Mel Brooks says Carl Reiner would not have 'survived' son Rob Reiner's murder
"I'm glad that he passed away when he did," Mel Brooks said of Carl Reiner. "He never could have survived this terrible, terrible thing."
Bryan AlexanderLOS ANGELES — Mel Brooks has spoken out on the murder of Rob Reiner, saying the tragic killing would have devastated his best friend — Rob's father, and Brooks’ fellow comedy legend — the late Carl Reiner.
Speaking at the Jan. 20 premiere of the upcoming documentary "Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!," Brooks, 99, somberly expressed relief that Carl Reiner, who died in 2020 at age 98, was not alive to see Rob Reiner and wife, Michele Singer Reiner, killed on Dec. 14.
"Anyway, with Carl, with what's happened, I'm glad that he passed away when he did," Brooks said during a Q&A with Judd Apatow. "He never could have survived this terrible, terrible thing."
"I loved him. I loved Carl," Brooks added.
Nick Reiner has been charged with the double-murder of his parents and is due back in court on Feb. 23.
Rob Reiner speaks about Carl Reiner in Mel Brooks' documentary
Rob Reiner makes a posthumous interview appearance in "The 99-Year-Old Man!," the two-part documentary premiering Jan. 22 and 23 on HBO (8 ET/PT), directed by Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio.
In the documentary, Rob Reiner talks about meeting Brooks for the first time at age four when the comedy writer slept over at the family's home. Brooks became a fixture at the Reiner household thereafter.
The son also speaks about how Carl Reiner would play the straight man in sketches with Brooks, such as their famed "The 2000 Year Old Man" routine.
"My father was like a second banana. He never felt like he needed to be the star," Rob Reiner says in the documentary. "He would push Mel into a corner that would make Mel explode with creativity and humor."
Brooks, who lost his father at age two to tuberculosis, revered the older Carl Reiner.
"I always thought that, even though Mel was only like four years younger than my dad, he looked to my dad as a father figure," Rob Reiner says in the documentary.
Speaking at the premiere, Brooks called Carl Reiner, "the sweetest man that ever lived."