Jerry Weintraub

Jerome Charles Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys.

He began his career as a talent agent, having managed known singer John Denver in 1970, developing Denver's success through concerts, television specials, and film roles, including Oh, God! (1977). Weintraub has been credited with making "show business history" by being the first to organize and manage large arena concert tours for singers. Among the other performers whose tours he managed were Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Four Seasons, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Three Dog Night and The Carpenters.

Following his years as a concert promoter, he began producing films. Among them were director Robert Altman's Nashville (1975), Barry Levinson's Diner (1982), the first five films from The Karate Kid franchise, as well as the remake Ocean's Eleven (2001), and its two sequels. Later, he was executive producer of HBO's series The Brink and HBO's Behind the Candelabra in 2013, which won an Emmy. In 2014, he won another Emmy as co-producer of Years of Living Dangerously, a television documentary about global warming. In 2011, HBO broadcast a television documentary about Weintraub's life, called His Way.

Early years Weintraub was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, and raised in the Bronx, the son of Rose (née Bass) and Samuel Weintraub. His father was a gem dealer. While growing up, he worked as a theater usher and as a waiter in the Catskills.

In 1970, Weintraub convinced Elvis Presley and his manager, Col. Tom Parker, to do Presley's first national tour, something they had not considered, as Presley was by then a successful film star. The tour, with a modern sound system created for it, helped develop Weintraub's career as a concert promoter.

Bob Dylan signed with Weintraub in 1978 after watching a Neil Diamond concert in Las Vegas, knowing that Weintraub managed the event. Dylan began a world tour beginning in Japan which continued through Europe and the US, performing 114 shows in front of two million people.

Biographer David Morrell writes, "We take this for granted now, but Weintraub's ability to organize these massive concerts made show-business history." Led Zeppelin manager, Peter Grant, recalls that Weintraub worked hard at putting on these large shows. "It was an event," Grant says. And "Jerry Weintraub loved it." Weintraub acknowledged his motivations: "When I believe in something, it's going to get done," he wrote in his autobiography.

Following Nashville , Weintraub's credits as producer over the next few years included Oh, God! (1977), September 30, 1955 (1978), Cruising (1980), All Night Long (1981), and Diner (1982).

In July 1985, he became chairman and chief executive officer of the board of trustees of the Los Angeles International Film Exposition (Filmex) but oversaw its demise with the board agreeing to merge with the American Cinematheque in January 1986 and all but one employee leaving.

The success of The Karate Kid (1984), led Kirk Kerkorian, then owner of MGM/UA, to appoint Weintraub as chairman and CEO of the neglected United Artists division in November 1985, with Weintraub acquiring a minority stake, but clashes between the two men led to Weintraub's departure after five months. The Karate Kid had several sequels, all produced by Weintraub, The Karate Kid Part II (1986), The Karate Kid Part III (1989) and The Next Karate Kid (1994).

Weintraub formed Weintraub Entertainment Group (WEG) in February 1987 with $461 million in financing from Columbia Pictures, Cineplex Odeon and others. WEG also signed a 20-year distribution deal with Columbia, and planned to release seven or more movies per year. In 1990 WEG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and Weintraub would then produce for Warner Bros. WEG also subsequently settled a suit brought against it by Columbia.

Weintraub's later films as producer were Happy New Year (1987), Pure Country (1992), The Specialist (1994), Vegas Vacation (1997), The Newton Boys (1998), The Avengers (1998), Soldier (1998), Nancy Drew (2007), The Karate Kid (2010), and the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven, for which he founded the company JW Productions. In addition to producing the sequels Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007), he appeared in all the Ocean's films. Weintraub had a small role in Vegas Vacation (1997) as "Gilly from Philly" a high roller casino gambler with two pals, and in The Firm (1993).

He was executive producer of HBO's series, The Brink, and HBO's Behind the Candelabra in 2013, an Emmy-winning drama about the last ten years in the life of pianist Liberace. In 2014, he also won an Emmy as co-producer of Years of Living Dangerously, a television documentary about global warming.

A television documentary film about Weintraub's life, called His Way, directed by Douglas McGrath, was broadcast on HBO in 2011. On a 2010 television appearance of The View, Weintraub made a handshake deal with Whoopi Goldberg to play the next God in a future Oh, God! sequel, should a favorable script become available. Weintraub had agreed to produce a new adaptation of The Legend of Tarzan for Warner Bros. which was released on July 1, 2016.

Philanthropy Weintraub led some very successful campaign fundraisers for the Republican Party and was good at fundraising.

He also began doing charitable work to help stop the ongoing genocide taking place in Darfur in 2007. Weintraub, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Don Cheadle, and Brad Pitt cofounded the nonprofit organization, Not On Our Watch, dedicated to preventing mass killings in Darfur and other areas of the world. They raised $9.3 million to aid their relief efforts.

