Carl Reiner Remembered by Mel Brooks, Steve Martin: ‘Goodbye to My Greatest Mentor’

Legendary actor/director died Monday at the age of 98

Carl Reiner
Photo credit: Getty Images
Beatrice Verhoeven, PWS
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Hollywood is waking up to the sad news of Carl Reiner’s passing. The comedy legend, who created “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and directed Steve Martin in “The Jerk,” was 98.

Reiner died on Monday. The Twitter tributes began to roll in on Tuesday.

“Last night my dad passed away,” Reiner’s son Rob Reiner wrote on Tuesday. “As I write this my heart is hurting. He was my guiding light.”

“Carl was a giant, unmatched in his contributions to entertainment,” Mel Brooks posted. “He created comedy gems like ‘The Dick Van Dyke Show,’ ‘The Jerk’ and ‘Where’s Poppa?’ I met him in 1950 when he joined Sid Caesar on ‘Your Show of Shows,’ and we’ve been best friends ever since. I loved him. When we were doing ‘The 200 Year Old Man’ together there was no better straight man in the world. So whether he wrote or performed or he was just your best friend–nobody could do it better. He’ll be greatly missed. A tired cliché in times like this, but in Carl Reiner’s case it’s absolutely true. He will be greatly missed.”

“Goodbye to my greatest mentor in movies and in life,” Steve Martin tweeted on Tuesday. “Thank you, dear Carl.”

“Carl Reiner made every room he walked into funnier, smarter, kinder. It all seemed so effortless,” George Clooney said in a statement provided to TheWrap. “What an incredible gift he gave us all. His was a life well lived and we’re all the better for it. Rest in peace my friend.

“Condolences to the family of Carl Reiner,” actor William Shatner tweeted. “From the writers room of ‘Sid Caesar’ to recreating those times for the ‘Dick Van Dyke Show,’ Carl was a master at his craft. I knew him only peripherally but it was a pleasure to have known him.”

“Farewell to a King of Comedy, dear friend, father figure, and Gentleman Genius,” “Everybody Loves Raymond” creator Phil Rosenthal said. “I love you Carl. Love to your family, all your friends, and students.”

A prolific entertainer, Reiner is best known as the creator of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which he starred on with Van Dyke and Marty Tyler Moore. Reiner, a nine-time Emmy winner, was also famous for his collaborations with Mel Brooks, with whom he made the comedy album “2000 Years with Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks,” and Steve Martin, who starred in Reiner’s films “The Jerk,” “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” “Man with Two Brains” and “All of Me.”

See the tributes below.

https://twitter.com/SteveMartinToGo/status/1277991007892549632

Beatrice Verhoeven, PWS

Beatrice Verhoeven

Film Editor, Twitter: @bverhoev

Tony Maglio

TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio

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