There are only a handful of movie producers that have ever come to be known by name in the general public, perhaps Jerry Bruckheimer, Avi Arad, Albert Broccoli or Saul Zaentz. One of those iconic producers is Jerry Weintraub, who produced a number of Hollywood features including the original The Karate Kid trilogy, the new Ocean's Eleven trilogy with an amazing ensemble cast, the comedy Oh, God!, the comedy Vegas Vacation, Soldier, the new Nancy Drew, Barry Levinson's Diner. Mr. Weintraub passed away from a heart attack on Monday, July 6th at the age of 77 at his home in Palm Springs, reported via Deadline. He was producing David Yates' Tarzan and was also an executive producer on HBO's new comedy The Brink.
Early on in his entertainment management career in The Bronx, a young Jerry Weintraub decided to start his own company and worked with the likes of musicians Joey Bishop, The Four Seasons, and singer Jane Morgan. His biggest success was managing singer and actor John Denver ever since 1970. Before he got into film producing, Jerry Weintraub also helped promote concerts for such musical acts as Elvis Presley, Led Zeppelin, Cuba Gooding, Sr. and the Main Ingredient, The Carpenters, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond, The Moody Blues and Zager & Evans. He eventually got into the movie business in 1987, and broke out with Carl Reiner's Oh, God! in 1977. He also had a successful career in TV, winning Emmys for producing Behind the Candelabra and the series "Years of Living Dangerously". He was still working on other projects recently.
At one point in his career, he became the chairman and CEO of United Artists for five months (read the old NY Times piece about his departure). He worked with everyone from George Clooney, Elvis Presley, John Denver, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan. Congrats on a hell of a career, Mr. Weintraub. May you rest in peace.
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