It has been more than two weeks since the tragic deaths of Rob and Michele Singer Reiner on December 14 at their home in Brentwood, California.
Hollywood has since come together to mourn the couple, especially to honor and celebrate Rob's pioneering work in cinema, bringing a new shine to the mockumentary genre with films like This is Spinal Tap, and turning the romantic genre into fantastical magic with The Princess Bride.
One of the latter's stars, Cary Elwes, initially acknowledged the filmmaker and his wife's shocking deaths with a photo of their chairs on the set of the movie with the simple caption: "No words…," but has now finally shared a more detailed and heartfelt tribute.
Cary, 63, has worked on two separate occasions with Rob, the first being in Princess Bride and the second in 2015's Being Charlie, which was co-written by Rob's son Nick Reiner, whose life the movie was largely based on. Nick is currently in custody and charged with two counts of first degree murder for the alleged killing of his parents.
Cary's 2014 memoir, As You Wish, also recounts his experiences working on the film, including interviews with the director and many of his castmates, such as Robin Wright and Mandy Patinkin.
"Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words," his tribute on Instagram began. He charted the early years of their friendship on the set of the cult 1987 classic, saying: "And from that very first meeting I fell in love with him."
"As we began spending more time together I knew this was someone I wanted in my life," the English actor added of their friendship, saying also of the All in the Family actor that he "wore his heart on his sleeve" and led with "love and compassion."
"He always tried to find the best in people," Cary continued. "And if that person had problems he felt bad for them. He also quoted the director on why he loved the experience of filmmaking more than the movie itself.
"Once the movie is released it belongs to other people. But while you are making it, that's your time on the planet, so you wanna make it good," he recalled. "And boy was my time with him on The Princess Bride beyond great."
He then expands on Rob's relationship with his wife Michele, who he met while working on 1989's When Harry Met Sally…. "Besides being a gifted photographer she was an incredibly loving, intelligent person," Cary wrote. "Deeply passionate about her family and about lifting others up. To say that they were a great team would be an understatement."
He spoke of their enduring friendship and how the director always made him laugh. "That was important to him. Finding the joy. And if I could make him laugh in return, I felt like I had won the lottery."
Cary concluded with: "Thank you Rob and Michele for sharing your life and art with us. Because my heart still aches every time I think of you, I know the grief of losing you too soon will likely never go away. Sure, death cannot stop true love but life is pain without you."
"With this note my family and I send our deepest condolences and heartfelt prayers to their family, friends and fans."