There was no script. No spotlight. Just grief. Billy Crystal’s quiet, tear-filled words after losing Rob Reiner stopped people cold. Speaking of decades of laughter, loyalty, and shared history, he admitted the loss felt personal — not professional. Like losing family. There was no drama in what he said. Just honesty. And that’s what made it unforgettable. A reminder that some friendships outlast fame, success, and even time itself..

Billy Crystal and his wife, Janice Crystal, along with a suite of fellow Hollywood elites, released a statement on the death of their friends Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner, calling the late filmmaker “a great comic actor” and “a master story teller.”

In a lengthy statement provided to the Associated Press on Tuesday, the Crystals signed the heartfelt tribute, along with Albert and Kimberly Brooks, Martin Short, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Larry David and Ashley Underwood, Marc Shaiman and Lou Mirabal, Barry and Diana Levinson and Ambassador James Costos and Michael Smith.

“Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear, or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill. Tell us a story audiences demand of us,” the statement began.