Jerry Weintraub

Jerome Charles "Jerry" Weintraub (September 26, 1937 – July 6, 2015) was an American film producer, talent manager and actor whose television films won him three Emmys.[1][2]

Jerry Weintraub
Weintraub in 1975
Born
Jerome Charles Weintraub

(1937-09-26)September 26, 1937
DiedJuly 6, 2015(2015-07-06) (aged 77)
Resting placeHillside Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupations
  • Film producer
  • talent agent
  • concert promoter
  • actor
Years active1974–2015
Spouses
Janice Greenberg
(divorced)
    (m. 1965, separated 1980s)
    PartnerSusan Ekins (1995–2015; his death)
    Children4

    He began his career as a talent agent, having managed relatively unknown 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 films from The Karate Kid, 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.[3] His father was a gem dealer.[4] While growing up, he worked as a theater usher and as a waiter in the Catskills.[5]

    After several years at MCA, where he first started work as a mailroom clerk, he left and formed his own personal management company. While at MCA, he was assistant to Lew Wasserman, whom he reportedly thought of as a father figure.[5]

    In the 1960s, he co-founded the vocal group The Doodletown Pipers. Among the acts that Weintraub managed at this time were Paul Anka, Shelley Berman, Pat Boone, Joey Bishop, The Four Seasons, Jackson Browne, Jimmy Buffett, and singer Jane Morgan, whom he would later marry.[6]

    Manager and concert promoter

    Weintraub received an Emmy for producing An Evening with John Denver in 1975.[2]

    Weintraub was the manager of singer and actor John Denver whom he signed in 1970. Weintraub first saw Denver performing at a small club in Greenwich Village and liked his easy, "mountaineer's" manner. Weintraub produced a dozen television music specials starring Denver, winning an Emmy for one of them.[7] Later, he produced the film Oh, God! (1977), starring Denver and George Burns. After Denver became a major success as a singer, he bought Weintraub a Rolls-Royce as a thank you gift. Weintraub said, "I couldn't help thinking that it wasn't too long ago that neither of us had bus fare."[7] Denver and Weintraub's professional relationship ended acrimoniously, however, he regretted not being reconciled with Denver before the singer's death.[8][9]

    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.[7]

    He next promoted a tour for Frank Sinatra in 1974, whom Weintraub first put in Madison Square Garden's boxing arena. For the previous six years, Sinatra had basically retired due to the failure of his last album. Weintraub convinced him to do a tour, which led to Sinatra's "transformation from saloon singer to stadium singer", wrote biographer Will Friedwald. "When Frank came out of retirement and started doing stadiums, he didn't know if he would draw," recalled guitarist Al Viola. "Weintraub deserves most of the credit (after Sinatra, that is) for pulling this off," says Friedwald.[10]

    Bob Dylan signed with Weintraub in 1978 after watching a Neil Diamond concert in Las Vegas, knowing that Weintraub managed the event.[11] Dylan began a world tour beginning in Japan which continued through Europe and the US, performing 114 shows in front of two million people.[12]

    Biographer David Morrell writes, "We take this for granted now, but Weintraub's ability to organize these massive concerts made show-business history."[13] 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."[14] Weintraub acknowledged his motivations: "When I believe in something, it's going to get done," he wrote in his autobiography.[6]

    Weintraub also managed or promoted concerts for such musical acts as Cuba Gooding Sr., the Main Ingredient, the Carpenters, the Moody Blues, and the Beach Boys.[7]

    Film and television producer

    "When it comes to work, nobody works harder. When it comes to charities, nobody guilts better. And when it comes to friendship, he has no peers. That's Jerry's great talent. He doesn't just light up a room, he lights it on fire. He's a great producer, a great organizer, a great friend, and truly the greatest showman on earth."

    George Clooney[6]

    Weintraub's first film as a producer was Robert Altman's Nashville (1975). Until then, United Artists producer David Picker had dismissed the script and would not make the film. A short time later, Weintraub was hosting a party for John Denver in New York, and among the guests he invited was Altman, whom he admired but had never met. "Altman pulled Weintraub aside", recalled screenwriter, Joan Tewkesbury, "and over a shared joint", Altman told Weintraub about the script. After another meeting with Altman, Weintraub was hooked on the story. However, no studio wanted to work with Altman, telling Weintraub that the director was a "pain in the ass". Weintraub eventually managed to find investors and gave Altman the $2 million he needed to make the film.[15]

    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).

