It was in Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner's longtime family home in Brentwood, California where they were found tragically stabbed to death on December 14.
The couple had lived in the home for over 30 years, and it was sadly where their daughter Romy reportedly found them. Their son Nick Reiner is currently in custody and awaiting trial as the prime suspect in their deaths.
The crime has cast a dark shadow over their home, but it has also spurred on the discovery that their home actually has quite the impressive Hollywood legacy of its own, spanning nearly a century.
Take a walk down memory lane with HELLO! as we uncover the history of Rob Reiner's Brentwood estate…
© Getty ImagesIts origin with Henry Fonda
It was in 1936 that celebrated Hollywood actor Henry Fonda built the home, originally a Pennsylvania-style farmhouse with a nine-acre farm. This was just a year after he made his film debut, and a couple years before he shot big with his breakthrough in 1938's Jezebel.
Young Jane and Peter Fonda were raised on the property, playing the kids of their neighbors Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne and John Ford. Peter recalled in a 1962 TIME interview: "Sometimes we did improvisations with our governesses," with Jane adding: "We lived pretty much the same life my father lived on the screen. It was all a big act."
© Getty ImagesSold off to Paul Henreid
In 1947, the home was sold to Austrian-American actor and director Paul Henreid, who was best known for appearances in films like Casablanca and Now, Voyager (both 1942). However, this purchase would come just shortly before he would be effectively blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities for protesting them.
His career as an actor stalled, but he found more success pivoting to directing. As his career began to flourish once again, he sold off the house as well to…
© Getty ImagesChanging hands: Norman Lear
In 1972, legendary screenwriter and producer Norman Lear purchased the home, a year after All in the Family premiered and the same year he created the shows Maude and Sanford and Son, now that's a good year!
At the time, the two-story home, built in a New England style, had six bedrooms, six bathrooms, a swimming pool, a screening room, expansive gardens, and a tennis court, all spread across 10,000 sq. ft. And that's how Rob eventually found the home too.
© Getty ImagesRob's initial interest
Rob, who played Michael "Meathead" Stivic on All in the Family (earning two Primetime Emmy Awards for his trouble), first found the home when he occasionally played tennis with Norman. He recalled during a 2015 PBS interview thinking: "Boy, if ever I get money, if ever I have some money to buy a house, this is the kind of house that I would like."
Soon after marrying Michele in 1989, he remembered the two trying to find their "forever home," when Michele suggested Norman's, which had initially been put on the market in 1990 for $6.5 million, per the Los Angeles Times. The price was reduced to $5.45 million, and eventually, Rob and Michele purchased it for $4.75 million.
© Getty ImagesMaking it home
In the same PBS interview, the Misery director recalled being told by the Brentwood Park Association of all the "political functions" that Norman organized at the home (Norman was an outspoken and prominent political activist and speaker, a proud champion of liberal views and the First Amendment).
"And they said, 'Well, you're not going to have a lot of political things, are you? Like Norman?" Rob remembered. And while he said no at the time, he did mention since having over Bill and Hillary Clinton when the former was President, plus Al Gore and Nancy Pelosi. "So a lot of political things have flown through that house."
