Billy Crystal has revealed he still finds himself wanting to telephone his murdered friend Rob Reiner – describing the loss of the Hollywood director as “profound” after a friendship that spanned almost five decades.
The 78-year-old comedian and actor reflected on his relationship with Rob, who was 78 when he and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found fatally stabbed at their Los Angeles home last year.
Their son Nick Reiner, 33, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of first-degree murder.
Speaking to People magazine, Billy recalled meeting Rob on the sitcom All in the Family and the friendship that subsequently led to their collaborations on The Princess Bride, This Is Spinal Tap and When Harry Met Sally.
Billy said his first impression of the Emmy-winning actor and filmmaker was: “He’s tall and he’s in charge.”
Although Billy was the newcomer on the television set, he remembered Rob making him feel immediately welcome and involving him in discussions about their work.
He said Rob was “inclusive right away” and regularly sought his opinions.
Recalling their shared sense of humour, Billy said: “So many times we couldn’t keep a straight face.”
Their friendship developed rapidly, with Billy recognising almost immediately their professional relationship would extend well beyond the television programme.
He said: “I knew it from that first week that this is going to be a forever thing.”
Billy added: “It’s not something you can define, which makes the loss even more profound.”
The actor said the absence of his longtime friend continued to affect his everyday life, particularly when something happened that he would previously have shared with Rob.
He explained: “I don’t know if I don’t want that to keep happening or I do want it to keep happening.”
Billy added: “He encouraged me.”
The pair‘s professional relationship became particularly significant during the 1980s, when Rob established himself as one of Hollywood's leading comedy directors.
Rob directed the cult mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap in 1984, with Billy making a cameo appearance as a mime waiter.
The pair also worked together on the 1987 fantasy adventure The Princess Bride, in which Billy played Miracle Max.
Their best-known collaboration came with the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally, directed by Rob and starring Billy opposite Meg Ryan, 64.
The film, written by Nora Ephron, became one of the defining romantic comedies of its era, following the changing relationship between two friends over several years in New York.
Billy revealed despite their longstanding friendship, he had not initially been Rob's preferred actor for the leading role.
He said he was “not Rob’s first choice” and recalled waiting while the director considered other performers.
Billy said: “I said, if (Rob) wants me then he wants me, but I know he’s seeing other people.”
He continued: “Then the call came: ‘I always knew it was you’.”
Rob subsequently encouraged Billy to read the screenplay, prompting another exchange the actor remembered for its humour.
Billy recalled joking he had already read the script and disliked it.
He said: “We laughed and laughed. He said: ‘We’ll start tomorrow,'”
The film became a commercial and critical success, with Billy's performance as Harry Burns and Meg's portrayal of Sally Albright establishing the pair as one of cinema's best-known romantic comedy partnerships.
Billy's other major screen credits include City Slickers, Analyze This and Monsters, Inc., in which he voiced Mike Wazowski alongside John Goodman as Sulley.
He also became familiar to television audiences through his appearances on Saturday Night Live and his numerous stints hosting the Academy Awards.
Rob's directing career included Stand by Me, Misery, A Few Good Men and The American President, alongside his earlier success playing Michael Stivic in All in the Family.
In the same People interview, Billy discussed another devastating event in his life – the destruction of his family home during the Los Angeles wildfires in January 2025.
The actor and his wife, Janice Crystal, lost the Pacific Palisades property where they had lived for 46 years when fires swept through neighbourhoods around Los Angeles, including Pacific Palisades and Malibu.
Recalling the destruction he witnessed, Billy said: “All you could see were skeletons of trees and chimneys, the ones that hadn’t fallen, stuff blowing in the streets, nobody around.”
He compared the aftermath to a scene from the television series The Walking Dead.
Billy said: “It was like an episode of The Walking Dead, like this thing had just come through and wiped out everything.”
The couple fled to their daughter's home as the fires approached, taking a limited number of personal possessions with them.
He recalled: “We took photo albums, wedding albums, photographs of our parents’ weddings.”
Billy added: “So that’s what we had and the clothes we were wearing, thinking we’ll be back in a day.”