    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, with Weintraub acquiring a minority stake, but clashes between the two men led to Weintraub's departure after five months.[16][17] 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.[18] 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.[19][20]

    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.[21] In 2014, he also won an Emmy as co-producer of Years of Living Dangerously, a television documentary about global warming.[22]

    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.[6][23]

    Philanthropy

    Weintraub was a major contributor to many charities, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Music Center, the UCLA School of Dentistry and the Children's Museum of Los Angeles. In 1988, the American Friends of the Hebrew University gave Weintraub and his wife, Jane, the Scopus Award in gratitude for their support. He was also a major supporter of Chabad and was close with the Lubavitcher Rebbe.[24]

    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.[25]

    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.[26] They had a son, Michael.

    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 girlfriend and longtime companion, Susan Ekins.[7]

    Weintraub supported both political parties at various times in his life. However, it is widely noted that he was friends with both George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.[7] He also had a strong spiritual side, which he once described to television host Larry King. He was a devotee of The Lubavitcher Rebbe and believed in his mystical powers.[27]

    Death

    Weintraub died from cardiac arrest in Santa Barbara, California, on July 6, 2015, at the age of 77.[28][7][29][30]

    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."[21]

    "He was a force of nature," said actor and director Carl Reiner.[5] Actor Don Cheadle wrote, "Jerry was to me equal parts Godfather, rainmaker, caretaker, PT Barnum and friend."[31] 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."[21]

    He is interred at Hillside Memorial Park Cemetery in Culver City, California.[32]

    Filmography

    He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.

    Film

    Year Title Credit Notes
    1975NashvilleExecutive producer
    1977September 30, 1955
    Oh, God!
    1980Cruising
    1981All Night Long
    1982Diner
    1984The Karate Kid
    1986The Karate Kid Part II
    1987Happy New Year
    1988My Stepmother Is an AlienExecutive producer
    1989The Karate Kid Part III
    1992Pure Country
    1994The Next Karate Kid
    The Specialist
    1997Vegas Vacation
    1998The Avengers
    Soldier
    2000The IndependentExecutive producer
    2001Ocean's Eleven
    2004Ocean's Twelve
    2007Ocean's Thirteen
    Nancy Drew
    2010The Karate Kid
    2016The Legend of TarzanPosthumous release
    As an actor
    Year Title Role
    1993The FirmSonny Capps
    1997Vegas VacationJilly
    2001Ocean's ElevenHigh Roller
    2002Full FrontalJerry
    Confessions of a Dangerous MindLarry Goldberg
    2004Ocean's TwelveAmerican Businessman
    2007Ocean's ThirteenDenny Shields
    Thanks
    Year Title Role
    2015The Haunting of Pearson PlaceInspired by
    2016The Legend of TarzanFor
    2018Ocean's 8In loving memory of

    Television

    Year Title Credit Notes
    1974Sinatra – The Main EventExecutive producerTelevision special
    The John Denver ShowExecutive producer
    1975An Evening with John DenverExecutive producerTelevision special
    Rocky Mountain ChristmasExecutive producerTelevision special
    1976John Denver and FriendExecutive producerTelevision special
    Father O FatherExecutive producerTelevision film
    The Dorothy Hamill SpecialExecutive producerTelevision special
    The Carpenters' Very First TV SpecialExecutive producerTelevision special
    1977Neil Diamond: Love at the GreekExecutive producerTelevision special
    The Starland Vocal Band ShowExecutive producerTelevision special
    Neil Diamond: I'm Glad You're Here with Me TonightExecutive producerTelevision special
    SzysznykExecutive producer
    The Carpenters at ChristmasExecutive producerTelevision special
    1978John Denver in AustraliaExecutive producerTelevision special
    Pat Boone and FamilyExecutive producerTelevision film
    Dorothy Hamill Presents WinnersExecutive producerTelevision special
    King of the RoadExecutive producerTelevision film
    The Carpenters...Space EncountersExecutive producerTelevision special
    The Carpenters: A Christmas PortraitExecutive producerTelevision special
    1979John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas TogetherExecutive producerTelevision special
    1980When the Whistle BlowsExecutive producer
    The Jimmy McNichol SpecialTelevision special
    Rocky Mountain ReunionExecutive producerTelevision film
    The Carpenters: Music, Music, MusicExecutive producerTelevision special
    Blue JeansExecutive producerTelevision film
    1981John Denver: Music and the MountainsExecutive producerTelevision special
    1983Rocky Mountain Holiday with John Denver and the MuppetsExecutive producerTelevision special
    DinerExecutive producerTelevision pilot
    John Denver: The Higher We FlyExecutive producerTelevision film
    1984The Cowboy and the BallerinaExecutive producerTelevision film
    1989The Karate KidExecutive producer
    2005L'Chaim: To Life TelethonExecutive producerTelevision film
    2013Behind the CandelabraExecutive producerTelevision film
    2015The BrinkExecutive producer
    2016The Sherry Wolf ShowCo-producer
    2014-2016Years of Living DangerouslyExecutive producerDocumentary
    2016-2022WestworldExecutive 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.[33] 2012 he was honored with the Career Achievement Award of Zurich Film Festival.[34]

    Bibliography

    • Weintraub, Jerry (2011). When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man. Twelve. ISBN 978-0446548168.

