Golden Globes host Nikki Glaser closed out Sunday’s broadcast wearing a “Spinal Tap” baseball cap in a subtle tribute to slain actor-director Rob Reiner as she quoted one of the most famous lines in the movie.
“Well, that’s our show,” Glaser said at the end of the “83rd Golden Globe Awards,” waving farewell from the stage. “This one went to 11.”
The poignant gesture harked back to Reiner’s feature-film directorial debut, the 1984 mockumentary “This Is Spinal Tap,” which followed a fictional British heavy-metal band and became a beloved cult classic.
A largely improvised discussion between Reiner’s documentarian Marty DiBergi and Spinal Tap’s lead guitarist Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest) about an amplifier that “goes to 11” rather than the usual top number of 10 is one of the most memorable moments in the film. The expression “go to 11” has been enshrined in the Oxford English Dictionary since 2018.
The Golden Globes does not feature an “In Memoriam” segment, so Glaser’s options were limited, as she explained a few days beforehand.
“There’s not a whole section set aside to honor everyone we’ve lost,” she told USA Today. “But I have something planned that I’m going to do in my own way to just acknowledge (Reiner) and celebrate him in my own way.”
Her tribute followed a mention by emcee Chelsea Handler at the People’s Choice Awards a week earlier, who called Reiner “the nicest guy in Hollywood.”
Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were stabbed to death in December, allegedly by their son Nick Reiner. Their untimely deaths at age 78 and 70, respectively, have rocked Hollywood. The 32-year-old Nick has been charged with murder, though it isn’t clear whether he is fit to stand trial.
With News Wire Services
