Billy Crystal made his first public appearance since the murder of his longtime friend and collaborator at the Oscars Sunday night.
In a tearful memorial to Rob Reiner, Crystal, 78, paid emotional tribute to the slain filmmaker and his wife, Michelle Singer.
“My friend Rob’s movies will last a lifetime because they were about what makes us laugh, and cry, and what we aspire to be,” the When Harry Met Sally Star said on Sunday. “Far better in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human.”
“Their loss is immeasurable,” Crystal added.
Crystal was then joined on stage by 16 of Reiner’s collaborators, including Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, and John Cusack.
In December, the Reiner couple was killed in their Los Angeles home after a Christmas party at returning Oscar host Conan O’Brien’s house. Their son, Nick, now faces charges for their murder. Crystal was one of few friends to be spotted outside the Reiner home in the days after their death.
Crystal and Reiner’s friendship spanned five decades, beginning in 1976 when Crystal guest-starred in the sitcom All in the Family.
In the years that followed, the nine-time Oscar host starred in numerous Reiner films, including This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride, and, famously, alongside Ryan in the Oscar-nominated When Harry Met Sally.
After detailing Reiner’s acclaimed filmography, Crystal turned his attention to the filmmaker’s longtime partner.
“When Michelle Singer entered his life, they were unstoppable,” Crystal said on Sunday.
“A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob, but it was her energy that had them working tirelessly to fight social injustice in the country that they both loved,” the star said, citing their work to legalize marriage equality.
“For us who had the privilege of working with and knowing him, and loving him, all we can say is ‘Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle,’” Crystal concluded, referencing his iconic quote from The Princess Bride.
Last week, O’Brien opened up about his reaction to the devastating deaths.
“Very simply, we had a party, we invited our really good friends, and then, the next day, this terrible thing happened,” O’Brien, 61, said. “Whatever difficulties my wife and I have experienced having our name attached to it are nothing compared to the scale of the tragedy for the family and the loss of Rob and Michele.”
“There is only sadness that they’re gone,” he concluded.
Alongside the Reiner tribute, other deceased Academy members were honored. The ceremony’s In Memoriam segment was one of the most extensive in memory, featuring the deaths of Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, Catherine O’Hara, Val Kilmer, and a special tribute to Robert Redford from his The Way They Were co-star Barbra Streisand.
