Estelle Reiner Obituary

REINER--Estelle. Jazz singer, painter, and wife of comedy legend, Carl Reiner for 64 years, died on Saturday, October 25 at the age of 94. A talented artist and singer, Estelle was most widely known for the famous line -"I'll have what she's having," in son, Rob Reiner's film, "When Harry Met Sally". As an artist she had four one-woman shows of her paintings in the 1970's and at the age of 65 embarked on a new career as a jazz singer. Undeterred by any of the usual constraints of age, anxiety and later, illness, she developed her innate musical gifts and continued performing in clubs in New York and Los Angeles until the remarkable age of 93. Early in her new found career, the noted jazz critic, Leonard Feather, said of her work, "Her bittersweet timbre suggests honey laced with vinegar. She has qualities many a seasoned pro would envy." A. James Liska of the Daily News in New York, wrote, "she has wise and knowing phrasing, and a dry, wry, sly wit...", and talented singer/songwriter, Dave Frishberg wrote, "I feel comfortable entrusting my songs to Estelle Reiner, whose musicality shines through every track." She was a true original, a jazz stylist, part of whose repertoire included quirky, little known old jazz and blues songs which reflected her personal humor and uniqueness. Although she sang sweet ballads and standards, she fell in love with the Blues as a teenager, frequenting the Apollo Theater in Harlem, and did not shy away from raunchy old blues tunes such as, "Handy Man," "You Can Have My Husband (But Please Don't Take My Man"). Her friend, Dom Deluise never stopped talking admiringly about her sexy rendition of "Don't You Feel My Leg," when well into her 80's. Jazz afficionado, David Chasman, also the former production head at United Artists, wrote of Estelle, "More than innate musicality, more than seductiveness of voice, it is Estelle's undisguised, unequivocal, unabashed, unmistakable love for the songs that she sings, which makes her irresistible to her audience". Her courage and determination also resulted in seven CD's, including, "Ukulele Mama", and a charming collection of standards called "Grown Up Songs For Kids". After raising her three children, acclaimed actor/director, Rob, Annie, a gifted writer and psychoanalyst, and Lucas, a painter whose work shows in the U.S. and Europe, Reiner began a career as a performer, studying with Viola Spolin and Lee Strasberg, and was soon cast in "Fatso", the directorial debut of her old friend, Anne Bancroft. Subsequently, she had a small part in Mel Brooks' film, "To Be Or Not To Be", and went on to do other performances in TV and film, including the often repeated line in "When Harry Met Sally". Born in Bronx, New York in 1914, the former Estelle Lebost graduated the National Academy of Design in the late 1930's and during World War II she was the first woman isometric draftsman to work at Sperry Rand, making blueprints for assembly workers building submarines and airplanes. She and Carl Reiner married on Christmas Eve, 1943, when Reiner was on a weekend pass from the Army. Her friends and family will remember her as a free thinker who never stopped searching, a courageous woman of extraordinary spirit and curiosity who lived life to the end. In addition to her children and husband, she also leaves nephews George Shapiro and Donny Shapiro, and five grandchildren, Jake, Nick and Romy Reiner, Livia and Rose Reiner. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Save The Children.