Final reflections from Rob Reiner on his father's legacy

0:00The late and beloved talent Rob Reiner had a string of successes as an actor before stepping behind the camera with a procession of influential hit films that included The Princess Bride, Stand By Me, and A Few Good Men. He recently returned to the material that gave him his start as director over 40 years ago with Spinal Tap 2. The end continues. The sequel to his 1984 directing debut, This is Spinal Tap. It's the treat. I'm Elvis Mitchell. He generously took the time to leave us with the treat. Something close to home and family. an inspiration as enduring as his own work. Hi, I'm Rob Reiner, and here's the treat.

0:43Ladies and gentlemen, Carl Reiner.

0:51The one thing that inspired me and is still in my head, has kept me in good stead all my life, is my father. I really don't know if you're pleased to have me out here or not. There is no way of telling. Now, that's true, because Bob Rosengarten and the voice of Fred Foy, who once announced the Lone Ranger, you'll believe anything he says, and they say, here he is, Carl Reiner, and he goes, boom, boom, boom, boom. Well, he was incredibly talented. The man won 12 Emmys, and he was a terrific, funny, great sketch actor. Yes, what? Mrs. Petrie? Rob's wife? No, his mother. I know it's his wife. Send her in.

1:37That girl is crazy. She is crazy. Well, I've always felt there was a little problem. You've never felt anything. Now go answer the door, will you? He did the 2 ,000-year-old man with Mel Brooks and one of the greatest straight men of all time. I mean, listen, Mel Brooks is a genius. He's a brilliant comedian, but my dad knew how to get the best out of him. People are very interested in somebody like Joan of Arc. A lot has been written about her, and we read a lot about her. Ah, what a cutie. You knew Joan of R? I went with her, dummy. I went with her. Nowhere in history do we know of Joan going with anybody.

2:13Well, they don't print that. They don't print everything. You didn't marry her? No, no, I didn't marry her because she was on a mission. But the one thing he did better than anybody I ever saw was host or emcee an evening. The next young comedian, his name is Pee Wee Herman, and he wrote this. Pee Wee Herman is a new comedian. He's been doing stand-up comedy for only a couple of weeks. Please, and he wrote this too, please give a warm welcome to Mr. He said, Mr. Pee-wee Herman. He was the best emcee I've ever seen. I've never seen him fail. And he taught me something that I, to this day, use. I haven't, I've emceed a number of things, not as many as he has.

2:58But he said, take the room in before you go in and see what people are seeing. And if you can identify that thing and put that out first, it'll put them in the same room as you and you'll win them over right away. So I look at the thing that maybe is funny or odd or whatever, and I'll point it out. And everybody then goes, oh, nobody had the guts to say that. And he said it. And I've never seen him fail as an emcee. I never said the F word on television, and I think before the evening's out, I should say it. Golly, I'm going to pass with, we'll just go down, and you'll taste these f***ing good cookies.

3:44He had an instinct, he could feel the room, and he could feel, you know, he would go right up to the line of, you know, and sometimes he even crossed a little bit, but most of the time never. He knew what was in that room, and he was a great emcee. Pass them along. There's sugar in it. Who needs cookie? Who needs sugar tonight? There they are. The marijuana smoke is over there. There's a story that goes with that where at eight years old, I came up to them and I said to them, I want to change my name. They thought, oh, this poor kid, he's worried about being in the shadow of a famous guy. He's not going to be able to live up to him and all that.

4:19And they said, well, what do you want to change your name to? And I said, Carl. And that was my dad's name, Carl Reiner. So that's the treat that I've had, and it's been in my head my whole life. When the night has come, and the land is dark, and the moon is the only light we'll see. Rob Reiner, who died on December 14th, was the treat. A tribute to legacy and family. His father, the late Carl Reiner. The Treat is produced by Rebecca Mooney and mixed by Katie Gilchrist. I'm Elvis Mitchell. It's The Treat.

5:24Should tumble and fall Or the mountain Should crumble To the sea I won't cry I won't cry No I won't Shed a tear Just as long As you stand Stand by me And darling And darling Stand by me Oh, stand by me Oh, stand now Stand by me Stand by me