Hollywood legend Jerry Weintraub, who produced films such as 'The Karate Kid' and 'Ocean's Eleven' has passed away at the age of 77. He died because of heart attack at a Santa Barbara hospital on Monday.
Weintraub had a career in the entertainment industry spanning five decades, first as a promoter for musicians like Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, and the Beach Boys before entering the film business as a producer in the 1975 with Robert Altman's "Nashville." He produced a lot of hits; the most famous among them is "The Karate Kid", as reported by Movie Fone.
In 1990, the producer had a major setback because his company declared bankruptcy. He did make a comeback on 2001 with ahuge franchise hit movie, "Ocean's Eleven", where he even made a cameo in the said movie. He also produced and appeared as well in the succeeding movies of the franchise, namely "Ocean's Twelve" and "Ocean's Thirteen." In 2013, he was at the helm of the HBO movie "Behind the Candelabra" and the "Tarzan" movie was his most recent producing credit.
As news of Weintraub's death spread, many took to remember the legendary Hollywood figure.
Former President George H.W. Bush honored Weintraub, characterizing his longtime friend as "an American original, who earned his success by the sheer force of his instinct, drive, and larger-than-life personality."
"He had a passion for life, and throughout the ups and downs of his prolific career it was clear just how much he loved show business," added Bush on his Twitter account.
George Clooney, who is Weintraub's friend and also the star to three movies Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen also released a statement about Weintraub. His statement was quoted by Movie Fone. He said, "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 said to his family and friends, Amal and I send our love. And to those who didn't know him we send our deepest sympathy. You would have loved him."
He did a lot of things for the movie industry------but it was his outsized personality and talent for storytelling that friends remembered today.
