Carl Reiner, 'The Dick Van Dyke Show' creator and star, dies at 98

Carl Reiner, the ingenious and versatile writer, actor and director who broke through as a "second banana" to Sid Caesar and rose to comedy's front ranks as creator of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and straight man to Mel Brooks' "2000 Year Old Man," has died. He was 98.

Reiner's assistant Judy Nagy said he died Monday night of natural causes at his home in Beverly Hills, California.

He was one of show business' best liked men, the tall, bald Reiner was a welcome face on the small and silver screens, in Caesar's 1950s troupe, as the snarling, toupee-wearing Alan Brady of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and in such films as "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming" and "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

Sandy Kenyon has more on legendary entertainer Carl Reiner, who died on Tuesday at the age of 98.

In recent years, he was part of the roguish gang in the "Ocean's Eleven" movies starring George Clooney and appeared in documentaries including "Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age" and "If You're Not in the Obit, Eat Breakfast."

WATCH: Carl, Rob Reiner honored with hand, footprints ceremony

Father-son duo, Carl and Rob Reiner, further cemented their place in Hollywood with their hand and footprints in a block outside the TCL Chinese Theatre.

When "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ended its run, Reiner found success as a director, with films including "Oh, God!" starring George Burns and John Denver; "All of Me," with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin; and the 1970 comedy "Where's Poppa?" He was especially proud of his books, including "Enter Laughing," an autobiographical novel later adapted into a film and Broadway show; and "My Anecdotal Life," a memoir published in 2003. He recounted his childhood and creative journey in the 2013 book, "I Remember Me."

Reiner was a nine-time Emmy Awards winner, and won a Grammy for his best-selling album with Mel Brooks entitled, "2000 Years With Carl Reiner & Mel Brooks" in 1960.

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After 70 years in show business, Carl Reiner has been nominated for what could be his 10th Emmy.

But many remember Reiner for "The Dick Van Dyke Show," one of the most popular television series of all time and a model of ensemble playing, physical comedy and timeless, good-natured wit. It starred Van Dyke as a television comedy writer working for a demanding, eccentric boss (Reiner) and living with his wife (Mary Tyler Moore in her first major TV role) and young son in suburban New Rochelle, New York.

"The Van Dyke show is probably the most thrilling of my accomplishments because that was very, very personal," Reiner once said. "It was about me and my wife, living in New Rochelle and working on the Sid Caesar show."

Reiner is the father of actor-director Rob Reiner, who tweeted about his father's passing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.