The legendary Carl Reiner (March 20, 1922 – June 29, 2020) has died at age 98.

Guest contributor Bob DiMucci has provided this tribute to his motion picture and television career:

The Films of Carl Reiner

Carl Reiner got his start in television appearing in live comedy shows such as “The Fifty-Fourth Street Revue,” which was broadcast live from a theater on 54th Street in New York, and “Floor Show,” one of the first shows to feature jazz on television.

Producer-director Max Liebman (1902-1981) had worked on Broadway, but is best known for having created the TV variety show "Your Show of Shows" (1950-54) that made Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca stars, and helped launch the careers of actors Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Nanette Fabray and the writers Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Mel Tolkin. Carl Reiner appeared in 139 episodes of the show, and also did some uncredited writing. Reiner’s time on “Your Show of Shows” would serve him well when he went to create his own series. In 1954, Reiner was nominated as “Best Series Supporting Actor” for his work on the show, losing to Art Carney for “The Jackie Gleason Show.”

(Clockwise from top left): Howard Morris, Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, and Carl Reiner on “Your Show of Shows”

In 1973, Max Liebman selected 10 of the best comedy skits from "Your Show of Shows" and put them together into a feature film entitled, appropriately enough, TEN FROM YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS. The compilation, although little seen outside of major cities, was roundly applauded by the critics, and brought Sid Caesar, particularly, back into the public eye once again.

From “Your Show of Shows,” Carl Reiner followed Sid Caesar into Caesar’s follow-up show, “Caesar’s Hour” (1954-57). The show included most of the same writers and actors, with the notable addition of writer Larry Gelbart (later the creator of M*A*S*H on television). Carl Reiner appeared on 68 episodes of the show, which differed from “Your Show of Shows” primarily in its use of longer sketches, some running up to half an hour.

In 1956, Reiner received an Emmy nomination as “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” for “Caesar’s Hour,” losing to Art Carney again, this time for Gleason’s spin-off series “The Honeymooners.” But the following year, Reiner won the Emmy for “Best Supporting Performance by an Actor.” One year later, for the final season of “Caesar’s Hour,” Reiner won a second Emmy—for the “Best Continuing Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Dramatic or Comedy Series.”

Carl Reiner made his feature film debut and received his first poster credit for the 1959 domestic comedy HAPPY ANNIVERSARY. The film was based on the 1954 play “Anniversary Waltz,” by Joseph Fields and Jerome Chodorov, the Broadway run of which starred MacDonald Carey and Kitty Carlisle and was directed by Carlisle’s husband, Moss Hart. The film starred David Niven and Mitzi Gaynor as married couple “Chris and Alice Walters.” Patty Duke played the couple's daughter. Carl Reiner played ‘Bud,” Chris’ business partner, who is trying to land prospective client “Jeanette Revere” (Monique Van Vooren).

Carl Reiner and Monique Van Vooren in HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

David Miller (LONELY ARE THE BRAVE) directed the film. The score, by Sol Kaplan, has not had a release.

Debbie Reynolds, Glenn Ford, and director George Marshall re-teamed for the 1959 comedy-thriller THE GAZEBO. (They had made IT STARTED WITH A KISS earlier in the year.) In the film, "Elliot Nash" (Ford) is frenziedly working as a television writer-director and seeking advances on a new movie script in order to pay off a photographer's assistant named "Dan Shelby" (Stanley Adams), who is demanding money to suppress nude modeling shots of Elliot’s wife "Nell" (Reynolds), a Broadway star unaware of her husband's dilemma. Carl Reiner plays the couple’s friend, “Harlow Edison,” a district attorney, who advises Elliot on his crime writing.

Carl Reiner and Glenn Ford in THE GAZEBO

Jeff Alexander's score has not been released.

“Frances Lawrence” (i.e., “Gidget”) (Deborah Walley) is desperate: her parents want to force her to come with them on vacation to Hawaii - just during the two weeks when her beloved “Jeff ‘Moondoggie’ Matthews" (James Darren) is home from college. When he suggests she go for it, she's even more in a panic - doesn't he care to be with her? So GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN in the worst mood. On the plane she meets the sociable “Abby” (Vicki Trickett), who gives her the advice to forget about Jeff - and regrets it shortly after, when Gidget follows the advice and steals Abby’s boyfriend “Eddie” (Michael Callan), a famous dancer. But then Jeff discovers he's missing Gidget. Carl Reiner played Gidget’s father, “Russ Lawrence,” in the film.

Eddie Foy, Jr., Peggy Cass, Jeff Donnell, and Carl Reiner in GIDGET GOES HAWAIIAN

Paul Wendkos directed the 1961 comedy. The film marked Deborah Walley’s feature motion picture debut. Walley performed her own surfing scenes, which were all live-action with only two process shots used for closeups. A preview screening for an all-teenage audience at the Academy Theatre in Los Angeles was attended by producer Jerry Bresler, Michael Callan, James Darren, and Carl Reiner.

Music composer George Duning was quoted as saying he had to throw out at least six original songs due to bad recording and because they did not fit into the film. Duning stated that the project marked his first foray into writing Hawaiian music, which proved difficult. Only two songs, both written by Fred Karger and Stanley Styne, and performed by James Darren, remained in the film. No soundtrack has been released.

Many of the characters in “The Dick Van Dyke Show” were based on real people, because Carl Reiner created the show based on his time spent as actor and writer on the Sid Caesar vehicle “Your Show of Shows.” Carl Reiner himself portrayed the Sid Caesar character (called “Alan Brady” in the show). Van Dyke's character was based on Reiner himself.

The two main settings of the show covered the work and home life of “Rob Petrie” (Dick Van Dyke), the head writer of a comedy/variety show produced in Manhattan. Viewers are given an "inside look" at how a television show (the fictitious The Alan Brady Show) was written and produced. Many scenes deal with Rob and his co-writers, “Buddy Sorrell” (Morey Amsterdam) and “Sally Rogers” (Rose Marie). “Mel Cooley” (Richard Deacon), a balding straight man and recipient of numerous insulting one-liners from Buddy, was the show's producer and the brother-in-law of the show's star, “Alan Brady” (Carl Reiner). Since Rob, Buddy, and Sally write for a comedy show, the premise provides a built-in forum for them to constantly make jokes. Other scenes focus on the home life of Rob, his wife “Laura” (Mary Tyler Moore), and son “Ritchie” (Larry Mathews), who live in suburban New Rochelle, New York. Also often seen are their next-door neighbors and best friends, “Jerry Helper” (Jerry Paris), a dentist, and his wife “Millie” (Ann Morgan Guilbert).

Carl Reiner and Dick Van Dyke on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

“The Dick Van Dyke Show” was preceded by a 1960 pilot for a series to be called “Head of the Family” with a different cast, although the characters were essentially the same, except for the absence of Mel Cooley. In the pilot, Carl Reiner, who created the show based on his own experiences as a TV writer, played “Robbie Petrie.” “Laura Petrie” was played by Barbara Britton, “Buddy Sorrell” by Morty Gunty, “Sally Rogers” by Sylvia Miles, “Ritchie” by Gary Morgan, and “Alan Sturdy,” the Alan Brady character, was played by Jack Wakefield, although his face was never fully seen, which was also the case with Carl Reiner's “Alan Brady” for the first three seasons of “The Dick Van Dyke Show.”

The pilot was unsuccessful. CBS executives decided that the main character was too Jewish, too intellectual, and too New York. This led Reiner to rework the show with Dick Van Dyke playing the central character (who went by “Rob”, not "Robbie").

Here, Reiner explains the origin of the show:

Carl Reiner’s Alan Brady is the egocentric, demanding, high maintenance, toupee-wearing star of The Alan Brady Show. Originally an unseen character, then shown only with his back to the camera or only in voice, Brady began to make full-face appearances in season four of the series. According to Reiner, Brady's face was never seen in the early years because Reiner hoped to get a big star to play Alan. But Reiner eventually decided to take on the role himself.

Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, and Richard Deacon on “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

Many of the show's plots were inspired by Reiner's experiences as a writer for “Your Show of Shows” and “Caesar's Hour,” both of which starred Sid Caesar. Reiner based the character of Rob Petrie on himself, but Rob's egocentric boss Alan Brady is not based on Caesar, but is a combination of the abrasive Milton Berle and Jackie Gleason, according to Reiner. Buddy Sorrell was based on the longtime television comedy writer Mel Brooks.

