Jerry Weintraub
Encyclopedia
Jerry Weintraub is an American film producer and former chairman and CEO of United Artists
. He now lives in Palm Desert, California
.
and raised in The Bronx
, the son of Rose and Sam Weintraub. His father was a gem dealer. After several years at MCA
, he left and formed his own personal management company. In the 1960s, he also co-founded the vocal group The Doodletown Pipers. Among the acts that Weintraub managed at this time were Joey Bishop
, The Four Seasons
, and singer Jane Morgan
.
Before turning to films, Weintraub's largest entertainment success was as the personal manager of singer and actor John Denver
whom he signed in 1970. Denver and Weintraub's professional relationship ended acrimoniously. Denver would later write in his autobiography ".. I'd bend my principles to support something he wanted of me. And of course every time you bend your principles - whether because you don't want to worry about it, or because you're afraid to stand up for fear of what you might lose - you sell your soul to the devil".
Weintraub also managed
or promoted 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.
In April 2010, Jerry, with Rich Cohen, published a memoir, When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man.
, Happy New Year
, The Karate Kid, National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, The Karate Kid (2010 film)
, and the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven
. In addition to producing Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13, he appeared in all the Ocean films. In Ocean's 11 he is seen at a table talking to Carl Reiner and is identified in audio commentary on the DVD edition.
Weintraub's first two films as a producer were Robert Altman
's Nashville and Oh, God!
starring George Burns
and John Denver. On an April 7, 2010 appearance of the television show, The View, Weintraub struck a handshake deal with Whoopi Goldberg
to play the next God in a future Oh, God! sequel, should a favorable script become available. Weintraub will produce a new adaptation of Tarzan
for Warner Bros.
.
, almost 17 years Weintraub's senior, went from professional to personal and the two were married in 1965. They have four children together. For the past 20 years, however, Weintraub has been living with girlfriend Susie Ekins. Morgan and Weintraub never divorced .
. Jerry Weintraub was one of the first independent film producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
.
, the Museum of Contemporary Art
, the Music Center
, 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 is also a major supporter of Chabad
and was close with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.
United Artists
United Artists Corporation is an American film studio. The original studio of that name was founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charles Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks....
. He now lives in Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert, California
Palm Desert is a city in Riverside County, California, United States, in the Coachella Valley, approximately east of Palm Springs. The population was 48,445 at the 2010 census, up from 41,155 at the 2000 census...
.
Life and career
Weintraub was born in BrooklynBrooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
and raised in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, the son of Rose and Sam Weintraub. His father was a gem dealer. After several years at MCA
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
, he left and formed his own personal management company. In the 1960s, he also co-founded the vocal group The Doodletown Pipers. Among the acts that Weintraub managed at this time were Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop
Joey Bishop was an American entertainer who was perhaps best known for being a member of the "Rat Pack" with Frank Sinatra, Peter Lawford, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Dean Martin...
, The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (group)
The Four Seasons are an American rock and pop band who became internationally successful in the mid-1960s. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame has stated that the group was the most popular rock band before The Beatles...
, and singer Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan
Jane Morgan is an American popular singer, specializing in traditional pop music. Her first broad fame came in Europe....
.
Before turning to films, Weintraub's largest entertainment success was as the personal manager of singer and actor John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
whom he signed in 1970. Denver and Weintraub's professional relationship ended acrimoniously. Denver would later write in his autobiography ".. I'd bend my principles to support something he wanted of me. And of course every time you bend your principles - whether because you don't want to worry about it, or because you're afraid to stand up for fear of what you might lose - you sell your soul to the devil".
Weintraub also managed
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
or promoted concerts for such musical acts as Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
, Cuba Gooding, Sr.
Cuba Gooding, Sr.
Cuba Gooding, Sr. is the lead singer of the soul group The Main Ingredient, most notable for its two biggest hits, "Everybody Plays the Fool" and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" . Gooding also had a brief solo career on Motown Records during the late-1970s and early-1980s...
and the Main Ingredient, The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
, The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
and Zager & Evans.
In April 2010, Jerry, with Rich Cohen, published a memoir, When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man.
