Rob Reiner makes posthumous appearance in Larry David’s new show in final role before his tragic death

Rob Reiner made a posthumous cameo on Larry David’s new show Life, Larry, And The Pursuit of Unhappiness, marking his final on-screen appearance before his tragic death.

The late director played George Washington in the second episode of the satirical HBO Max series, which was shot a month before his death.

Reiner and his wife, Michele, were fatally stabbed at their home in Brentwood, California, on December 14, 2025. Their son Nick was arrested and charged with the double murder, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Reiner, whose role was kept secret until the episode aired on Friday, was seen announcing in his speech to the colonists that he would not be a candidate for a third term.

The moment appeared to be a subtle dig at President Donald Trump, who had previously floated the idea of ​​running for a third term.

When Reiner made this announcement while playing the role of the first president of the United States, he added: ‘I believe that no person should serve more than two terms as president.

The late director played George Washington in the second episode of the HBO Max satire series, which was shot a month before his death.

“And I hope future presidents follow my lead,” he continued onstage.

David, playing one of the colonists, then stood in the middle of the crowd and asked a question.

‘What if a future president does not follow your lead and runs for a third term?’ he asked, prompting Reiner to respond that the constitutional amendment would ‘prohibit that.’

David then asked: ‘What if there’s a moron, a narcissistic jerk in the office who doesn’t abide by the Constitution?’

The actor further added: ‘He can use the presidency to enrich himself and his family. It can send troops into American cities to terrorize and even kill American citizens; This may all be to distract her from the fact that she is friends with a pedophile.’

Jimmy Kimmel also appeared as another colonialist in the last episode.

Following David’s comments, the late-night talk show host asked: ‘Are you saying the president will take the time to challenge anyone who dares to mock him? Like it’s a big baby?’

When Kimmel mocked the idea, David said an ‘insecure, lying jerk’ would do it.

‘What if a future president does not follow your lead and runs for a third term?’ David asking this question prompted Reiner to respond that the constitutional amendment would ‘prohibit that.’

Jimmy Kimmel also appeared as another colonialist in the last episode; Seen in Los Angeles in May

The skit ended with the colonists attacking each other, and Reiner ended the scene by saying, ‘We’re screwed.’

At the end of the episode, a Memorial slide with a photo of the late director was revealed.

During an interview with Diversity, director Jeff Shaffer recalled that he and David wanted Reiner to play Washington, but he had one request for the director: Shave his beard.

‘Rob said, ‘Seriously?’ he said. Shaffer added that Reiner was ‘never beardless, but he really wanted to do the sketch, so he shaved it.’

Shaffer called the tragic deaths of Reiner and his wife “incredibly sad” and explained that July 3 was the “perfect time” to air the episode.

‘Let it rise on the 4th of July weekend, the 250th, and then set.’

Reiner was a prolific director whose work includes some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable films of the 1980s and ’90s.

His productions included This is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, A Few Good Men and When Harry Met Sally, where he met photographer Michele Singer. They married soon after and remained married for 36 years.

Director Jeff Shaffer recalled in an interview with Variety that he and David asked Reiner to play Washington, but he had one request for the director: Shave his beard; Reiner and David seen in Los Angeles in 2019

Reiner was a prolific director whose work included some of the most memorable and endlessly watchable films of the 1980s and ’90s; Seen in New York in 2025

The couple had three children: Jake, Nick and Romy. Reiner also adopted his daughter Tracy from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.

Jake described the traumatic experience of learning his parents had been murdered late last year at a life ceremony for a confidant who had died months earlier.

In a Substack post in April, he said: ‘I got a call from my sister Romy saying our dad had died. ‘He called me minutes later and told me that our mother had also died.’

Jake said the ’45-minute Lyft ride from downtown to the west side was excruciating’ and that he ‘went into a trance’ when he learned the terrible news.

He continued: ‘All I could focus on was that I needed to get to my childhood home.

‘I had to go to my brother. ‘I had to figure out what just happened.’

Jake stated that many milestones were left empty after the tragic deaths of his parents and that ‘a lot of things were stolen that day’.

‘My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t be able to hold their future grandchildren, and they won’t be able to see that I still have the successful career I’m looking for,’ she said. ‘This breaks my heart and makes me angry at the same time.’

Reiner and his wife, Michele, were fatally stabbed at their home in Brentwood, California, on December 14, 2025; Seen in Los Angeles in 2019

In his April Substack post, Jake said: ‘I got a call from my sister Romy saying our dad had died. Minutes later he called me and told me that our mother had also died; Seen in Los Angeles in June

Speaking about the fatal incident, Jake stated that he thought ‘how scared they must have been’ and added: ‘They were the last people in the world who deserved what happened to them.’

Last month in June Nick Reiner Said he wanted outstanding money From a trust his parents had set up for him during his defense against accusations that he had killed them.

A petition filed by Nick’s civil attorneys in Los Angeles County court on June 9 says the trustees who oversee the funds denied him the funds without legal justification and that he needed the funds and should receive them now.

Nick hired high-profile private attorney Alan Jackson to represent him, but less than a month later, Jackson left the case for reasons he said he could not share.

The new filing reveals that Nick’s siblings, Jake and Romy Reiner, initially agreed to pay for Jackson but reversed course.

The filing states that Rob and Michele Reiner established smaller individual foundations for Nick and his siblings outside of the larger Reiner family foundation (which is fine).

She says they left ‘clear instructions’ to Nick’s trust, which was set up in 1993, that he would receive half of his money when he turned 30 and the rest when he turned 35.

But Nick never received the funds he was entitled to at age 30, and the trustee who has been overseeing them since February, attorney Paul R. Kanin, gave Reiner “a litany of excuses and justifications” for denying the money, the filing says.

These include concerns about Nick’s competence, which have nothing to do with the mandatory payment.

Last month in June, Nick Reiner said his parents were seeking outstanding money from the foundation he set up for him during his defense against accusations that he killed them; seen in february

Nick also says that he should receive the money he will receive at the age of 35 immediately because his defense and the need for basic needs in prison require it.

Proceedings in Nick’s murder case are moving slowly. He is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing in September.

He is eligible for the death penalty, but District Attorney Nathan Hochman said his office has not yet decided whether to seek that sentence.

Authorities have said nothing about possible motives, and leaks about the case have been almost non-existent on either side.