The 78-year-old actor appeared on stage at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre to pay tribute to the “master storyteller” and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, three months following their fatal shooting, vowing the director’s legacy will “last for lifetimes”.

Billy said, “I first met Rob Reiner in 1975 when I was cast as his best friend in an episode of All in the Family. And it went so well that Rob said, ‘You know, it was fun playing your best friend, why don’t we keep it going?’ It was a thrill to see him evolve from a great comic actor to a master storyteller.”

He walked the audience through a selection of Rob’s films, including This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, and When Harry Met Sally. It comes after Oscars red carpet gets political as Hollywood stars wear anti-ICE pins.

He continued: “My friends, Rob’s movies will last for lifetimes because they were about what makes us laugh, and cry, and what we aspired to be. Far better, in his eyes, far kinder, far funnier, and far more human.

“And when Michele Singer entered his life, they were unstoppable. A gifted photographer, she not only produced films with Rob but it was her energy that had them fighting social injustice in the country they both loved.

“Rob and Michele Reiner became the driving force in the landmark decision for marriage equality across the United States. And their loss is immeasurable.

“To the millions who have enjoyed his films all these years, I want you to know, here and around the world how many times Rob told me that it meant everything to him that his work meant something to you.

“And for us, who had the privilege of working with and knowing him and loving him, all we can say is, ‘Buddy, what fun we had storming the castle.'”

A lineup of stars from his films, including Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Kathy Bates, Kiefer Sutherland, Demi Moore, Jerry O’Connell, Annette Bening, Mandy Patinkin, and Fred Savage, appeared in somber attire for a brief moment of applause, before tributes to other figures from cinema were honored with photographs and clips from their performances.

The montage paused so that Rachel McAdams could deliver a tearful tribute to the late Diane Keaton, who passed away last October aged 79, calling the star “a legend with no end”.

She said: “For over 50 years, luminous on screen and indelible in life, believe me when I say there isn’t an actress of my generation who is not inspired by and enthralled with her absolute singularity.

“She wore so many hats, literally and figuratively, actress, artist, author, activist, but no hat more important to her than being a mother to her two children. She meant so much to so many of us.

“I remember she used to sing this old Girl Scout song she used to sing on set, which is just so her: ‘Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver, and the other is gold. A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I’ll be your friend.’ And so to our friend, Diane Keaton, celebrating a life in silver and gold, a legend with no end.”

The tribute continued before Barbra Streisand took the stage to honor her The Way We Were co-star Robert Redford, who passed away in September at 89.

She shared: “Bob had real backbone on and off the screen. He spoke up to defend freedom of the press, protect the environment and encouraged new voices at his Sundance Institute, some of whom are up for Oscars tonight, which is so great.

“He was thoughtful and bold. I called him an intellectual cowboy who blazed his own trail, and won the Academy Award for best director, and I miss him now more than ever, even though he loved teasing me. He’d call me Babs, and I’d say, ‘Bob, you know, do I look like a Babs? I’m not a Babs, you know.’ But the way he said it made me laugh.”

“And many years later we were chatting on the phone about the usual – politics, art, our favorites, and as we were hanging up, he said, ‘Babs, I love you dearly and I always will. ‘ And in the last note I ever wrote to Bob, I ended it with, ‘I love you, too, and I signed it ‘Babs’.”

Barbara then concluded the segment with a rare brief performance of her song The Way We Were.