Personal life Weintraub was married twice. His first wife was Janice Greenberg, a dentist's daughter from his Bronx neighborhood who had been singer Julius La Rosa's secretary. They had a son.

Weintraub's second wife was singer and actress Jane Morgan, who was 13 years his senior. Their relationship went from professional to personal and the two were married in 1965 when she was 41 and he was 28. They adopted three daughters. The couple separated in the 1980s, but never divorced. For 20 years until his death, Weintraub had been living with his partner, Susan Ekins.

Death Weintraub died from cardiac arrest in Santa Barbara, California, on July 6, 2015, at the age of 77.

Following the announcement of his death, celebrities and friends paid tribute to Weintraub. "Jerry was an American original, who earned his success by the sheer force of his instinct, drive, and larger-than-life personality," said former president George H.W. Bush, a longtime friend. "He had a passion for life, and throughout the ups and downs of his prolific career it was clear just how much he loved show business." Actor Don Cheadle wrote, "Jerry was to me equal parts Godfather, rainmaker, caretaker, PT Barnum and friend." George Clooney, star of the Ocean's movies, said that "in the coming days there will be tributes about our friend Jerry Weintraub. We'll laugh at his great stories, and applaud his accomplishments. And in the years to come, the stories and accomplishments will get better with age, just as Jerry would have wanted it. But not today. Today our friend died."

Filmography

He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

Film Year Title Credit Notes 1975 Nashville Executive producer 1977 September 30, 1955 Oh, God! 1980 Cruising 1981 All Night Long 1982 Diner 1984 The Karate Kid 1986 The Karate Kid Part II 1987 Happy New Year 1988 My Stepmother Is an Alien Executive producer 1989 The Karate Kid Part III 1992 Pure Country 1994 The Next Karate Kid The Specialist 1997 Vegas Vacation 1998 The Avengers Soldier 2000 The Independent Executive producer 2001 Ocean's Eleven 2004 Ocean's Twelve 2007 Ocean's Thirteen Nancy Drew 2010 The Karate Kid 2016 The Legend of Tarzan Posthumous release

As an actor

Year Title Role 1993 The Firm Sonny Capps 1997 Vegas Vacation Jilly 2001 Ocean's Eleven High Roller 2002 Full Frontal Jerry Confessions of a Dangerous Mind Larry Goldberg 2004 Ocean's Twelve American Businessman 2007 Ocean's Thirteen Denny Shields

Thanks

Year Title Role 2015 The Haunting of Pearson Place Inspired by 2016 The Legend of Tarzan For 2018 Ocean's 8 In loving memory of

Television Year Title Credit Notes 1974 Sinatra – The Main Event Executive producer Television special The John Denver Show Executive producer 1975 An Evening with John Denver Executive producer Television special Rocky Mountain Christmas Executive producer Television special 1976 John Denver and Friend Executive producer Television special Father O Father Executive producer Television film The Dorothy Hamill Special Executive producer Television special The Carpenters' Very First TV Special Executive producer Television special 1977 Neil Diamond: Love at the Greek Executive producer Television special The Starland Vocal Band Show Executive producer Television special Neil Diamond: I'm Glad You're Here with Me Tonight Executive producer Television special Szysznyk Executive producer The Carpenters at Christmas Executive producer Television special 1978 John Denver in Australia Executive producer Television special Pat Boone and Family Executive producer Television film Dorothy Hamill Presents Winners Executive producer Television special King of the Road Executive producer Television film The Carpenters...Space Encounters Executive producer Television special The Carpenters: A Christmas Portrait Executive producer Television special 1979 John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together Executive producer Television special 1980 When the Whistle Blows Executive producer The Jimmy McNichol Special Television special Rocky Mountain Reunion Executive producer Television film The Carpenters: Music, Music, Music Executive producer Television special Blue Jeans Executive producer Television film 1981 John Denver: Music and the Mountains Executive producer Television special 1983 Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the Muppets Executive producer Television special Diner Executive producer Television pilot John Denver: The Higher We Fly Executive producer Television film 1984 The Cowboy and the Ballerina Executive producer Television film 1989 The Karate Kid Executive producer 2005 L'Chaim: To Life Telethon Executive producer Television film 2013 Behind the Candelabra Executive producer Television film 2015 The Brink Executive producer 2016 The Sherry Wolf Show Co-producer 2014–2016 Years of Living Dangerously Executive producer Documentary 2016–2022 Westworld Executive producer

Awards and honors In 1986, the National Association of Theatre Owners named Weintraub the Producer of the Year. In 1991, he was named to the board of the Kennedy Center. Weintraub was one of the first independent film producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2007, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars was dedicated to him. 2012 he was honored with the Career Achievement Award of Zurich Film Festival.