Voting Station

Estelle Reiner

Please vote to return to collections.

Comedienne

The Resume

    (June 5, 1914-October 25, 2008)
    Born in The Bronx (New York City), New York
    Birth name was Estelle Lebost
    Matriarch of the Reiner comedy family
    Studied at the National Academy of Design in Manhattan
    Married Carl Reiner, in 1943
    Mother of Rob Reiner, Sylvia Ann Reiner. and Lucas Reiner
    Acted in 'Fatso,' 'Marathon,' 'The Man with Two Brains,' 'To Be or Not to Be,' and 'Hot to Trot'
    Makes a famous cameo in Rob Reiner's 'When Harry Met Sally' as a diner customer witnessing Meg Ryan's public orgasm, wryly commenting 'I'll have what she's having' (1989)

Why she might be annoying:

    She played the ukulele during her acts.
    She is sometimes confused with Estelle Harris.
    She married Carl Reiner on Christmas, when he was eight years her junior.
    She had a part in the pilot for the short-lived 'Baby Boom' show.
    At the age of 60, she became a Cabaret singer/recording artist.
    She liked to respond to hecklers during her routines by shouting back 'don't you ever go to the men's room?'
    Her son cast her in, and directed, her most famous movie role.
    She told Woody McBreairty, in an interview: 'The emphasis is on youth, when youre between 30 and 48 years old you suddenly disappear into the world... women don't get much attention when you get older [and] its very unfair.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She had several jobs singing on the radio and at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, as a teenager.
    She joined the Sperry Corporation as its first female isometric draughtsman.
    She helped prepare blueprints for submarines and aircrafts, during WWII.
    She studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Viola Spolin.
    She was close girlfriends with Mel Brooks' wife, Anne Bancroft.
    She was a driving force behind her husband's decision to abandon acting for a writing career.
    She also encouraged him to draft a script for a situation comedy that what would later become The Dick Van Dyke Show. (her son later confirmed that his mother was the basis for the Laura Petrie character).
    Her 'I'll have what she's having' line ranked #33 in AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Quotes (2005).
    Her punchline delivery in 'When Harry Met Sally' prevented the diner scene from delving into sheer raunchiness (instead opting for deadpan satire).
    Rob Reiner credited his skills as a director to her, saying that she had a broader sense of artistic vision than his father.
    She was a regular lounge singer at Hollywood's Luna Park Club and the Cinegrill in Los Angeles, releasing six Jazz CDs over the course of her career ('Just in Time,' in 1984, being the most successful).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 73 Votes: 45.21% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying