This week’s passages

Rob Reiner, 78, one of the preeminent filmmakers of his generation with movies such as “The Princess Bride,” “When Harry Met Sally …” and “This Is Spinal Tap,” was found fatally stabbed, along with his wife, on Sunday, Dec. 14, in their home in Los Angeles’ Brentwood neighborhood.

He started his career as a TV comedy writer and then as an actor, “Meathead,” the liberal son-in-law of Archie Bunker in “All in the Family.” In the 1980s he began directing hit feature films. He was also one of Hollywood’s most passionate Democratic political activists.
Michele Singer Reiner, 68, a photographer, movie producer and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, was found stabbed to death with her husband, Rob Reiner, at their L.A. home Sunday. Rob Reiner told The Guardian in 2018 that meeting his wife influenced his decision to change the ending of “When Harry Met Sally …” so that Harry and Sally got married.

The Reiners leave two sons and a daughter. Their son Nick has been charged with two counts of murder.
Greg Biffle, 55, who dominated the Pacific Northwest racing circuits in the mid-1990s and then became a NASCAR driver, died Thursday in a jet crash in North Carolina along with his wife, Cristina, and children Ryder, 5, and Emma, 14, and three others.
He won more than 50 races across NASCAR’s three circuits. After nearly 20 years in the sport’s top division, he returned to his roots with truck racing and NASCAR’s revived Northwest circuit.
Peter Arnett, 91, the Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Associated Press who spent decades dodging bullets and bombs to bring the world eyewitness accounts of war from the rice paddies of Vietnam to the deserts of Iraq, died Wednesday in Newport Beach, Calif. He had prostate cancer.
Anthony Geary, 78, the actor who defined soap opera stardom as Luke Spencer on “General Hospital,” died Dec. 14 of complications after an operation in his adopted hometown of Amsterdam, his husband, Claudio Gama, told TV Insider.
He retired in 2015 after more than 1,900 episodes and eight Daytime Emmy awards.
Abraham Quintanilla Jr., 86, of Corpus Christi, Texas, a record producer, the father of late Tejano music star Selena and the architect of her career, died Dec. 13, his family announced. No cause of death was given.
Former Gov. Jim Hunt, 88, a towering figure in North Carolina politics in the late 20th century who helped leaders from both major parties strive for public education reform, died Thursday at his Wilson County home. He served an unprecedented 16 years as governor.
Carl Carlton, 72, the funk and R&B singer known for upbeat, era-embodying singles like “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” has died. His son, Carlton Hudgens II, posted to social media confirming the death on Dec. 14. No cause of death was given.
Gil Gerard, 82, an actor in commercials, TV shows and movies who played television’s hunky sci-fi hero William “Buck” Rogers soon after the “Star Wars” franchise took hold in the late 1970s, died Tuesday of a rare, aggressive form of cancer, said his manager. NBC’s campy “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century” ran for two seasons from 1979 to 1981.
Mike White, 89, who had a successful career as a college coach with California and Illinois and later coached the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, died Dec. 14 in Newport Beach, Calif.
Steve Taneyhill, 52, the USC Athletics Hall of Fame quarterback 1992-95, died Monday, the University of South Carolina confirmed. He had reportedly been battling cancer.
Joe Ely, 78, a singer-songwriter and foundational figure in Texas’ progressive country-rock scene, died Monday at home in New Mexico, from complications of Lewy body dementia, Parkinson’s disease and pneumonia. He was beloved for barroom poetry that punctured country music’s mythmaking, and was a ready collaborator across genres.
Peter Greene, 60, a character actor best known for his role as the iconic villain Zed in “Pulp Fiction,” died in his home in New York City, his manager confirmed on Dec. 12. The cause of death was not immediately released.
Seattle Times staff and news services