Reiner wrote 54 of the show’s 158 episodes. He and the other writers were very careful not to use any 1960s slang in the show's scripts. In fact, references to any time period or current events were rare.

Reiner would often ask cast and crew members about funny things that had happened to them, then he would write whole episodes about these occurrences. As a result, a majority of the episodes over the course of the show's five-season run were based on actual events.

**Carl Reiner heads a table read of that week’s script for “The Dick Van Dyke Show”**

The episode “My Blonde-Haired Brunette” (when Laura dyed her hair blonde, temporarily) was the ninth episode filmed during the first season, but it was the second episode to be aired, because Carl Reiner was so impressed with Mary Tyler Moore's rapid development that he wanted to highlight her in an episode as soon as possible. He had thoughts of it being the series' debut.

Reiner asked network censors for permission to show Laura and Rob sleeping in one large bed together, reasoning (quite sensibly) that he and his wife did so in real life. The permission was denied, and the Petries are always depicted sleeping in nearby twin beds (as was the custom of TV series of the era; "Bewitched" being the exception to the rule).

The show's production company was called Calvada Productions. The name came from the names of all of the key persons involved in production: Carl Reiner, Sheldon Leonard, Dick Van Dyke and Danny Thomas.

CBS debuted “The Dick Van Dyke Show” on Tuesday, 3 October 1961, at 8 PM. The show’s competition was “Bachelor Father” on ABC and “Laramie” on NBC. The show didn’t set fire to the ratings, and in January, CBS moved the show to Wednesday at 9:30, opposite “Hawaiian Eye” (ABC) and “The Kraft Music Hall” (NBC), which was the #25-ranked show of the season.

Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Dyke, and Carl Reiner on the set of “The Dick Van Dyke Show”

CBS cancelled the show at the end of the first season, then reversed its decision. This was a wise move on the part of CBS. At the May 1962 Emmy Awards, Carl Reiner won an Emmy for “Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy.” Going into Season 2 (1962-63), the show stayed in the Wednesday at 9:30 slot. As the season progressed, “The Dick Van Dyke” show found its footing and easily bested “Our Man Higgins” (ABC) and “The Kraft Music Hall” (NBC) and finished strong as the #9 show on television for the season.

Carl Reiner again won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Writing, John Rich won for directing, and the show won for “Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Humor.” Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, and Rose Marie were all nominated for their acting.

Season 3 (1963-64) was even more successful. Bolstered by the lead-in of “The Beverly Hillbillies,” the #1 show on television, “The Dick Van Dyke Show” climbed to #3 in the ratings, knocking off “Ben Casey” (ABC) and “Espionage” (NBC). Carl Reiner won his third Emmy in a row for comedy writing, and Van Dyke, Moore, and Jerry Paris won for acting. Rose Marie was again nominated. For the second year in a row, the program won for “Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Comedy.”

Richard Deacon, Carl Reiner, Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, and Jerry Paris at the 1964 Emmy Awards.

Season four (1964-65) showed that “The Dick Van Dyke Show” could stand on its own. While “The Beverly Hillbillies” slipped to #12 in the ratings. “Van Dyke” improved upon its lead-in, coming in at #7 for the season. The casualties on the other networks were ABC’s “Mickey” and NBC’s “Wednesday Night at the Movies.” At the Emmys, Carl Reiner was nominated for writing and won as a producer this time for “Outstanding Program Achievements in Entertainment.” Van Dyke won his second acting Emmy.

In its fifth season (1965-66), the show slipped a little, finishing in 16th place. But it still handily beat “The Big Valley” on ABC and “The Bob Hope Chrysler Theatre” on NBC. Carl Reiner won an Emmy as the producer of the “Outstanding Comedy Series.” Van Dyke and Moore won acting Emmys. Morey Amsterdam and Rose Marie were nominated.

According to Morey Amsterdam, the show was scheduled to return for the 1966-1967 season and was going to be seen in color for the first time. However, the plan was scrapped when Dick Van Dyke decided he had enough. This contradicts Carl Reiner, who is on record as saying the decision to end the series was his alone. In any event, Reiner made it clear that he would not be returning as producer after the fifth season, and the consensus opinion was that it would have been impossible to do the show without him.

In August 1961, Hollywood film producer Ross Hunter decided to shift his activities to New York City. THE THRILL OF IT ALL would be one of his first East Coast projects, with production slated to begin January 1962 in Manhattan, as well as in suburban Connecticut. The project marked television writer Carl Reiner’s first produced feature screenplay. In the film, a housewife's (Doris Day’s) sudden rise to fame as a soap spokesperson leads to chaos in her home life. Carl Reiner also had a recurring cameo as the star of one of the TV shows in which Day's character does live commercials week after week. In that TV star role, he played a Nazi Officer, a Cad, and a Cowboy.

Carl Reiner had intended the role of “Beverly Boyer” for Judy Holliday, but her ill health prevented her from making the film. This was the second time that Doris Day stepped into a film role that had been intended for someone else. The first, MOVE OVER, DARLING (1963), was originally being shot as “Something's Got To Give” (1962) starring Marilyn Monroe, whose tragic death lead to that film's being recast and filmed with Ms. Day.

Reiner starred in the film’s trailer:

The film opened 1 August 1963 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Critics praised the high production values and noted that Reiner’s witty observations and sharp dialogue elevated what was otherwise a fairly “sudsy” comedy.

Norman Jewison directed the film, which had an unreleased score by Frank DeVol. The film had healthy grosses totaling $15.7 million.

Carl Reiner was among dozens of comics who made cameo appearances in Stanley Kramer’s epic 1963 comedy IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD MAD WORLD. Reiner played an airport tower operator.

Carl Reiner, Eddie Ryder, Paul Ford, and Jesse White in IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD MAD WORLD

Carl Reiner appeared in two 1964 episodes of the television crime series “Burke’s Law”. In the second of these, “Who Killed Supersleuth?,” four famous cops (from London, Paris, Tokyo and Budapest), plus an irascible American private eye, are all suspects when yet another famous sleuth is murdered. Reiner played the London cop, “Chief Inspector House.”

Writer Richard Alan Simmons originally planned to establish his own independent production company to develop his latest film and television projects, but in April 1962 Universal Pictures purchased film rights to THE ART OF LOVE, a story Simmons wrote with William Sackheim. The studio paid at least $75,000 for the treatment, which was adapted into screenplay format by Carl Reiner. In the Paris-set comedy, struggling artist “Paul” plans to fake his own death with the help of friend “Casey” so his works will increase in value. Before he can do this however, Paul jumps off a bridge to save “Nikki,” who is fleeing lascivious attentions. Casey then believes that Paul has actually drowned.

More than a year passed before casting began, with Rock Hudson and James Garner initially signed for the two leading male roles. Producer Ross Hunter intended to cast Brigitte Bardot as “Nikki Dunay,” but when the filming location was changed from Paris to Los Angeles, Ann-Margret was rumored for the role instead. Although Ross secured a commitment from director Norman Jewison, Rock Hudson did not remain attached to the project, and Tony Curtis, Robert Goulet, and George Maharis were considered as potential replacements. On 24 December 1963, Daily Variety announced that Dick Van Dyke had agreed to appear alongside Garner, who also participated as an executive producer through his company, Cherokee Productions.

Despite his earlier intention to cast American actress Ann-Margret, Ross was holding screen tests for European actresses in Paris. Elke Sommer’s casting was son thereafter, although Britt Ekland had also reportedly been considered for the role. Carl Reiner also acted in the film, as French defense counsel “Rodin.”

Dick Van Dyke, Elke Sommer, and Carl Reiner on the set of THE ART OF LOVE

Approximately one week before the end of production, Reiner and Norman Jewison rewrote the ending of the script seven times. More than five months later, Van Dyke returned to the studio facility to shoot additional close-ups.

THE ART OF LOVE grossed $9.6 million at the box office. Cy Coleman’s score was released on a Capitol LP, which was re-issued on CD by Kritzerland in 2011.

Two studios rejected the film adaptation of Nathaniel Benchley’s 1961 novel, The Off-Islanders, before the Mirisch Corporation and United Artists offered financing to director Norman Jewison. Both companies also approved Jewison’s plans to film on location with a cast of highly skilled but lesser-known actors. The screenplay by William Rose was intended as a foundation for the improvisational talents of actors Jonathan Winters, Theodore Bikel, Carl Reiner, and Alan Arkin in his first featured screen role. A letter to the editor in the 8 March 1965 Daily Variety noted Jewison’s desire to cast Russian actors as a “cultural exchange” with the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and criticized the director for wanting to hire “communists.” The screenplay was reviewed by Soviet officials, who made such recommendations as giving Russian characters more authentic names, and developing the romance between the characters “Alison” (Andrea Dromm) and “Kolchin” (John Phillip Law) However, Jewison received no response to his request for an international coproduction.

