Jerry Weintraub

Jerry Weintraub
Born	September 26, 1937 (1937-09-26) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Film producer, talent agent
Years active	1974–present
Spouse	Jane Morgan (1965–present); 4 adopted children

Jerry Weintraub (born September 26, 1937) is an American film producer and former chairman and CEO of United Artists. He now lives in Palm Desert, California.

Life and career

Weintraub was born to a Jewish family in Brooklyn 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.

Film producing credits

His producing credits include Nashville, Diner, 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.^{[citation needed]} Weintraub will produce a new adaptation of Tarzan for Warner Bros..

Personal life

His relationship with singer and actress Jane Morgan went from professional to personal and the two were married in 1965. They adopted four children. For the past 20 years, however, Weintraub has been living with girlfriend Susie Ekins.^{[citation needed]}

Morgan and Weintraub never divorced, and Morgan is known as Jane M. Weintraub.

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 Center. Jerry Weintraub was one of the first independent film producers to be honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Philanthropy

Weintraub is a major contributor to many charities, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 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.

External links

• Jerry Weintraub at the Internet Movie Database
• Jerry Weintraub at AllRovi
• Biography on Ocean's 11 website
• Interview with Jerry Weintraub, Elvis Australia