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Stars including Mel Brooks, Dick Van Dyke, George Clooney and Russell Crowe have paid tribute to the late comedy great Carl Reiner, calling him "a gem".

Reiner died aged 98 of natural causes on Monday at his home in Beverly Hills, his assistant Judy Nagy confirmed.

He helped to create The Dick Van Dyke Show, and had a partnership with Brooks.

"Carl was a giant," tweeted Brooks, who first met Reiner in 1950 on Your Show of Shows.

"Unmatched in his contributions to entertainment, he created comedy gems," he went on.

He added of his "best friend" and comedy partner that "there was no better straight man in the world".

Reacting to the news, Van Dyke commented that Reiner was his "idol". He tweeted: "He had a deeper understanding of the human condition, than I think even he was aware of.

"Kind, gentle, compassionate, empathetic and wise. His scripts were never just funny, they always had something to say about us."

The prolific writer, comedian, director and actor also directed several films including Steve Martin vehicles The Jerk (1979) and All of Me (1984).

He was in 2001's Ocean's Eleven and its two sequels as conman Saul Bloom.

Clooney, who played Danny Ocean, told Variety: "Carl Reiner made every room he walked into funnier, smarter, kinder. It all seemed so effortless. What an incredible gift he gave us all."

Gladiator star Crowe also called Reiner "a gem", recalling hosting the annual Directors Guild of America Awards alongside the late actor on several occasions.

"By the third year I was totally comfortable in that environment and made a little remark from the stage about how much I enjoyed seeing and being with Carl and what an honour it was," Crowe wrote on Twitter.

"When I left the stage that third year, Carl turned to the audience and dead panned, 'I've never met that guy before in my life'."

Reiner also acted in films such as The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966).

He was a close friend of fellow sketchwriter Brooks, and the pair found a new audience with their 2000 Year Old Man routines, which spawned books and an animated TV special.

Reiner's agent recently posted a picture of the pair supporting the Black Lives Matter movement along with Reiner's daughter.