Legendary Film Producer Rob Reiner Remembered At The Bucks County Playhouse

NEW HOPE, PA — The tragic death of legendary producer and actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer, continues to be felt around the globe, including here at home where he apprenticed during one incredible summer in 1964 at the Bucks County Playhouse.

Reiner and his wife were found dead inside their Southern California home on Dec. 14. Two days later, police in Los Angeles charged the couple's son, Nick, with their murders.

Reiner gained international prominence as an actor portraying Michael Stivic on the 1970s CBS sitcom, "All in the Family.” He went on to become a successful film director and producer, creating such iconic films as "When Harry Met Sally,” “The Princess Bride,” “The American President,” "Misery," "Ghosts of Mississippi," and “A Few Good Men.”

“What a remarkable career he had, moving from an actor to a brilliant director,” said Alex Fraser, producing director at the Bucks County Playhouse, which played an early role in Reiner's development as an actor.

According to Fraser, Reiner spent an incredible summer at the Playhouse in 1964 as a member of the theater’s apprentice program, where he developed skills as a young actor that would eventually take him to the pinnacle of the film-making industry.

That summer, Fraser said Reiner worked alongside Alan Alda, Merv Griffin, Shelley Berman, Liza Minnelli, and Arthur Godfrey at the Playhouse, which overlooks the Delaware River in the scenic river town of New Hope.

“While much is not known from that amazing season, we do know from the ads that had run that Liza Minnelli was here as a teenager in a play called ‘A Time After Ginger.’ Alan Alda, who was a young child of another famous Hollywood actor, was here that summer, along with Merv Griffin, Arthur Godfrey, and comedian Shelley Berman.

“We don’t know exactly what plays they were all in, but Rob Reiner has spoken frequently about his affection for the playhouse and how important it was in teaching him a certain amount of professionalism. He mentioned often his gratitude for the training he received on our stage, and his fondness for his time in New Hope,” said Fraser.

Reiner followed in a long line of Playhouse apprentices, including Grace Kelly, Jessica Walter, Robert Redford, Richard Kind, and many others, in using their experience on the banks of the Delaware to launch remarkable careers.

According to Fraser, from the time the theater opened in 1939 through the late 1960s, there was an "extraordinary pull from Broadway and Hollywood" of performers who wanted to come to New Hope and perform.

The Playhouse, which was fairly new at the time, having been built in 1939, offered amenities that other venues of the day couldn't provide. It was also located within easy access to both New York City and Philadelphia, not to mention the fact that people like theater director Moss Hart and lyricist and theatrical director Oscar Hammerstein II bought homes in Bucks County.

Fraser said he believes the apprentice program started in the mid-1940s. In 1949, he said Grace Kelly came through the program as a young Philadelphia actress who had never appeared on the stage before.

"The program went through about 1970 and an extraordinary number of really talented kids came through it," said Fraser. "Jessica Walter came through in 1959 and Rob in 1964. And they all credited the Playhouse for helping them launch their successful careers."

Fraser describes Reiner's loss as "a tragedy" to Hollywood and the world. "It makes us all reflect on the fact that life is fleeting and to take advantage of what talent you have and to really push yourself because you don't know what tomorrow is going to bring."

During his lifetime, Reiner earned 11 nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, four Golden Globe Awards for Best Director, the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation ("The Princess Bride"), and three Directors Guild of America Awards.

In 2014, he received the 41st Annual Chaplin Award from the Film Society of Lincoln Center. And in 1999, he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He also won Emmy Awards for his supporting actor's role in "All In The Family."

"Just as the Playhouse inspired him as a young performer, he has certainly inspired thousands of people by his work," said Fraser.