The tragic deaths of director Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle, who were apparently murdered in their home by their son Nick, have shocked the world. Many paid tribute to the legendary American-Jewish director, whose name appears on beloved cinematic works like the coming-of-age drama "Stand by Me," the fantasy comedy "The Princess Bride," and the romantic comedy "When Harry Met Sally."
As is well known, one of the most famous scenes from the latter, and perhaps one of the most famous in all of cinema, takes place in a venerable New York delicatessen, when Sally (Meg Ryan) demonstrates to Harry (Billy Crystal) how she fakes a vocal orgasm – freely in front of all the restaurant's patrons (by the way, the elderly woman who requests "what she's having" is Estelle Reiner, Rob's mother).
Following news of Reiner's death, Jake Dell, the owner of Katz's Deli, paid tribute to the late director. "Rob Reiner was a friend of Katz's Deli in so many ways," Dell, whose family has operated the delicatessen for five generations, told The Hollywood Reporter. "The staff and everyone at Katz's remembers him with great fondness, and we have so many amazing memories of him. He was a regular customer who came in every time he arrived in the city – a Brooklyn guy who would come in and grab a sandwich."
Dell recalled that Reiner, along with Billy Crystal and screenwriter Nora Ephron (who later became a successful director in her own right), worked to determine exactly how the defining scene would look and how it would successfully incorporate the delicatessen, which opened (albeit under a different name and ownership) in 1888 and is famous for its pastrami sandwiches and other "Jewish" dishes like matzo ball soup, chopped liver, noodle kugel, rugelach, babka, and these days even special Hanukkah treats.
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Just this past October, in an interview he gave to CBS's "60 Minutes" program, Reiner revealed that during filming of the delicatessen scene, he felt Meg Ryan wasn't giving her all to illustrate the sexual satisfaction she was experiencing. So he sat in her place across from Billy Crystal to show her how to do it properly. "And I'm pounding on the table, 'Yes! Yes! Yes!,' and suddenly I realize I'm having an orgasm in front of my mother, you know?," he said in the interview with his characteristic humor.
By the way, the famous table is still in the delicatessen, and is even marked with a sign that reads "Where Harry met Sally... hope you have what she had!" Bon appétit.
