Jerry Weintraub’s larger-than-life career remembered

Hollywood lost one of its most prolific producers, Jerry Weintraub.

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.

“It’s sad to lose him. It’s always sad to lose great people,” said Sue Walker of Hawthorne who was a fan of his work.

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.

“I grew up watching that movie and it just broke my heart,” said Sasha Reavis of The Karate Kid.

The three-time Emmy award winner was also behind the star-studded reboot of the rat pack classic Ocean’s 11.

“He did very good credit to the rat pack because who can top them but he did a great job!” Walker said.

Friend and star of the Ocean’s 11 trilogy, George Clooney, released this statement:

“In the coming days there will be tributes, about our friend Jerry Weintraub. we’ll laugh at his great stories, and applaud his accomplishments. and in the years to come the stories and accomplishments will get better with age, just as Jerry would have wanted it.”

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 will be remembered for his fearlessness pursuing his dreams in show business and his unwillingness to accept the word “no” for an answer.

In his 2010 autobiography titled “When I Stop Talking, You’ll Know I’m Dead, Weintraub wrote of his philosophy:

“Savor life, don’t press too hard, don’t worry too much. Or as the old-timers say, ‘enjoy.'”

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.”