The comedian hosted the filmmaker and his wife at his holiday party the night before they were found dead. Conan O'Brien opens up about his 'name being attached' to the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner The comedian hosted the filmmaker and his wife at his holiday party the night before they were found dead. By Derek Lawrence :maxbytes(150000):stripicc()/derek160e1b72b3389c74b8ca03743731e346949.jpg) Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at . He left EW in 2022. EW's editorial guidelines March 9, 2026 1:15 p.m.

The comedian hosted the filmmaker and his wife at his holiday party the night before they were found dead.

Conan O'Brien opens up about his 'name being attached' to the deaths of Rob and Michele Reiner

The comedian hosted the filmmaker and his wife at his holiday party the night before they were found dead.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

March 9, 2026 1:15 p.m. ET

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Conan O'Brien on June 13, 2025 in New York City; Rob Reiner during the 14th annual Dubai International Film Festival held at the Madinat Jumeriah Complex on December 9, 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Credit:

Cindy Ord/Getty; Neilson Barnard/Getty

Conan O'Brien is getting ready to host Sunday's Oscars, which will include a tribute to the late actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner. Ahead of the ceremony, O'Brien opened up about the "sadness" surrounding the loss of his close friend.

The comedian hosted a holiday party in December that Reiner and his wife, Michele, attended the night before they were found stabbed to death.

"Very simply, we had a party, we invited our really good friends and then, the next day, this terrible thing happened," O'Brien told *The Hollywood Reporter* of his name being connected to the tragic events. "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. If you're a known person, your name is going to get dragged into things sometimes, but it is not a hardship. There is only sadness that they're gone."

Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner on July 9, 2018 in West Hollywood, Calif.

Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty

The Reiners were found dead in their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif., on Dec. 14, and their son Nick was subsequently arrested and charged with murder. Sources later told PEOPLE that Rob and Nick had engaged in a heated argument at O'Brien's Dec. 13 party, with one person telling the outlet that Nick was "freaking everyone out, acting crazy, kept asking people if they were famous." Another report from NBC News said that Nick's behavior left his parents and other guests feeling uncomfortable.

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O'Brien told *THR* that he has opted not to address the loss of the Reiners on his own podcast because that felt "disrespectful." The comedian did previously open up about his relationship with the Reiners in a *New Yorker *profile.

"I knew Rob and Michele, and then increasingly got closer and closer to them, and I was seeing them a lot," he said. "My wife and I were seeing them a lot, and they were so — they were just such lovely people. And to have that experience of saying good night to somebody and having them leave and then find out the next day that they're gone. … I think I was in shock for quite a while afterward."

Nick Reiner appears during his arraignment in Los Angeles on Feb. 23, 2026.

CHRIS TORRES/POOL/AFP via Getty

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"It's just so awful," O'Brien continued. "And I think about how Rob felt about things that are happening in the country, how involved he was, how much he put himself out there — and to have that voice go quiet in an instant is still hard for me to comprehend."

Nick Reiner has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, and his next hearing is set for April 29.

The 2026 Oscars air Sunday on ABC at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. The ceremony will also stream on Hulu.

- Celebrities & Creators

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Source: Celebrity

Published: March 9, 2026 at 02:00PM on Source: PRIME TIME

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