Eschewing the novel’s title, the comedic picture played on Cold War tensions with the title THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! Carl Reiner had his first feature film lead role with the picture. In the story, early one September morning, a Russian submarine draws too close to the New England coast when its captain wants to take a good look at America and runs aground on a sandbar near an island off Cape Cod. A 9-man landing party headed by timorous “Lieutenant Rozanov” (Arkin) is sent in search of a motor launch to help free the submarine. The men arrive at the house of “Walt Whittaker” (Reiner), a New York City playwright anxious to get his wife (Eva Marie Saint) and two children off the forever-damp island now that summer is over. Failing to convince the Whittakers that his group are Norwegians, Rozanov draws a gun and promises no harm to Walt if he will simply tell them how to get a boat so that they can quietly go away.

Carl Reiner, Sheldon Collins, Eva Marie Saint, and Cindy Putnam in THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING! THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!

Norman Jewison said that the reason he wanted Carl Reiner as the star was his belief that audiences would more readily accept the character as a writer if he were played by an actor that was known to also be a writer. It was Reiner and Jewison's third film together.

The 1966 release was the #7 film of the year at the box office, grossing $24.4 million. The only CD release of Johnny Mandel's short score has been in the FSM box set "The MGM Soundtrack Treasury" in 2008. Carl Reiner and Johnny Mandel both died on the same day: June 29, 2020.

In 1963, it was announced that Morey Amsterdam had written his first screenplay, called DON'T WORRY, WE'LL THINK OF A TITLE, and had persuaded his co-stars from "The Dick Van Dyke Show," Rose Marie and Richard Deacon, to co-star in the film with him. Amsterdam also produced the film and arranged for a number of other television stars, including his old boss Carl Reiner, to play bit parts. Reiner appeared in the film as a bald bookstore customer. Principal photography began 6 July 1965 at Desilu Studios, during the hiatus between the fourth and fifth seasons of "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Harmon Jones directed the film, which was released in the early summer of 1966. Richard La Salle provided the unreleased score.

In the film, "Charlie" (Amsterdam), a bumbling cook, and "Annie" (Rose Marie), a wise-cracking waitress, lose their jobs at the Daredevil Diner. They hitchhike to Updike University to help run a bookshop inherited by their friend "Magda" (January Jones), another former waitress at the diner. A review in the 18 May 1966 Variety described the film as “a compendium of wilted gags, tired repartee, and imbecile mishaps.”

ENTER LAUGHING is set in the Bronx of the 1930's, where a teenage boy, “David Kolowitz” (Rene Santoni), works in the machine shop of “Mr. Foreman” (Jack Gilford) as a helper and delivery boy. Occasionally, he makes deliveries to the dress-making shop of “Harry Hamburger” (Don Rickles), but most of his time is spent daydreaming of an acting career.

This affectionate 1967 comedy was based on a 1963 play by Joseph Stein, which in turn was based on a 1958 semi-autobiographical novel by Carl Reiner. The Broadway production of "Enter Laughing" opened at Henry Miller's Theater in New York on March 13, 1963 and ran for 419 performances.

For the film, Reiner co-wrote the screenplay with Joseph Stein. Reiner also made his feature film producing and directing debuts with the picture. According to Reiner, Jerry Lewis approached him before the film went into production and asked to play the lead. Reiner, while he considered Lewis a comic genius, turned him down because Lewis was nearly 40 at the time and the lead character was 17. Carl’s son, Rob Reiner, made his film acting debut in the picture in a small role.

ENTER LAUGHING was one of the lower grossing films of the year, earning just $1.3 million at the box office. The Liberty Records score LP by Quincy Jones was released on CD by Kritzerland in 2011.

In May 1967, Carl Reiner appeared, along with more than a dozen other guest stars, in A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN. This Gene Kelly-directed comedy featured the stars in various vignettes wherein Robert Morse told stories of friends who had had both successful and unsuccessful marital affairs. Reiner was in good company, with the likes of Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Polly Bergen, Joey Bishop, Sid Caesar, Art Carney, Wally Cox, Jayne Mansfield, Louis Nye, Phil Silvers, Terry-Thomas, Jeffrey Hunter, Marty Ingels, and Sam Jaffe also doing cameos. Each of the celebrities was paid $10,000 for two days work.

A GUIDE FOR THE MARRIED MAN was in the top 25 box office earners of the year, with a $13.9 million take. John Williams’ score was released by Film Score Monthly in 2000.

In April 1968, actor-filmmaker Carl Reiner and his writing partner, Aaron Ruben, completed the first draft of a screenplay for actor Dick Van Dyke. The working title was “Billy Bright, Silent Film Comedian, Dead at 78.” Filming was scheduled to begin 19 August 1968. However, production was delayed by the departure of producer Harold Hecht, so Reiner and Ruben replaced Hecht as producers.

While starring in “The Dick Van Dyke Show”, Van Dyke had called up Stan Laurel to ask for permission to do a Laurel & Hardy bit in an episode. Laurel told him that neither he nor Hardy's heirs owned the rights to the characters. Van Dyke and Carl Reiner were horrified that Laurel didn't even own the rights to his own image, and this picture, about the ups and downs of a silent film comedian, is the result. Reiner said that he intended this as a vehicle for Dick Van Dyke who had, on the set of their TV show, often expressed the wish that he had been working at the same time as comedy legends such as his hero Stan Laurel.

Van Dyke was hoping to cast his former television co-star, Mary Tyler Moore, as his leading lady, but she had a previous obligation to appear in the Elvis Presley film A CHANGE OF HABIT (1969). Michele Lee was ultimately selected for the role of the comic’s wife, “Mary Gibson.” Lee postponed a singing engagement at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angele, to make the picture. It would be 35 years before Lee would appear in another feature film. Both Lee and Van Dyke would seem to age forty-eight years during the course of the picture. Several silent-film comedians were expected to appear in cameo roles, along with writer-producer-director Reiner as “a rotten agent.” The title was shortened to “Billy Bright.”

Mickey Rooney, who co-starred in the film, wore a special prosthetic in his right eye to play “Cockeye.” The character was originally supposed to be cross-eyed, but on the first day of shooting, Rooney claimed he was physically unable to do this. Carl Reiner confirmed it by placing his finger on the tip of Rooney's nose and telling him to look at it, without result. Reiner later said about Rooney, "This man could do everything in show business - sing, dance, act - but he couldn't cross his eyes!"

In September 1968, Columbia Pictures initiated the production, with Reiner directing Dick Van Dyke in what was now titled “Baggy Pants.” Reiner and Ruben viewed hundreds of early silent comedies at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art. Reiner insisted that the title character was not based on any particular silent comedian, intending the film as a “commentary” on the entertainment industry, in which careers rise and fall very quickly.

Location filming was underway at Paradise Cove in Malibu, CA, a popular location for silent comedies because of its steep cliffs. Veterans of the period were included among the cast and crew, such as diminutive character actor Billy Curtis, and director of photography W. Wallace “Wally” Kelly. Kelly revealed that he was filming some of the silent comedy footage at eighteen frames per second, rather than the standard twenty-four, to simulate the “old jerky movements” of early cinema. Four weeks later, the 1 December 1968 Los Angeles Times printed a letter from filmmaker and historian Peter Bogdanovich, who explained that, while silent pictures were filmed at fewer frames per second, they were also projected at those speeds, and therefore “had no ‘jerky movement’ or speedup action (unless it was desired).” Bogdanovich went on to blame “uncaring or unknowing film and television producers” who “have continued and popularized this myth.” Despite Bogdanovich’s fears, the silent sequences in the film were projected at the correct speed.

The picture marked the final screen appearance of veteran actress Pert Kelton, who died of a stroke on 30 October 1968, only days after completing her scenes. Two weeks earlier, Kelton said that she accepted the role despite her preference for the stage, saying “Actors are like fruit pickers. They go where the fruit is.” It was only her third screen role in the past thirty years.

In January 1969, Reiner was in the process of editing the film. Columbia was reportedly pleased with Reiner’s work, and was in negotiations for a new production deal with the filmmaker.

