Mel Brooks has opened up about his relief that his longtime best friend and collaborator Carl Reiner died prior to the murder of his son, Rob Reiner.

Five years after Carl died of natural causes, Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead at their home in Brentwood, Los Angeles last December. Their son Nick Reiner is set to stand trial for their murder.

At the premiere of the new HBO documentary Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, Brooks was asked by director Judd Apatow about the many comedians who say Brooks and Reiner’s “2000 Year Old Man” sketches inspired them to pursue their careers.

“Oh, very sweet,” responded Brooks, before addressing the recent tragedy. “Anyway, Carl, with what’s happened, I’m glad that he passed away when he did.” The Blazing Saddles director added: “I mean, he never could have survived this terrible, terrible thing.”

As for his own feelings towards the late Dick Van Dyke Show creator, Brooks said: “I loved him. I loved Carl. And I used to really... There was no fake laughter. I used to really break him up. He’d grab his belly and sometimes he’d fall down.”

Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks, pictured together in 2012. Reiner died in 2020, five years before the murder of his son Rob Reiner (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, which was filmed and edited prior to Rob Reiner’s murder, is set to air on HBO on January 22 and 23.

In the documentary, Rob recalls Brooks being there with his father, who collapsed at home and died of natural causes at the age of 98 in June 2020.

“Mel was there when my dad died,” says Rob in the film. “He just collapsed in the bathroom, and Mel came back and realized: ‘Uh oh, something’s wrong.’”

Brooks himself also recalls the death of his friend, saying that he urged the ambulance workers to keep trying to revive him.

“I was still hoping that they would put the stuff on him and boom, get him up. I kept yelling at them, ‘Keep it up, keep it up,’ and they thought I was crazy after an hour of yelling,” said Brooks. “I just didn’t want him to go. I just couldn’t — I wouldn’t accept it. I loved him so much.”

Michele and Rob Reiner with their son, Nick, who is accused of killing his parents and could face the death penalty if convicted (Getty)

Earlier this month, Nick Reiner’s lawyer Alan Jackson withdrew from the upcoming trial over the murder of his parents.

Speaking outside the courthouse, Jackson maintained that Nick Reiner is not guilty, saying: “Pursuant to the laws of this state, pursuant to the law in California, Nick Reiner is not guilty of murder.”

He added that “circumstances beyond our control but more importantly circumstances beyond Nick’s control have dictated that sadly it’s made it impossible for us to continue our representation of Nick.”

LA County District Attorney Nathan Hochman, meanwhile, proclaimed: “We are fully confident that a jury will convict Nick Reiner beyond a reasonable doubt of the brutal murder of his parents Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner.”