Billy Crystal, the star of When Harry Met Sally \u2013 one of Rob Reiner\u2019s most enduring films \u2013 has paid emotional tribute to the late director and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, at the Academy Awards in Hollywood.<\/p>\n
Crystal \u2013 whose friendship with Reiner formed much of the basis for the film \u2013 was one of the first people on the scene when the couple were found dead on 14 December.<\/p>\n
Their son, Nick Reiner, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder. This year\u2019s Oscars<\/a> host, Conan O\u2019Brien, hosted a party which it is understood Rob, Michele and Nick attended the night before the killings.<\/p>\n \u201cI met Mr Rob Reiner<\/a> when I was cast as his best friend in an episode of All in the Family,\u201d said Crystal, \u201cand it went so well that Rob said, \u2018It was fun playing your best friend. Why don\u2019t we keep it going?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it was a thrill to see him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller,\u201d he continued, running through his filmography, including This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, Misery and more.<\/p>\n Crystal added: \u201cMy friend Rob\u2019s movies will last for lifetimes because they were about what makes us laugh and cry and what we aspire to be: far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cTo the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know here and around the world, how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him that his work meant something to you. And for us who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.\u201d<\/p>\n Crystal \u2013 who has hosted the Oscars ceremony nine times \u2013 was then joined on stage by Meg Ryan, as well as many of the stars of The Princess Bride, Stand By Me and This Is Spinal Tap, including Kathy Bates, Demi Moore and Jerry O\u2019Connell.<\/p>\n Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Jerry O\u2019Connell, Wil Wheaton, Fred Savage, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Carol Kane, Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Kevin Pollak, Kathy Bates, Annette Bening, John Cusack and Daphne Zuniga on stage. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p>\n In a joint statement with Larry David, Martin Short and Albert Brooks soon after the killings, Crystal said of his long-term collaborator: \u201cHis comedic touch was beyond compare, his love of getting the music of the dialogue just right, and his sharpening of the edge of a drama was simply elegant. For the actors, he loved them. For the writers he made them better. His greatest gift was freedom. If you had an idea, he listened, he brought you into the process. They always felt they were working as a team. To be in his hands as a film-maker was a privilege but that is only part of his legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Ryan, meanwhile, with whom Reiner also worked on 1993\u2019s Sleepless in Seattle, wrote on Instagram, alongside a picture of them together: \u201cOh how we will miss this man. Thank you, Rob and Michelle [sic], for the way you believe in true love, in fairytales, and in laughter. Thank you for your faith in the best in people, and for your profound love of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n When Harry Met Sally was a critical and commercial hit when it was released in 1989, making more than $93m at the box office and scoring Nora Ephron an Oscar nomination for best original screenplay. The ending of the film was altered to be more romantic and optimistic after Reiner met Michele while making the film.<\/p>\n