In late February 1969, Michele Lee was summoned to the Columbia lot for an additional scene, three months after the completion of principal photography. The pregnant actress anticipated mostly close-up shots. Van Dyke was also called back to add voice-over narration. While vacationing in Arizona, Van Dyke recorded his voice-over at the radio station he owned in nearby Phoenix. On 29 April 1969, Daily Variety announced that the title was changed to THE COMIC.

THE COMIC opened 19 September 1969 in New York City. While Daily Variety argued that the picture would appeal only to members of the entertainment industry, the Los Angeles Times declared it a work of art, adding that Van Dyke’s performance could have won him an Academy Award if Columbia had provided sufficient publicity to accompany the release.

Four weeks later, Reiner complained to the 3 December 1969 Variety that the film was not adequately publicized. After being “rushed” into New York City and Los Angeles openings as part of a double feature with THE DESPERADOS, it was relegated to second billing within the first two weeks. By the time the picture began garnering positive reviews and “word-of-mouth,” it was virtually out of circulation. Reiner noted that critics and movie professionals were generally uninformed of the few preview screenings sponsored by the studio, and cited the Los Angeles Times review, which blamed Columbia for its inadequate promotion. Countering Reiner’s accusations, Columbia executive Richard Kahn claimed the picture was given the same consideration as any other release, adding that the filmmaker was directly involved in planning the campaign. Despite their efforts, critical and public response “proved disappointing.”

Regardless of whose fault it was, THE COMIC was near the median of 1969 releases when it came to earnings, grossing $2.1 million. Jack Elliott’s score for the film has not had a release.

In GENERATION, “Jim Bolton” (David Janssen), a well-off businessman from Chicago, hears that his daughter (Kim Darby) is pregnant. Since he did not even know she was seeing anyone, he fears the worst. His daughter and the father of his grandchild (Pete Duel), marry shortly before Jim's arrival. Carl Reiner plays Jim’s friend “Stan,” an obstetrician.

The film was based on a 1965 play by William Goodhart, who also wrote the screenplay. Rehearsals, scheduled to last two weeks, were underway as of mid-March 1969. Actor David Janssen was absent on some rehearsal days due to an overlapping commitment on MAROONED. During production, director George Schaefer was reportedly unsuccessful in casting a ten-year-old “lookalike” for twenty-one-year-old actress Kim Darby, necessitating that Darby be made up to play the child version of herself in a flashback sequence. Carl Reiner had served in the U.S. Army under George Schaefer, who was a sergeant.

David Janssen and Carl Reiner in GENERATION

The late December 1969 release received decent critical notices, but did little at the box office, grossing just $1.9 million. By early April 1970, the title had been changed to “A Time for Giving,” to no better effect on revenues.

The title song for the film was recorded by the band Rare Earth. The song was released on a single, and included by the band on an album called “Generations” that used artwork from the film, but likely did not contain any additional music that was used in the film. That album was quickly withdrawn after the film failed commercially, with only a small number of copies sold. It was reissued as a limited-edition LP by Culture Factory in April of this year. The film’s unreleased background score was by Dave Grusin.

WHERE’S POPPA? was announced as Carl Reiner’s next directorial project in August 1969. Robert Klane’s novel, upon which the film was based, was scheduled for publishing by Random House on 16 June 1970. The production company, Where’s Poppa Co., was formed by producers Jerry Tokofsky and Marvin Worth, Carl Reiner, Robert Klane, and lead actor George Segal. A budget of $1 million was set.

In the film, when an attorney (George Segal) meets the girl of his dreams (Trish Van Devere), he fears that his batty mother (Ruth Gordon) will scare her off, so he schemes to eliminate the senile old woman.

Principal photography began in New York City on 2 March 1970. Three weeks of interiors filmed at a motion picture studio in Manhattan preceded location shooting in Central Park and in parts of Long Island, NY. Filming was completed in early May 1970.

Carl Reiner and George Segal on the set of WHERE’S POPPA?

Reiner predicted that, despite its lack of nudity, the “controversial” picture would be rated [R] or [X] by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). When the MPAA ultimately granted it an [R], the decision was protested by the National Association of Theatre Owners, who attended a screening of WHERE’S POPPA? in early November 1970 and determined that the film merited an [X]. In response, United Artists (UA) issued the statement, “Thank God there’s no correlation between what they think and business.” UA also claimed the picture had been subjected to “arbitrary censorship” by the New York radio station WOR, which had refused to run advertisements and barred Segal from mentioning WHERE’S POPPA? during an interview on “The Martha Deane Show.”

Reviews were generally favorable, while acknowledging the film’s raunchy content. For his screenplay, Robert Klane was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for Best American Comedy Adapted for Another Medium.

Given its modest budget, WHERE’S POPPA? was a success, grossing $4.5 million. Jack Elliott’s score was released on a United Artists LP, but has not been re-issued on CD.

Carl Reiner spent the first half of the 1970’s doing guest shots on various television series and acting as creative consultant, and occasional writer and director, for “The New Dick Van Dyke Show,” which lasted three seasons on CBS (1971-74).

In the 1976 sitcom “Good Heavens”, Reiner starred as “Mr. Angel,” a kindly and somewhat mysterious man who helped change people’s lives. He rewarded those who did simple, good deeds (such as a husband who went out in the middle of the night in pouring rain to get food for his pregnant wife to satisfy her strange cravings). Suddenly, Mr. Angel would show up in their life and offer them a reward for their small good effort. He’d give them one wish.

Fame, love, success, privacy, you name it, he would give them an opportunity to find it. The only rule about the wish was that no one could simply wish to be rich; he wouldn’t give anyone just money. The chosen person would make their fondest wish, and the rest of the half-hour would be filled with their exploits as their wish came true… and what they would do about the result.

The idea was originally pitched a few years earlier to ABC by Reiner. The show was then called “Everything Money Can’t Buy.” It starred Oscar-winner José Ferrer as the mysterious lead, and featured the character of Mr. Angel more prominently in each story.

In the development process, “Everything Money Can’t Buy” became “Heaven Help Us,” before ABC finally bought it as “Good Heavens” (now with Reiner as the star). Reiner’s Mr. Angel was only seen in a few minutes at the beginning and ends of episodes, and the focus was really on the anthology aspect of different characters and settings each week, with just the “wish” as the starting point for each story. Although, Reiner was busy with the producing aspects of the show, he reckoned that since he was working on the show on a regular basis anyway, he may as well work a day in front of the camera as well as his normal job behind it.

ABC premiered the series on Monday, 29 February 1976, as a Winter-Spring replacement for the failed William Shatner series “Barbary Coast.” Although “Good Heavens” was going up against the #6-rated show on television, “Phyllis,” on CBS, “Good Heravens” came in as the #17-rated show for the season, after its 13-episode run. Unfortunately, ABC, which was then the #1 network, had an abundance of popular shows. And with commitments to premiere the comedies “Three's Company” and “What’s Happening!!” in the Fall of 1976, there was just no room on ABC’s schedule for “Good Heavens.” So, the show slipped into obscurity.

Although a 30 July 1975 Variety news item announced that screenwriter Larry Gelbart would make his feature film directorial debut with the comedy OH, GOD!, Carl Reiner ultimately directed the 1977 motion picture. In the film, when God (George Burns) appears to assistant grocery manager Jerry Landers” (John Denver), as a good-natured old man, the Almighty selects him as his messenger for the modern world.

Alan Arkin had been originally announced to play the grocery manager, but the role was eventually played by John Denver. According Larry Gelbart, Carl Reiner initially envisioned his oft-partner Mel Brooks playing God, and Woody Allen playing Jerry Landers. Principal photography began on 13 December 1976 and continued in Los Angeles until 1 February 1977. The budget was set at $2.1 million.

In one scene in the film, Jerry Landers appears as a guest on the Dinah Shore television show, on which a Los Angeles Police Department sketch artist produces a drawing of God based on Jerry’s description. Carl Reiner had a cameo in the film as another one of Dinah’s guests.

Warner Bros. could not advertise the title of the movie in newspapers in Utah after the Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News both rejected the ads. The two newspapers were owned separately, but together owned Newspaper Agency Corp., which oversaw advertising and printing. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, owner of the Deseret News, issued “statements against the misuse of the word ‘God’.” One source said that the print ads would instead read, “Go see the picture that you’ve been hearing so much about on radio and TV.” Another stated the ads would read: “A divine comedy which you’ve read and heard about starring George Burns and John Denver.”

