tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22542314894677706632011-11-27T17:08:10.325-08:00Dr. John Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390582302653794731noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2254231489467770663.post-60179719580839701112008-10-30T19:43:00.000-07:002008-10-30T20:22:35.039-07:00Estelle Reiner, the woman who 20 years ago set the enduring standard for cameos by directors' moms, has died at age 94. Wife of Carl, mother of Meathead, she rocketed to fame in 1989 as a witness to Meg Ryan's epic fake orgasm in her son's film When Harry Met Sally ; her quip, "I'll have what she's having," later ranked #33 among AFI's Top 100 movie quotations. Estelle Reiner, Carl's wife of 64 years, died a week before the election, had a good life and had filed an absentee ballot. There was nothing cartoon-like about her.<br /><br />Carl Reiner has kept Americans chuckling since the late 1940s, but as a boy he wanted to be a serious actor. In his teens he participated in dramatic workshops, and in the Army he trained as a radio operator but was transferred to serve under Major Maurice Evans in the Army Entertainment Section. Carl Reiner knew he wanted to be an actor -- preferably a Shakespearean actor -- from the time he was wearing knee pants. After the war he accumulated scores of stock company and Broadway credits, then in 1948 made his television debut in the short-lived series Fashion Story. Carl Reiner is one of the greatest creative talents in American comedy. Growing up in the Bronx, he was the son of a watchmaker and a housewife.<br /><br />Carl Reiner directs Steve Martin (who co-wrote the script with Carl Gottlieb) in this gag-laden comedy about an idiotic white man, raised by a poor family of black sharecroppers, who doesn't realize he's not black. Johnson (Steve Martin) is told the horrible truth when he finds himself instinctively tapping his feet to an easy listening tune on the radio, instead of a low-down blues. Carl Reiner, who played the boss on The Dick Van Dyke Show has been the producer or director of many funny movies. Unfortunately, if you want to listen to all of the 2000 Year Old Man funny stories, you have to buy four or five different cds because no one has put together these funny bits together.<br /><br />Carl Reiner once said he wasn't quite good enough as a scholar to fulfill his father's ambition and become a doctor. He did become a one-man band - comedian, actor, director, producer and novelist. Carl Reiner knew he wanted to be an actor -- preferably a Shakespearean actor -- from the time he was wearing knee pants. After the war he accumulated scores of stock company and Broadway credits, then in 1948 made his television debut in the short-lived series Fashion Story. Carl Reiner knew he wanted to be an actor -- preferably a Shakespearean actor -- from the time he was wearing knee pants. After the war he accumulated scores of stock company and Broadway credits, then in 1948 made his television debut in the short-lived series Fashion Story.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/2254231489467770663-6017971958083970111?l=carlreinertalk.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Dr. John Chenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390582302653794731noreply@blogger.com0