Billy Crystal Gets Emotional Over Rob Reiner's Death: ‘A Profound Loss'

Billy Crystal is paying tribute to his friend Rob Reiner four months after his death.

While appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on April 14, the actor, 78, choked up as he recalled spending time with Reiner at Conan O'Brien's Christmas party before his death.

“We had spent the night before together, talking about our careers together,” he shared, recalling how the pair met while working together on the sitcom "All in the Family" in 1975.

“We were talking about the movie business and how it’s changed. And how people don’t go to theaters like they used to," he continued. "We talked about the fact that you can’t control how a movie’s going to do. What you can control is the experience of making it. And the experiences that we had together, and that he had with his casts of his other movies, was so extraordinary."

"He said, ‘That's something you'll always have. Hits are great to have, but it's the people that you hold on to,' and so I kept that in my heart." Crystal concluded.

When asked what Reiner was like as a friend, the "Princess Bride" star shared he was "hilarious, devoted, opinionated - in the best way - fighting for the truth for our country and the greatest comedy taste."

He said the pair "could talk about everything," adding, "He was an uncle to my kids. There are so many moments that I just - when something good happens or ‘Isn't that crazy?' - I want to pick up the phone and call. Because that's what we would do."

Crystal went on to compare his friendship with Reiner to his onscreen relationship with Meg Ryan's character Sally Albright in the 1989 romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally.”

"In ‘Harry Met Sally’, there’s a lot of moments that Meg and I are really Rob and I," he shared, explaining that he and Reiner enjoyed watching movies and sports together as the characters did.

He called Reiner's death "a profound loss for humanity because he was the most human person that I ever met."

At the 2026 Oscars in March, Crystal also took the stage alongside stars from Reiner's films including "Stand By Me,” "The Princess Bride,” "Misery,” "A Few Good Men,” "The American President,” "The Sure Thing" and "When Harry Met Sally" to pay tribute to Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, who were found dead at their California home in December.

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This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 1:05 PM.