Director Reiner attended a successful sneak preview in Phoenix, AZ on 19 July 1977. The 3 October 1977 Daily Variety review called the film “hilarious,” citing the “brilliant teaming” of George Burns with John Denver. Most reviews noted that it was Denver’s feature film acting debut. Larry Gelbart received an Academy Award nomination for Writing (Screenplay –– based on material from another medium) and won a Writer's Guild of America (WGA) award for Comedy Adapted from Another Medium.

OH, GOD! was a huge hit, coming in as the #8 most popular film of the year with a gross of more than $57 million. Its opening on 7 October 1977 even knocked STAR WARS from the top slot for a week. The film had an unreleased score by Jack Elliott.

THE END is a slapstick black comedy about a man, "Wendell Sonny Lawson" (Burt Reynolds), who finds that he hasn't much longer to live and makes several bungled attempts at suicide. Others around him become involved in his plans, including his girlfriend, "Mary Ellen" (Sally Field); his best friend and attorney, "Marty Lieberman" (David Steinberg); his ex-wife, "Jessica" (Joanne Woodward); his parents, "Maureen and Ben Lawson" (Myrna Loy and Pat O'Brien), and "Marlon Borunki" (Dom DeLuise), a paranoid schizophrenic whom he meets at a psychiatric hospital. Carl Reiner plays “Dr. James Maneet,” a cheerful death therapist who counsels Sonny, and who also suffers from a fatal condition, heart disease, and could die at any time.

Carl Reiner and Burt Reynolds in THE END

The film was the first major teaming of comedy duo Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. The two had both appeared in SILENT MOVIE (1976) but were not "teamed" as such. James Best, who served as associate producer and has a small part as a pacemaker patient, was hired by Burt Reynolds to rewrite the script to make his character more in-depth.

THE END was also the second theatrical feature directed by Burt Reynolds. The reviews for the 1978 film were generally poor. Most critics recognized that Reynolds was attempting a different image by donning a beard and embracing a selfish character, but they singled out his direction and the script as ineffectual at tackling dark humor and also wasting the talents of the supporting cast.

Despite the reviews, THE END was popular, finishing just out of the top 10 films of the year, with a gross of nearly $45 million. The Paul Williams score for the film has not had a release

THE ONE AND ONLY begins in 1951, when drama student “Andy Schmidt” (Henry Winkler) is in his last year of college. Taking life easy and always with a saucy joke on his lips, he manages to win fellow student Mary's (Kim Darby’s) heart, although she's already otherwise engaged. But getting a job after college turns out much harder than he expected. Most directors take offense at his free interpretation of his roles. Desperate, he tries wrestling. To avoid getting beaten up, he stages the fights - and accidentally invents show-wrestling.

The picture was loosely based on the life of professional wrestler Gorgeous George. Producer David V. Picker said that George's biography was fictionalized because the filmmakers were unable to secure the rights to his life story.

Carl Reiner directed the film. At one point in the picture, the entire family is watching “Your Show of Shows” starring Sid Caesar, the TV program on which Reiner first made his mark.

Distributor Paramount Pictures planned heavy promotion for the film, including sneak previews in 237 theaters on 27 January 1978, a week before its official release. Paramount spent upwards of $80,000 advertising in Time, Newsweek, People, US Magazine, and New Times. The television series “Happy Days” halted production for one week so Henry Winkler, who played "Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzarelli" on the program, could make personal appearances in Atlanta, Dallas, New York City and Philadelphia. Winkler’s co-star, Kim Darby, went on an eleven-city promotional tour ahead of the premiere.

The film premiered simultaneously in Los Angeles and New York City on 3 February 1978. It grossed $2.7 million its opening weekend, playing in 419 theaters across the country. Ultimately, the picture grossed $27.1 million. Patrick Williams’ score was released on an ABC Records LP, but it has not been re-issued on CD.

THE JERK marked the feature film debut of Steve Martin, who had previously worked in television, short films and live comedy. It told the story of a simpleminded, sheltered country boy, “Navin” (Martin), who suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivete is both his best friend and his worst enemy.

Around 1975, Martin’s manager and business partner, William E. McEuen, invited producer David V. Picker, then president of Paramount, to see Martin’s comedy performance at San Francisco’s Boarding House comedy club. Impressed, Picker signed Martin to a three-film development contract with Paramount, and as his first assignment, Martin and Carl Gottlieb wrote the story that would become THE JERK. After the first draft, Paramount decided against producing the script and released Martin from his agreement with the studio.

Coincidentally, Picker left Paramount about this time and agreed to work with Martin and his production company. Picker negotiated an unusual distribution deal with Universal, in which the studio financed the film, but relinquished most of the creative control to Picker, director Carl Reiner, Martin and McEuen.

The film was produced for $4.6 million. and was shot in forty-five days, ten days ahead of schedule, using eighty locations around the Los Angeles area and on fifteen stage sets built at the Culver Studio.

Director Carl Reiner appears as himself in the film as the initiator of the lawsuit against Opti-Grab and is seen on a news program on Navin’s television set. Reiner’s son, Rob Reiner, appears in a cameo role as a driver who gives the hitchhiking Navin a lift.

McEuen developed a highly sophisticated and documented marketing strategy with the help of Universal. Thirty days before the release of the film, McEuen began a radio marketing campaign that included contests, awards and free screenings to generate the same kind of excitement as a live concert. As a publicity stunt, Steve Martin and Carl Reiner presented the film’s two-minute trailer as if it were a feature film premiere, placing ads in trade papers and using searchlights at the event. These and other publicity arrangements generated box office returns of over $53 million during the film’s first seven weeks of release and THE JERK proved to be one of 1979’s biggest money makers. The film ultimately grossed nearly $77 million and came in as the ninth most popular film of the year. THE JERK has an unreleased score by Jack Elliott.

SKOKIE was a dramatization of the controversial trial concerning the right for Neo-Nazis to march in the predominately Jewish community of Skokie, Illinois. Danny Kaye received a Golden Globe nomination as “Best Actor in a Motion Picture Made for Television” for his portrayal of “Max Feldman,” a concentration camp survivor fighting to stop the march. Carl Reiner plays “Abbot Rosen,” an Anti-Defamation League spokesman.

Herbert Wise was Emmy-nominated for his direction of this made-for-television film, which aired on CBS on 17 November 1981. The film did not have an original score.

Writer-director Carl Reiner passed on an offer to direct a different movie for Warner Bros. to work on DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID. Reiner, writer George Gipe, and writer-actor Steve Martin conceived the concept for the screenplay in 1980, following Martin and Reiner’s successful collaboration on THE JERK. The movie was initially planned by Martin and Reiner to be a '30s-era film titled "Depression". After Reiner incorporated some footage of a '30s star into the movie, he and Martin decided that the entire movie should be done that way, and re-wrote it into a mock-detective story.

After developing the story using ad libbed dialogue and compiled film clips from 1940s and 1950s motion pictures, Gipe completed a draft of the script, which the filmmakers then spent an additional four weeks editing. The project was then put on hold while Martin completed production on PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1981).

The picture was a film noir parody with a detective (Martin) uncovering a sinister plot. The majority of the characters in DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID are constructed through the use of scene clips from various 1940s and 1950s motion pictures, edited to suggest their involvement in the story narrated by Steve Martin’s character, “Rigby Reardon.” Martin suggested using footage of William Hartnell, Red Skelton, Jerry Lewis, Jack Benny, Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. But Reiner refused, because he felt it would be funnier if they used footage of actors who spent their careers mostly away from comedies.

Principal photography began 7 July 1981 on the Laird International Studios soundstages in Culver City, CA, and additional Los Angeles locations. Filming officially concluded on 18 September 1981. Eighty-five sets were constructed for this movie, overseen by production designer John DeCuir. The number of sets built was considerably larger than the average picture due to the high number of scenes required to edit into the movie from the old film footage that needed to be merged.

In addition to writing and directing, Carl Reiner also acted in the film as “Field Marshall Wilfred VonKluck.” The character was based on Otto Preminger.

Steve Martin and Carl Reiner in DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID

The film was screened at the Avco Center theater in Westwood, CA, on 9 May 1982, to benefit the Motion Picture & Television Fund. In addition, one percent of the film’s box office returns would be donated to the foundation in honor of the professionals who worked on the classic films featured in the movie.

DEAD MEN DON’T WEAR PLAID was costume designer Edith Head’s last film. She died on 24 October 1981, shortly after production. The film was the #40 film at the box office in 1982, grossing $18.2 million. Miklos Rozsa’s score was released by Prometheus in 1993. It was Rozsa’ final feature film score.

