Local film producer Jerry Weintraub dies at 77
Film producer and Palm Desert resident Jerry Weintraub has passed away.
He died Monday morning at age 77 at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, after reportedly going into cardiac arrest during surgery, according to a source close to the family who spoke exclusively with KESQ.
Weintraub became a household name in show business while promoting tour concerts for Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. He also managed artists like Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan and John Denver, before turning his focus to film.
His long list of producing credits include Nashville (1975), Oh, God! (1977), Cruising (1980), Diner (1983), The Karate Kid (1984) and Vegas Vacation (1997). Most recently he won an Emmy for 2012 HBO hit “Behind the Candelabra,” a biopic about Liberace.
The three-time Emmy award winner was also behind the star-studded reboot of the rat pack classic Ocean’s 11. Weintraub was also the former chairman and CEO of United Artists.
Weintraub has a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, which was dedicated to him on December 10, 2007. His star is located on N. Palm Canyon Drive at Alejo Road.
Chairman of the Palm Springs International Filim Festival Harold Matzner said of Weintraub: “We definitely lost a giant. The man was a legend who succeeded in everything that he ever tried. And was, himself, a star. A huge loss.” Matzner and Weintraub served together on the Eisenhower Board.
Weintraub left numerous projects behind. He’s the executive producer of the recently debuted HBO series “The Brink” and a producer on an upcoming remake of “Tarzan.”