Film producing credits
His producing credits include Nashville, DinerDiner (film)
Diner is a 1982 comedy-drama film written and directed by Barry Levinson. Levinson's screen directing debut, Diner is the first in his "Baltimore films", which also include the subsequent Tin Men, Avalon and Liberty Heights.-Plot:...
, Happy New Year
Happy New Year (1987 film)
Happy New Year is a 1987 film directed by John G. Avildsen. The screenplay was written by Warren Lane, based on the French film La bonne année. The director of the French film, Claude Lelouch, has a cameo as a man on a train....
, The Karate Kid, National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation, The Karate Kid (2010 film)
The Karate Kid (2010 film)
The Karate Kid is a 2010 American martial arts film and remake of the 1984 film of the same name. Directed by Harald Zwart, produced by Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, the film stars Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan...
, and the 2001 remake of Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Eleven (2001 film)
Ocean's Eleven is a 2001 American comedy-crime caper and remake of the 1960 Rat Pack caper film of the same name. The 2001 film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and features an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, and Julia Roberts. The film was...
. In addition to producing Ocean's 12 and Ocean's 13, he appeared in all the Ocean films. In Ocean's 11 he is seen at a table talking to Carl Reiner and is identified in audio commentary on the DVD edition.
Weintraub's first two films as a producer were Robert Altman
Robert Altman
Robert Bernard Altman was an American film director and screenwriter known for making films that are highly naturalistic, but with a stylized perspective. In 2006, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award.His films MASH , McCabe and...
's Nashville and Oh, God!
Oh, God!
Oh, God! is a 1977 comedy film starring George Burns and John Denver. Based on a novel by Avery Corman, the film was directed by Carl Reiner from a screenplay written by Larry Gelbart...
starring George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and John Denver. On an April 7, 2010 appearance of the television show, The View, Weintraub struck a handshake deal with Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
to play the next God in a future Oh, God! sequel, should a favorable script become available. Weintraub will produce a new adaptation of Tarzan
Tarzan
Tarzan is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungles by the Mangani "great apes"; he later experiences civilization only to largely reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adventurer...
for Warner Bros.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
.
Personal life
His relationship with Jane MorganJane Morgan
Jane Morgan is an American popular singer, specializing in traditional pop music. Her first broad fame came in Europe....
, almost 17 years Weintraub's senior, went from professional to personal and the two were married in 1965. They have four children together. For the past 20 years, however, Weintraub has been living with girlfriend Susie Ekins. Morgan and Weintraub never divorced .
Awards and honors
In 1986, the National Association of Theater Owners named Jerry Weintraub the Producer of the Year. In 1991, he was named to the board of the Kennedy CenterJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
. Jerry Weintraub was one of the first independent film producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...
.
Philanthropy
Weintraub is a major contributor to many charities, including the Los Angeles County Museum of ArtLos Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
, the Museum of Contemporary Art
Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is a contemporary art museum with three locations in greater Los Angeles, California. The main branch is located on Grand Avenue in Downtown Los Angeles, near Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, the Music Center
Los Angeles Music Center
The Music Center is one of the three largest performing arts centers in the nation. Located in downtown Los Angeles, the Music Center is home to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theater, Mark Taper Forum and Walt Disney Concert Hall...
, and the Children's Museum of Los Angeles
Children's Museum of Los Angeles
The Children's Museum of Los Angeles was a museum specifically catered to children whose purpose is to educate, entertain and enrich children's lives in the greater Los Angeles area. It was modeled from the children's museums in Boston, Indianapolis and Brooklyn...
. In 1988, the American Friends of the Hebrew University
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem ; ; abbreviated HUJI) is Israel's second-oldest university, after the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. The Hebrew University has three campuses in Jerusalem and one in Rehovot. The world's largest Jewish studies library is located on its Edmond J...
gave Weintraub and his wife, Jane, the Scopus Award in gratitude for their support. He is also a major supporter of Chabad
Chabad
Chabad or Chabad-Lubavitch is a major branch of Hasidic Judaism.Chabad may also refer to:*Chabad-Strashelye, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism*Chabad-Kapust or Kapust, a defunct branch of the Chabad school of Hasidic Judaism...
and was close with the late Lubavitcher Rebbe.
External links
- Biography on Ocean's 11 website
- Interview with Jerry Weintraub, Elvis Australia