In “Pinocchio”, a 1984 episode of Shelley Duvall’s Showtime series Faerie Tale Theatre, Carl Reiner co-starred as “Geppetto.” Paul Reubens played “Pinocchio.” Peter Medak directed the film, which had an unreleased score by Stephen Barber.

THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS marked the third collaboration between Steve Martin, David Picker, William McEuen, George Gipe, and Carl Reiner. In the film, a brain surgeon (Martin) marries a femme fatale (Kathleen Turner), causing his life to turn upside down. Things go more awry when he falls in love with a talking brain.

Reiner expressed a desire to make the film in Vienna, Austria, hoping for a change from Southern California cuisine. Nonetheless, principal photography began 5 July 1982 using locations in the Los Angeles area, as well as The Burbank Studios in Burbank, Universal Studios in Los Angeles, and Laird International Studios in Culver City, CA where the “Castle Hundredreck” condominium set was built. The interior of the castle was completed over a two-month period, by forty-five crewmembers working fifty hours per week. It occupied two entire soundstages, measuring 42 feet in height and 193 feet in length, and utilized the doorway that connected the two stages.

The screenplay was originally conceived by Martin, who wanted to lampoon one of his favorite films, DONOVAN’S BRAIN (1953). Both Reiner and Gipe were opposed to the idea, but Martin gradually eroded their resistance. A segment of DONOVAN’S BRAIN appears onscreen, featuring actors Lew Ayres and Nancy Davis, the wife of then-president Ronald Reagan. Reiner admitted to making a brief appearance as a background actor, during the scene in which Martin’s character, “Dr. Michael Hfuhruhurr,” addresses a craniology seminar. The filmmaker also claimed that the writing team spent “half an afternoon” concocting the character’s name, as well as that of his leading lady, “Anne Uumelmahaye” (Brain #21), whose voice was provided by actress Sissy Spacek.

In an interview, Carl Reiner recalled, "That movie has one of my favorite scenes ever, with the little four-year-old girl. She's standing on the corner watching, and Steve has just run over Kathleen Turner and almost killed her, and she's lying there and she needs help. He says to the four-year-old girl, 'Listen, take these instructions,' and he gives her the most complicated instructions--has her call the ER and gives her four telephone numbers, and then he gives her ten different kinds of medical treatments. And he has her repeat it, and she repeats it to him, word for word. I'll never forget that, because I thought we'd be there all day. Luckily, I took a close-up of her, because she repeated it word for word and that's the only take we ever took." When the interviewer said he thought the little girl was reading from a cue card, Reiner replied, "No, no, she was four, she couldn't read! And by the way, one day I was at a store, and there's a woman who's an executive there, and she says, 'We know each other.' I say, 'No, I'm sorry, I don't recall.' She says, 'Remember that girl from THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS?' and I said, 'Oh my God!' She was like 35 years old. That was one of my favorite human beings ever, that little girl."

THE MAN WITH TWO BRAINS opened 3 June 1983 to mixed reviews. While the Hollywood Reporter stated that the film suffered from a “laugh lobotomy,” Boxoffice touted it as Martin’s best comedy to date, and reported gross receipts of $5.1 million from 1,200 theaters over a two-week period. Ultimately, the film grossed a modest $10.4 million in the U.S. In the UK, the film went straight to video. Joel Goldsmith’s score has not had a release.

ALL OF ME was based on Ed Davis’s unpublished novel, Me, Two. The novel featured a “99-year-old dowager” named “Cynthia Cutwater,” whose soul passed into the body of “an aging derelict” after she dies. Davis’s literary agent Michael Larsen imagined Katharine Hepburn and Lee Marvin in the roles. Beyond the premise, the screenplay bears little resemblance to Davis’s story. The author used a pseudonym, Edwina Davis, for the manuscript, in the hope that it would be more saleable. In the screenplay, “Cynthia Cutwater” was renamed “Edwina Cutwater”.

In the film, dying millionaire “Edwina Cutwater” (Lily Tomlin) intends to have her soul transferred into a younger, willing woman. However, something goes wrong, and she finds herself in her lawyer's body--together with the lawyer (Steve Martin).

This was the fourth and final film that Steve Martin made with director Carl Reiner. When the first cut of the film was submitted to the MPAA, it received a [PG-13] rating due to its sexual content and humor. Advertising materials (see poster below) were prepared using that rating. But subsequently, several edits were done to secure a [PG] rating, and the MPAA eventually granted the film a [PG], which is how the film was advertised in newspapers.

The film received a mainly positive critical response and the 17 September 1984 Newsweek review commented that, “bringing together Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin is a fairly inspired idea. And bringing them together in the same body is like heaping whipped cream atop inspiration.”

ALL OF ME finished in the top 20 films of 1984, with a gross of over $46 million. Patrick Williams’ score has not had a release.

Burned out after thirteen years as an air traffic controller, “Jack Chester” (John Candy) is placed on a mandatory five-day vacation. His supervisor arranges for Jack and his family – wife “Sandy” (Karen Austin), teenage daughter “Jennifer” (Kerri Green), pre-teen “Bobby” (Joey Lawrence), and toddler “Laurie” (Aubrey Jene)—to take a SUMMER RENTAL in Citrus Cove, Florida. While there, Jack takes his family to the Barnacle, a tiny and decidedly downscale oceanfront restaurant named after the owner “Scully’s” (Rip Torn’s) dilapidated sailboat that makes up one of the restaurant’s dining areas. Jack devises to enter the Citrus Cove Regatta in Scully’s boat.

The inspiration for the picture came from a real-life incident in which executive producer Bernie Brillstein rented a beach house and “returned one night to find the house crawling with uninvited guests—invited by Bernie’s client John Belushi who, in soaking wet and sand-filled trunks, was sleeping in Brillstein’s bed.” With some variation, a similar scene was incorporated into the SUMMER RENTAL screenplay.

This was the first project to be green-lighted by new Paramount production head Ned Tanen. Although the project had originated under former Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, and it is common practice for new studio heads to wipe production slates clean and develop new projects, Tanen liked the project and allowed it to continue. Tanen was quoted as saying, “It was quite a good script and we had no product. There was a vacant spot of about six months on our release schedule. When all the geniuses are through, that’s as good a reason as any to make a movie.” SUMMER RENTAL marked John Candy’s first starring role in a feature film.

Carl Reiner was signed in early March 1985 to direct the film, which was scheduled to begin shooting in St. Petersburg, Florida, on 18 March 1985, on a nine-week shooting schedule. According to Reiner, the project came together quickly, with the script being completed in a couple of months. It was hoped that the film could be released by early August 1985. To meet the release schedule, it was stated that two film editing crews would work to expedite the finished film. The picture was scheduled for only a six-week shoot. However, the film shot over seven weeks in St. Petersburg and then moved to Atlanta, where principal photography was completed on 15 May 1985.

The picture opened in 1,500 theaters. Critical reaction was tepid. In his Washington Post review, Paul Attanasio quipped that the film “is the kind of movie that could make you wish you had poison ivy—at least the scratching would occupy your mind.” The Daily Variety review stated, “This is more a collection of bits . . . than a coherent story.” According to the October 1985 Boxoffice, the quality of the film suffered because it was rushed through production in order to meet a summer 1985 release deadline.

The movie was originally classified with a [PG-13] rating but after cuts were made during further editing, the film was then re-classified with a [PG] rating. SUMMER RENTAL made a respectable showing at the box office, placing in the top 40 films of 1985 with grosses of $24.7 million. Alan Silvestri’s score was released by Quartet in 2014.

“Freddy Shoop” (Mark Harmon), the gym teacher, has to teach remedial English in SUMMER SCHOOL if he wants tenure. As he is only qualified to teach gym, and his students want fun, the emphasis is on "field trips" - until he's fired unless all his students pass the test.

Principal photography on SUMMER SCHOOL began on 15 September 1986. Filming was originally scheduled to begin a week earlier, but star Mark Harmon was recovering from a fractured collar bone, and producers wanted to be sure he was healed before the film began. But Harmon was again injured during filming. On Shoop's left hand, you can see that he has injured one of his fingers and it appears to have been smashed. This occurred when Harmon had to actually put out a fire on a couch during a party scene when it rapidly grew out of control.

Director Carl Reiner quickly signed-on to do the picture after reading the screenplay by writer Jeff Franklin. "The script really held my interest and made me laugh,” said Reiner.

