Rob Reiner Wins Posthumous Emmy for The Bear

The actor and director, known for films including The Princess Bride, died on December 14. Prosecutors say Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner were stabbed to death at their home in Brentwood, California, by their son, Nick Reiner. He has pleaded not guilty to murder.

How did The Bear pay tribute to Reiner?

Reiner’s final appearance in The Bear gave Albert Schurr a quiet but pointed farewell. In the season finale, line cook Ebra, played by Edwin Lee Gibson, telephoned his business mentor to explain plans to franchise the restaurant.

“Albert, we are in business,” Ebra said. “It’s perfect. I will have all the documents, email it to you immediately. Anything else I can do?”

Viewers did not hear Albert’s reply. Instead, Ebra smiled and answered, “As you wish,” quoting the best-known line from Reiner’s 1987 film The Princess Bride. It was a restrained tribute, which suited both the scene and the circumstances far better than a large flashing sign would have.

Reiner’s death also forced the series to reconsider its plans for season five. Gibson said in June that the cast and production team had expected the filmmaker to return.

“It’s emotional when I think about it,” he told The Standard. “Because we go back in season five, and he’s not there and we fully expected him to be there, [it] changed a bit the trajectory of the story.”

What did Edwin Lee Gibson say about working with him?

Gibson said his scenes with Reiner quickly developed an easy rhythm, even though the two actors had not spent as much time together as their on-screen relationship might suggest.

“All those days that Rob and I spent together were a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m really happy that it looks like, ‘Oh, they must have spent so much time,’ when in actuality we just had such a great chemistry immediately.”

He also reflected on the difficult significance of becoming Reiner’s final scene partner.

“I got to be his last scene partner, unfortunately,” Gibson said. “But it was just really, really great moments with someone that you grew up watching in front of the camera, then behind the camera.”

The Creative Arts ceremony came ahead of the main Emmy Awards telecast, scheduled for September 14 at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT on NBC, with streaming available through Peacock.