Legendary EGOT Mel Brooks is finally speaking out on the deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, more than a month after their bodies were discovered in the couple’s Brentwood mansion.
Brooks briefly broached the horrific murders at the Los Angeles premiere of Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio’s Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, a new two-part HBO documentary on the 99-year-old EGOT (who’ll celebrate his 100th birthday in June).
As People reports, in a post-screening Q&A at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Apatow mentioned the number of comedians who have cited Brooks and his late friend and comedy partner, Carl Reiner, as a key inspiration in following the path into a career in comedy.
Apatow mentioned their “2,000 Year Old Man” sketch—which the new documentary title plays on—as a specific favorite of many top comedians. Which got Brooks onto the subject of Carl.
“Oh, very sweet,” Brooks responded.
“Anyway, Carl, with what’s happened, I’m glad that he passed away when he did. I mean, he never could have survived this terrible, terrible thing,” Brooks added of Rob’s tragic death.
On Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025, the bodies of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner were discovered by their daughter, Romy. Several hours later, the couple’s 32-year-old son, Nick Reiner, was taken into custody and later charged with two counts of first-degree murder for his parents’ death. He remains in custody at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in downtown Los Angeles, where he’s being held without bail and awaiting his arraignment, which has been delayed since his original lawyer, Alan Jackson, announced that he was stepping away from the case.
When Did Mel Brooks Meet Carl Reiner?
Brooks first met Carl Reiner in 1950, when they were both writers on Sid Caesar’s Your Show of Shows. They remained close friends and collaborators for 70 years, until Carl’s passing at the age of 98 on June 29, 2020.
“I loved Carl,” Brooks said of his dear friend, explaining how the two of them would genuinely have each other in stitches. “There was no fake laughter. I used to really break him up. He’d grab his belly and sometimes he’d fall down.”
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! delves into the legendary comedic partnership between the two men, who first met when Rob Reiner was just a toddler. Rob has spoken about Mel’s role in his life, and the close bond he had with his father.
“Mel was there when my dad died,” Rob said of Brooks in an interview recorded for the documentary. He also shared that the two men spent nearly every night together following the deaths of their wives—Brooks’ wife, Anne Bancroft, in 2005, followed by Carl’s wife (and Rob’s mom), Estelle, in 2008.
Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! premieres at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 22nd on HBO.