The casting of Mark Harmon in the lead role was Reiner’s idea. "We originally discussed having a major comedian for the role,” he said. “However, Mark impressed me very much in the mini-series THE DELIBERATE STRANGER (1986) in which he portrayed convicted murderer Ted Bundy. When I saw him being interviewed on a news program, he was so personable and had such a winning smile that it was clear he would be well suited for the role of our gym-coach turned instructor. And he brings surprising depth to the character".

Hundreds of youth were interviewed for the various major student roles. Reiner said: "The actors we picked clearly stood out from the others because they were the best. I never imagined finding a supporting group as good as this. During filming they consistently created over and above what we had given them on the written page". The film was a major career step for both Kirstie Alley and Courtney Thorne-Smith.

Mark Harmon and Carl Reiner on the set of SUMMER SCHOOL

The film shot on locations around the Los Angeles area. Charles Evans Hughes Junior High School, a facility in Woodland Hills, CA, no longer used for teaching, was the site used for filming all the school scenes. Venice Beach served as the backdrop for Freddy Shoop’s beachfront cottage. Sites for the students’ field trips included Zuma Beach, Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, and the Malibu Grand Prix go-cart location in Northridge, CA.

In one scene, the students try to scare off a substitute teacher with blood effects and gory makeup. Carl Reiner scheduled the filming of that scene on October 31st, so that the actors could wear their costumes and makeup to the Halloween parties they were attending that evening. Reiner had a cameo in the film as school teacher “Mr. Dearadorian.”

SUMMER SCHOOL opened on 22 July 1987 on 1,366 screens, taking in $8.1 million in its first five days of release. Ultimately, the picture grossed $35.7 million, placing it in the top 40 films of the year.

Danny Elfman scored the film, but most of the music in the picture was pop songs. Ten of these, headed by Elfman’s sole song contribution, “Happy,” made up the Chrysalis Records soundtrack CD. When the students take their final exam near the end of the film, the song "Mind Over Matter" plays and is performed by Elizabeth Daily. The song was originally recorded by Debbie Harry (of Blondie), but due to legal conflicts, Daily did a cover version on the film’s soundtrack. However, the 2004 DVD of the film utilizes the Debbie Harry version on the French language track.

Carl Reiner wrote the screenplay of BERT RIGBY, YOU’RE A FOOL especially for actor Robert Lindsay after seeing him perform on Broadway in “Me and My Girl.” His “Rigby” character was inspired by actor Paul Hogan, an Australian blue-collar worker who began his career in an amateur talent contest. Although he did not win, Hogan was so charming that he was asked to compete week after week.

The film finds “Bert Rigby” (Lindsay) living in the small English town of Langmore, where most people depend on work at the local mine, which is faring poorly. While his mates are on strike once again, he decides to try his luck in show business. His first appearance on stage goes all wrong -- but the audience loves him. Rigby starts a new career as a comedian in a traveling amateur show for $50 a night. One day he gets an offer from a director of commercials in Hollywood and flies to the United States, expecting a great career and leaving behind his girlfriend (Cathryn Bradshaw).

Principal photography began in England in June 1988 and ended 3 August 1988 in Los Angeles. English location filming took place in Staffordshire, Yorkshire and Derbyshire, and included the Theatre Royal Hanley, the Globe Barnsley, the Opera House Wakefield, and the Chatterly Whitfield Mining Museum.

California locations included the Improv nightclub in West Hollywood, the Chandler Mansion, the Otis Parsons Art School in Los Angeles, and Short Line Enterprises’ four miles of railroad track near Valencia.

The [R]-rated film opened on 24 February 1989 to scant business. The film grossed less than $76,000 in the U.S. In Dublin, Ireland, the picture was booked for a week-long engagement at the Adelphi cinema in late 1989. However, after 4 days, there were fewer than 20 paying customers - so the manager withdrew the film and let the theater go dark for the remaining 3 days, in order to save money on both heating and projection costs.

Ralph Burns scored the film, but there were numerous songs in the picture as well. None of the music has been released.

Castle Rock Entertainment founder Rob Reiner sent the script of SIBLING RIVALRY to his father, Carl Reiner, who signed on to direct shortly after reading it. Only the week before, after reading several disappointing scripts for potential directing jobs, Carl Reiner planned to take a break from directing to write a novel.

Kirstie Alley’s casting was announced on 17 March 1990, although her involvement was said to be “pending scheduling snafus,” as the actress was filming the television series “Cheers” and the upcoming LOOK WHO’S TALKING TOO (1990), expected to begin shooting in summer 1990. Alley’s SIBLING RIVALRY scenes would have to be shot by mid-June 1990 to accommodate her schedule. The actress’s salary was cited as $1.5 million. She had previously worked with Carl Reiner on the 1987 film, SUMMER SCHOOL.

In the film, co-star Carrie Fisher played Alley's sister-in-law, who looks down upon her because Alley is a mere housewife, while her brother (Scott Bakula) is a doctor. Alley’s frustrated life gets even worse once she starts having an affair. Fisher and Alley had both appeared in 1989's LOVERBOY.

The overall budget for the film was $16 million, and filming started on 16 April 1990. Shooting took place in Los Angeles and Marin County, CA. The cast and crew occupied eighty of the Best Western Corte Madera Inn’s 110 rooms while filming there. Locations also included a 1920s residence in Pasadena, CA, which stood in for the home of “Wilbur Meany” (Ed O’Neill).

Critical reception was tepid. The December 1990 Boxoffice review, which called the film “loud and tasteless,” noted that after ten days in release, box-office grosses were “a mild $8.4 million.” Ultimately, the film grossed a weak $17.9 million. Jack Elliott's score was not released.

As described by director Carl Reiner, FATAL INSTINCT was a parody of twelve to fifteen popular erotic and noir thrillers, including DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), CAPE FEAR (1962/1991), CHINATOWN (1974), BODY HEAT (1981), FATAL ATTRACTION (1987), SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY (1991), and BASIC INSTINCT (1992). In the film, a cop-lawyer (Armand Assante) cheats on his wife (Kate Nelligan) and she on him, and she plans to kill him for the insurance.

The film’s original title, “Triple Indemnity,” was changed due to concerns about legal complications with the creators of DOUBLE INDEMNITY. The picture marked the debut for Jacobs/Gardner Productions, formed in 1991 by producing partners Katie Jacobs and Pierce Gardner.

Armand Assante stated that after reading the script, he assumed Reiner wanted to cast him as mechanic “Frank Kelbo” and was surprised to be offered the role of cop-lawyer, “Ned Ravine.” Assante admitted that he was intimidated about portraying a comical and dim-witted character, noting that it had been twenty-five years since he had last played in a farce onscreen. However, Assante was the perfect fit for the part, according to Reiner, who mentioned that he aimed “for actors who could play it straight” and were not necessarily known for their comedic abilities. In an article, both Reiner and Assante referred to the scene of Ned Ravine dancing in high heels as a highlight in the film, and Assante stated that “it was the only scene in the movie that was improvised.”

Carl Reiner, Armand Assante, and Sean Young on the set of FATAL INSTINCT

Sherilyn Fenn was originally considered for the role of the femme fatale “Lola Cain,” eventually played by Sean Young. Fenn opted for the role of Armand Assante's lovesick secretary “Laura” and suggested director Reiner cast Young as Lola. Reiner had a cameo in the film as “Judge Ben Arugula.”

Principal photography began 26 October 1992 in Los Angeles. In addition to location work, the production planned to shoot on the soundstages of Warner Hollywood Studios.

When “Max Shady” (James Remar) adjusts the setting on his silencer while planning to kill Ned Ravine on the train, there is a volume setting that goes up to 11. This is a nod to Carl Reiner's son Rob's mock rockumentary THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984) which stars Christopher Guest. Guest's character (“Nigel Tufnel”) proudly displays his amp that also goes to 11.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was pressured to issue replacement posters after some media outlets protested that the original advance poster was “inappropriate.” Inspired by a scene in BASIC INSTINCT, the one-sheet depicted a femme fatale with her legs crossed, and the phrase, “Opening Soon.” The illustration referred to a scene in the film where seductress “Lola Cain” (Sean Young) admits to Ned Ravine that she is not wearing underwear, and he offers her a pair from a box of “pop-up panties.” Secret Identitee, the company hired to handle the film’s merchandising, also borrowed from the same scene to send out similar boxes in the press kit. Once the film’s release date was set, MGM sent out revised posters.

The film grossed a tepid $7.8 million at the box office. In the UK, the film went directly to video. Richard Gibbs’ score did not get a release.

