Jerry Seinfeld says the late Rob Reiner saved his NBC show, Seinfeld, from getting canceled.
Seinfeld posted a tribute on Instagram after the murder of Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 68, at their home in Los Angeles on Sunday, describing their deaths as “impossibly sad.”
“Next to Larry David and George Shapiro, Rob Reiner had the biggest influence on my career,” Seinfeld wrote.
“Our show would have never happened without him. He saw something no one else could. When nobody at the network liked the early episodes, he saved us from cancellation. That I was working with Carl Reiner’s son, who happened to be one of the kindest people in show business, seemed unreal.”
Seinfeld, now seen as a cult hit, was produced by Reiner’s Castle Rock Entertainment. The show wasn’t initially well-received by NBC executives or test audiences, as Variety reported. But Seinfeld, the show’s namesake and star, credited Reiner for his belief. Seinfeld added that he was “naive at the time” when it came to Reiner’s unwavering support and “passion” for the sitcom.
He also wrote about Reiner’s marriage, saying the couple “became an imprint” for him “of how it’s supposed to work, each one broadening the other.”
The Reiners were killed on Sunday in their Brentwood home. Their son, Nick, 32, has been arrested on suspicion of their murder.
