Cary Elwes, who starred in Rob Reiner’s 1987 fantasy classic “The Princess Bride,” released a statement on Instagram Monday night in remembrance of the director and his wife, Michelle Singer, who were found dead in their Brentwood home on Dec. 14.
“Enough time has passed that I can finally put my grief into words,” Elwes wrote in the caption of his post. “I was 24 when I first met Rob Reiner on ‘The Princess Bride.’ And from that very first meeting I fell in love with him. I was already a fan of his work so meeting him in person was a dream come true. As we began spending more time together I knew this was someone I wanted in my life.”
Elwes recalled that the first thing he noticed about Reiner was that he “wore his heart on his sleeve,” and “always tried to find the best in people.” He added that Reiner “loved making movies,” but more than that, he loved “the experience itself” of creating a film.
“He used to say, ‘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,’” Elwes remembered. “And boy was my time with him on ‘The Princess Bride’ beyond great. I can’t remember a single day without laughter. The movie is about love, loyalty and sacrifice. Things that Rob held dear. Which is among the many reasons he was the perfect person to direct it.”
Elwes closed his statement by thanking Reiner and Singer for sharing their life with him and the world at large.
He concluded, “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.”
Reiner and Singer’s cause of death was “multiple sharp force injuries,” according to records from the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner. Hours after they were found dead, their son, Nick Reiner, was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder on Monday morning. He was charged with two counts of murder in the death of his parents on Tuesday afternoon.