    References

    1. "‘Ocean’s 11′ Producer Jerry Weintraub Dies", Haute Living, July 7, 2015
    2. "Jerry Weintraub". Television Academy. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
    3. "Paid Notice: Deaths Weintraub, Rose". The New York Times. May 2, 2000.
    4. "Jerry Weintraub Biography". Film Reference. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
    5. Busch, Anita (July 6, 2015). "Jerry Weintraub Dies: 'Karate Kid' & 'Ocean's' Producer Was The Ultimate Storyteller And Showman". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    6. Weintraub, Jerry; Cohen, Rich; 3M Company (July 2, 2014). When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man. Grand Central Publishing. p. 178. ISBN 9781609414269.
    7. "Longtime Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub dies at 77". KTAR-FM. Associated Press. July 6, 2015. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
    8. Denver, John; Tobier, Arthur (1994). Take Me Home: An Autobiography. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0517595374.
    9. "Jerry Weintraub". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved June 21, 2022.
    10. Friedwald, Will. Sinatra! the Song is You: A Singer's Art, Simon & Schuster (1995), pg. 451.
    11. Spitz, Bob. Dylan: A Biography, Norton & Co. (1989), pg. 521
    12. Sounes, Howard. Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, Grove Press (2011) e-book
    13. Morrell, David. Frank Sinatra: The Artist and His Music, Publ. by David Morrell, (2013) e-book.
    14. Lewis, Dave. Led Zeppelin: The 'Tight But Loose' Files, Music Sales Group (2010) e-book
    15. Gabler, Neal (June 5, 2015). "Why Robert Altman's brilliant 'Nashville' never had a sequel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    16. Fabricant, Geraldine (April 15, 1986). "Chief is Out at United Artists". The New York Times. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
    17. Dagan, Carmel (July 6, 2015). "Legendary Producer Jerry Weintraub Dies at 77". Variety. Penske Business Media, LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
    18. Cieply, Michael (January 11, 1989). "Weintraub's Worries : Box-Office Flops Add to Woes of Flashy 'Mini-Major'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
    19. Cieply, Michael (September 14, 1990). "Weintraub Is Expected to File Chapter 11 : Entertainment: The film firm seeks to cut off bondholders' action". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
    20. Citron, Alan (January 18, 1992). "Creditors Agree With Weintraub to Settle Lawsuit : * Film: Two banks had accused the producer of taking an unwarranted $748,000 in developing 'Hook". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2013.
    21. "Longtime Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub dies at 77". Fox News Channel. FOX. Associated Press. July 6, 2015. Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    22. Begley, Sarah (July 6, 2015). "Jerry Weintraub Dies at 77". Time. You.com USA, LLC. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    23. Fleming, Mike (December 14, 2006). "'Tarzan' on vine for Warner Bros". Variety. Penske Business Media. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    24. "Jerry Weintraub Biography". Starpulse.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2008.
    25. Bartrop, Paul R., and Jacobs, Steven, editors. Modern Genocide: The Definitive Resource and Document Collection, ABC CLIO (2015) pg. 735
    26. Schruers, Fred (May 24, 1987). "The Next Tycoon : Jerry Weintraub Helped Launch the Careers of Singers, Actors and Musicians. Now, He's Launching Himself--as Head of a $461-Million Film Production Company". The Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Archived from the original on September 13, 2016. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    27. Chabad Telethon (August 31, 2010). Larry King Interviews Jerry Weintraub on Chabad Telethon 2010 (YouTube). Archived from the original on December 13, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    28. Cieply, Michael; Barnes, Brooks (July 6, 2015). "Jerry Weintraub, a Force in Film and Music, Dies at 77". The New York Times. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
    29. Byrge, Duane (July 6, 2015). "Producer Jerry Weintraub Dies at 77". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    30. Estrin, Eric (July 17, 1983). "On The Hollywood Express". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    31. "Clooney pays tribute to Jerry Weintraub". Stuff. Stuff Limited. July 7, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    32. "Obituaries » Jack Weintraub". Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary. August 16, 2015. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
    33. "Listed by date dedicated" (PDF). Palm Springs Walk of Stars. p. 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2012.
    34. "Zurich Film Festival". Zurich Film Festival (in German). Retrieved November 21, 2022.
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