‘When Harry Met Sally’ director reveals film’s original ending — and it was a sad one
“When Harry Met Sally” almost had a very different ending.
Rob Reiner opened up on CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace” last week where he divulged that the iconic finale where Billy Crystal’s Harry Burns and Meg Ryan’s Sally Albright end up as a couple almost didn’t happen.
“The original ending of the film that we had was that Harry and Sally didn’t get together,” the “Princess Bride” filmmaker, 76, said.
“I had been married for 10 years, I had been single for 10 years and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody, and that gave birth to ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ” the “All in the Family” alum continued.
Reiner married actress Penny Marshall in 1971 and they were together until 1981.
He noted how personal the 1989 rom-com was to him and how it hit close to home.
He added: “I hadn’t met anybody, and so it was going to be the two of them seeing each other after years, talking, and then walking away from each other.”
The film’s ending featured Harry sprinting to see Sally at a New Year’s Eve bash, where he declares his love for his best friend.
That scene seemed to mirror real life as a similar instance occurred to him.
After Reiner divorced Marshall, who died in 2018, he tied the knot with his second wife, Michele Singer, in 1989.
“I met my wife, Michele, who I’ve been married to now 35 years,” he gushed. “I met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending.”
Crystal, 75, visited Katz’s Deli for the first time since shooting the flick last December. As viewers may recall, Ryan, 62, faked an orgasm at the NYC eatery in the movie.
During a segment on “CBS Mornings,” with co-host Gayle King, the comedian sat at a booth and chomped down on one of the famous pastrami sandwiches.
“I haven’t been here since we actually shot the movie,” Crystal told King, 68, as they went into the iconic restaurant.
The “Running Scared” actor noted to King how it’s “an amazing phenomenon” that the movie still remains an iconic rom-com today.
“[The film] is more important as time goes by,” Crystal said. “People fall in love every day. People fall out of love every day. People find each other, they lose each other every day,” he explained. “And new generations keep finding ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ They keep discovering it, and we’re forever young in that movie. And we represent them. They relate to us.”
Ryan also brought up the comedy at the 2023 Kennedy Center Honors ceremony where Crystal earned a medal.
She paid tribute to her friend, saying in her speech about the orgasm bit: “This scene came really naturally to me, and I really have Billy to thank for that. I’ve actually never been around anyone who made faking an orgasm easier. So, thank you, Billy.”
