Longtime Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub, who backed ‘Karate Kid

Weintraub, 77, died at home in Santa Barbara, California, his publicist announced on 6 July.

George Clooney has paid tribute to his friend Jerry Weintraub, who died on Monday (07.06.15).

‘In the coming days there will be tributes, about our friend Jerry Weintraub, ‘ Clooney said in a statement obtained by E! He also had a hand in the music careers of Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and others. He then raised and borrowed some $500 million to launch his production company called Weintraub Entertainment Group, which went bankrupt three years later.

Weintraub’s most recent project was executive-producing the war-and-politics satire The Brink, which just premiered, for HBO. “And throughout the ups and downs of his prolific career it was clear just how much he loved show business”.

Dead: Jerry Weintraub, the producer behind the Ocean’s Eleven remakes and the promoter behind some of history’s biggest musical acts, has died.

A year after producing his first concert for TV, he moved into feature films, first with the country music film Nashville (a ideal fit), and followed by the John Denver vehicle Oh God, Barry Levinson’s Diner, and the notorious Cruising.

“[W]hat can you say about him?” His Way – named in honour of Weintraub’s connection with Frank Sinatra – allowed Weintraub to ramble happily along about making deals with Elvis and setting up films, as well as accepting the plaudits of his high-profile Hollywood pals, George Clooney and Julia Roberts among them.

More stars tweeted their reactions to the news. In 1987 he set up his own studio, WEG, but it closed in 1990 after a string of flops including My Stepmother Is an Alien. I am happier for having known him.

“I have tried my whole life and continue to this day to do everything honestly and tell everybody the truth”, Weintraub said.

Weintraub’s career dipped in the late ’90s with a few misses, like the big-screen Avengers movie starring Uma Thurman and Ralph Fiennes in 1998.

One of his clients was singers/actress Jane Morgan, whom he would eventually marry in 1965 (and separate from in the 1980s, before moving in with girlfriend Susie Ekins).

“All life was a theater and I wanted to put it up on a stage”, Weintraub wrote in his memoir.

He was not shy to relish his Hollywood and Washington connection and its attendant perks.