A bride's divorced parents (Bette Midler and Dennis Farina) get THAT OLD FEELING for each other during the wedding reception, and over the course of the next few days they upset the newlywed's (Paula Marshall and James Denton) honeymoon.

Carl Reiner directed this 1997 romantic comedy, his last directorial effort. The film grossed only $16.6 million, but still beat other comedies that year such as Kevin Smith’s CHASING AMY ($12 million), Woody Allen’s DECONSTRUCTING HARRY ($10.7 million), and Fred Schepisi’s FIERCE CREATURES ($9.4 million). The score by Patrick Williams claimed one track on the MCA song-track CD.

SLUMS OF BEVERLY HILLS is set in 1976, when lower-middle-class teenager “Vivian” (Natasha Lyonne) struggles to cope living with her neurotic family of nomads on the outskirts of Beverly Hills. Vivian’s father “Murray” (Alan Arkin) has no job, and the family lives in a cramped apartment. When Vivian’s cousin “Rita” (Marisa Tomei) gets into trouble with drugs, and Rita's dad “Mickey” (Carl Reiner) offers to pay Arkin and family to look after her, the family is able to afford a more "posh" apartment complex.

Tamara Jenkins wrote and directed this 1998 comedy-drama. The film grossed $5.5 million, decent for a low-budget independent production. Rolfe Kent’s score shared the BMG/RCA/Fox CD soundtrack release with twice as many songs.

In the 2000 misfire THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE, June Foray voiced the animated "Rocky," the animated "Natasha Fatale," and her ubiquitous "old woman" voice from the old television series, as the voice of the narrator's mother. Rene Russo was the live-action Natasha, while Jason Alexander was “Boris.” Carl Reiner had a cameo as “P.G. Biggershot.”

Des McAnuff directed the flop of a film, which had an estimated budget of $76 million and a worldwide gross of $35 million. Mark Mothersbaugh's score has been released only as a promo disc.

In Steven Soderbergh’s remake of OCEAN’S ELEVEN, “Danny Ocean” (George Clooney) and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously. One of the eleven is Carl Reiner as the convincing flimflam man “Saul Bloom.”

Producer Jerry Weintraub asked Reiner to be in the movie a few days before he had to be on set. They'd known each other for years. Weintraub produced OH, GOD! (1977), which Reiner directed. Andy Garcia played “Terry Benedict,” the owner of the casinos being robbed. Garcia said it wasn't easy to do a serious scene with Reiner because Reiner was so funny.

Director Steven Soderbergh wanted the actors to hang out on set to make sure they had good chemistry. During downtime, the cast often crowded around Carl Reiner to listen to his stories. The scene of everyone standing around watching the Bellagio fountain and leaving was somewhat improvised. Soderbergh wanted Brad Pitt (“Rusty”) to leave first and Carl Reiner (“Saul”) to leave last. The rest of the actors were told to line up and depart in whatever order felt natural.

The $85 million production was a big hit, raking in $451 million worldwide. David Holmes’ score was released by Warner Bros.

In OCEAN’S TWELVE, “Danny Ocean” (George Clooney) is forced into pulling off three major European heists. Although the title suggests that a twelfth member is added to the gang, that person is never really identified in the film, and one can speculate as to which of the new characters (or even one of the old ones from the first film) is the “twelfth” person.

In any case, Carl Reiner returned to reprise his role of “Saul Bloom.” Steven Soderbergh also returned as director of this 2004 sequel to OCEAN’S ELEVEN. David Holmes’ score was released by Warner Sunset. OCEAN’S TWELVE didn’t do as well as its predecessor, either with the critics or at the box office. Budgeted at $110 million, the film grossed $363 million worldwide, a 20% decline from the first film, but still profitable.

Bernie Mac and Carl Reiner in OCEAN’S TWELVE

Between 2002 and 2005, Carl Reiner made guest appearances on three episodes of “The Bernie Mac Show.”

In OCEAN’S THIRTEEN, “Danny Ocean” (George Clooney) rounds up the gang for a third heist after casino owner “Willy Bank” (Al Pacino) double-crosses one of the original eleven, “Reuben Tishkoff” (Elliott Gould). Carl Reiner played “Saul Bloom” for the third and final time.

George Clooney and Carl Reiner in OCEAN’S THIRTEEN

Steven Soderbergh again directed. David Holmes’s score again appeared on Warnet Sunset. And again, the 2007 film earned less than its predecessor, grossing $311 million, a drop of 14% from OCEAN’S TWELVE.

Over the next decade, Carl Reiner made numerous guest appearances on television shows such as “Two and a Half Men” and “Hot In Cleveland.” He also did voice work on animated series such as “Father of the Pride,” “The Cleveland Show,” and “Family Guy.”

And, in this twilight of his career, Reiner spent time honoring the comics who were his contemporaries, on awards shows and in documentaries. One such documentary was the John Landis-directed film about Don Rickles' life and comedy. The film, MR. WARMTH: THE DON RICKLES PROJECT, consisted of tape of Don's stage show (never seen before), interviews with Don's contemporaries, (Steve Lawrence, Bob Newhart, Debbie Reynolds, Reiner), established comedians (Billy Crystal, Rosanne Barr, Robin Williams, Chris Rock) and young comedians (Jeff Atoll, Jimmy Kimmel, Sarah Silverman). The filmmakers interviewed over 30 people including actors, directors (John Landis, Christopher Guest, Sidney Poitier) and various people in Don's life (his composer, orchestra, manager, etc.). They also used some of Don's home movies, clips from the Tonight Show, various TV shows, and movies, in order to provide a portrait of one of the last great comedians of his era.

The documentary aired on Home Box Office on 4 December 2007. Rickles won an Emmy Award for the film, for "Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program."

Carl Reiner can be seen being interviewed on documentaries and tributes to many famous comedy stars: Sid Caesar, Larry Gelbart, Mary Tyler Moore, Steve Martin, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Goldie Hawn, Joan Rivers, and Mel Brooks among them.

The 2012 film LUNCH looked at a group of comic writers, actors, and directors who had gathered together for a bi-weekly lunch and conversation in New York City for 40 years. Carl Reiner was part of that group.

Carl Reiner’s final feature film work was in 2019’s TOY STORY 4. Comedy legends Carol Burnett, Mel Brooks, Betty White, and Reiner were added to the cast to voice a set of four toys that Bonnie played with as a toddler but had since outgrown, acting as "veteran" toys to help Woody prepare for when the same happens to him.

Of landing the four stars, director Josh Cooley said "We still can't believe they actually said yes." "And they'll get considerable screen time," said producer Mark Nielsen, “when they reprise their roles in a short film, planned for November release, titled "Forky Asks a Question."

The (unspoken) names of the characters voiced by the four are mashups of their real names and what toys they are:

Carol Burnett (“Chairol Burnett”), Mel Brooks (“Melephant Brooks”), Betty White (“Bitey White”), Carl Reiner (“Carl Reineroceros”), and Tom Hanks (“Woody”) in TOY STORY 4

This was the only theatrical motion picture to feature comedy duo and longtime best friends Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner. All their previous appearances together were on stage, television, recordings and in documentaries.

In 1960, Carl Reiner teamed up with Mel Brooks on “The Steve Allen Plymouth Show,” and their routine "The 2000 Year Old Man" was a huge success. Reiner played the straight man to Brooks in the routine, which was spun-off into five comedy albums, bringing them a Grammy Award. They also made an animated TV special based on their shtick in 1975.

Reiner was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6241 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. He was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2000. Reiner was the recipient of Life Achievement awards from both the Writers Guild (1995) and Directors Guild (2007). He was a 16-time Emmy nominee, winning 9 times.

Carl Reiner and his son, Rob Reiner, became the first father-and-son duo to have their footprints and handprints on a concrete slab at Grauman's Chinese Theater (2017).

Reiner used to hang around the writers’ room on “Your Show of Shows”. He said, “I became a writer because of that room. I'd say something and somebody would yell: ‘What do you know? You're not a writer.’ So, I became a writer.”

Reiner once noted that, “Inviting people to laugh with you while you are laughing at yourself is a good thing to do. You may be the fool, but you're the fool in charge.” Carl Reiner was in charge of our funny bones for most of his adult life. And we were the better for it. Farewell, Carl.

with Imogene Coca (left) and Sid Caesar (right)

B.D.

The Cinema Cafe

End Credits #96: Cinema's 2020 Lost Treasures Carl Reiner