time. Reiner was a parent to young children, which inspired his belief that children’s early years are the most important stage of life, said Ellen Galinsky, the president of the Families and Work Institute.
“We take pride in the fact that, but for Rob Reiner, we wouldn’t have universal transitional kindergarten or this, really, fight for high-quality preschool in the state of California because he was such a fighter for our youngest children,” Wong said. “We would not have screenings for developmental disabilities.”
Neal Halfon, who informally advised Reiner on early childhood policy, said Reiner created the “I Am Your Child” campaign, which included a 60-minute television special on early childhood development. Galinsky, who worked on the research behind the public awareness campaign, added that Reiner’s unique storytelling skills as a filmmaker helped him initiate change.
Reiner took it upon himself to change the way the country thinks about children, said Halfon, the director for the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities. He added that the “I Am Your Child” campaign, which celebrities like actor Tom Hanks and professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal joined, gained traction at a national level and had its own special edition of Newsweek.
“Part of the ability that he had as a filmmaker … he could see things in ways that other people didn’t see,” Galinsky said. “He could bring together the humor, the pathos, the drama, the calm and quiet in ways that connected and built momentum for the people who were with him.”
Halfon said Reiner later led the campaign for Proposition 10 – also called the California Children and Families Act. Halfon, who helped review the language for the measure, added that the initiative implemented a tobacco tax to raise funds for early childhood development programs across state counties.
The measure raised about $12 billion, which supported about 30 million children, Wong said. She added that Reiner served as the first chair for the statewide commission – First 5 California – that oversees the allocation of the tobacco tax funds.
“He believed in the First 5 of today before we all could see it,” she said. “It took somebody with that type of imagination, creativity, belief and hope to make that real for all of us.”
Wong said that because of Reiner’s activism, First 5 California now offers home visitation programs and initiatives to address child poverty issues.
“He created a system and a world and a network of humans who are constantly focused on, ‘How do we work better together to change the trajectory and the lives of children?’” she said.
Reiner was constantly searching for innovative solutions and often visited different early childhood programs across Los Angeles for inspiration, Halfon said.
He added that one institution in particular – Hope Street Margolis Family Center, also known as Hope Street – caught Reiner’s attention because it epitomized his goals in early childhood development advocacy. Hope Street, a program that UCLA played a role in establishing, offers services in early childhood education, literacy, family support and mental health, according to its website.
Reiner decided to hold one of the First 5 launch events at Hope Street because of his connection to the center, Halfon said.
“When people came to it (Hope Street) they went … ‘Why aren’t we doing this everywhere?’” he said. “That was Rob’s reaction.”
Reiner also later co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a nonprofit organization that challenged California’s Proposition 8 – a 2008 measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state.
Outside of Reiner’s advocacy efforts, he coached Little League at Barrington Park in West Los Angeles, Halfon, who was his assistant coach, said.
“It’s easy to get him to laugh,” Halfon said. “He sees humor in lots of things so, but he’s also going to be dead serious about things when he sees injustice.”
Galinsky said that Reiner always had an engaging and unique take on current events, which she called the “Rob Reiner view of the world.” He had a sense of purpose rooted in making the world a better place, she added.
“He didn’t just care – he did something about it,” Galinsky said. “He used his talent to create the kind of world that he and Michele wanted.”
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