Comedian and actor Carl Reiner has died aged 98

Carl Reiner, creator of The Dick Van Dyke Show, who was renowned for his double act with Mel Brooks, as well as writing, directing and producing many hit comedies, has died aged 98.

His assistant Judy Nagy confirmed to Variety that he died of natural causes on Monday night at his home in Beverly Hills. 

Reiner, the father of filmmaker and activist Rob Reiner, won nine Emmy awards during his seven-decade long career, including five for The Dick Van Dyke Show.

Last night my dad passed away. As I write this my heart is hurting. He was my guiding light.

— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) June 30, 2020

He was a close friend of fellow sketchwriter Mel Brooks, and the pair were especially loved by audiences for their 2000 Year Old Man routines, which spawned books, sketches, and an animated TV special.

Carl Reiner with his son Rob

Reiner’s most popular films as a director included Oh God, starring George Burns, in 1977; The Jerk, with Steve Martin, in 1979; and All of Me, with Martin and Lily Tomlin, in 1984.

As an actor, the comedy legend had numerous guest-starring roles in TV shows such as Frasier, King of the Hill, The Larry Sanders Show and Ally McBeal, while his film roles included Steven Soderbergh's Ocean’s Eleven remake as con artist Saul Bloom and Carl Reinorcerous in Toy Story 4.

Reiner expressed his approach to his work in his book My Anecdotal Life, when he said, "Inviting people to laugh at you while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be the fool but you are the fool in charge."

Carl Reiner (right) with his son Rob and wife Estelle in 1978

In 1943, Reiner married cabaret singer Estelle Lebost, who became famous herself for her one-line role in her son Rob’s film When Harry Met Sally: "I’ll have what she’s having."

Lebost died in 2008. The couple are survived by their three children, Rob, Sylvia and Lucas