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Carl And Rob Reiner Leave Hand And Footprints In Concrete
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• 2:37
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
And now on to some Hollywood history. Carl and Rob Reiner, father and son, became the first father and son to leave their hand and footprints in front of Hollywood's famous Chinese Theater. NPR arts correspondent Mandalit del Barco reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Outside the Chinese Theater, cheering fans, family and longtime friends, including Norman Lear and Billy Crystal, who noted that Carl Reiner began on TV in the 1950s on Sid Caesar's "Your Show Of Shows." His hits include "The 2000-Year-Old Man" sketch with Mel Brooks and "The Dick Van Dyke Show."
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(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
BILLY CRYSTAL: And I realized that Carl was also a prophet. In 1966, on film, he screamed the Russians are coming. The Russians are coming.
(LAUGHTER)
DEL BARCO: On TV in the 1970s, Rob Reiner played the son-in-law nicknamed Meathead on "All In The Family." He also directed movie classics such as "When Harry Met Sally," "The Princess Bride" and "This Is Spinal Tap."
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CRYSTAL: The two of them are geniuses. Ladies and gentlemen, Carl Reiner and Rob Reiner.
(APPLAUSE)
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DEL BARCO: The two Reiners walked up to the mic together. Carl spoke first.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CARL REINER: I've known this guy...
(LAUGHTER)
C. REINER: ...for almost all of his life.
(LAUGHTER)
C. REINER: I didn't know him in vitro, but I knew him...
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ROB REINER: You knew. You knew. You felt. My father was my idol. I looked up to him. He stood for everything I wanted to be in life. And I think we should not only put our hands and our feet in the cement, but I think we should put our bald heads.
(LAUGHTER)
R. REINER: All right. Let's do this.
C. REINER: OK.
(APPLAUSE)
DEL BARCO: Father and son Reiner lean their bald heads down but only put their hands and feet in the cement slab, like movie stars before them. They posed for pictures and gave each other a long smooch. Inside the theater, they talked about being immortalized.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
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R. REINER: It's good to be in cement and still be alive.
C. REINER: Being with your son and being lauded as we were - it's something that I will remember for the rest of my - I think I have about 70 more years to go. No. What am I - 95?
R. REINER: You're 95, Pop.
C. REINER: I'm going to go till 99.
R. REINER: All right.
C. REINER: OK.
R. REINER: All right. Four more years.
DEL BARCO: In the meantime, Carl and Rob Reiner remain ardent liberals, now on social media.
C. REINER: You know, I can't go to sleep unless I tweet about Trump.
R. REINER: Something about how Trump is destroying America.
DEL BARCO: The Reiners also have new books and movies coming out. Now you can step all over them on Hollywood Boulevard. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
SIMON: And tomorrow, on WEEKEND EDITION SUNDAY, Lulu Garcia-Navarro will be serenaded by the alluring Jaime Camil of the TV show "Jane The Virgin." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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