Showbiz honcho dies at 77
Jerry Weintraub, the dynamic, Brooklynborn producer and manager who pushed the careers of John Denver and Elvis Presley and produced the hit flicks “Nashville” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” died Monday.
Weintraub’s representatives say he went into cardiac arrest in Santa Barbara, Calif. He was 77.
Weintraub became a top concert promoter in the 1970s, working with Presley and shaping Denver’s career.
He then tackled themovie business and produced such films as “Oh, God,” “Diner,” and “The Karate Kid” and its sequels.
Although Weintraub’s attempt to found his own studio ended in bankruptcy, his success as an independent producer spanned decades, and included 2013’ s Emmywinning “Behind the Candelabra.”
He died with many projects in the works, including the new HBO series “The Brink” and an upcoming remake of “Tarzan.”