Jerry Weintraub, one of Hollywood's most prominent producers who brought "The Karate Kid" and the George Clooney-led "Ocean's Eleven" franchise to the screen, died Monday of heart failure in Santa Barbara. He was 77.
Weintraub, the former head of United Artists studio and the author of the autobiography "When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead," had been in
poor health recently, E! Online reported.
"In the coming days there will be tributes, about our friend Jerry Weintraub," Academy Award-winner Clooney said in a statement. "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. But not today. Today our friend died. To his family and friends, Amal and I send our love," the actor continued. "And to those who didn't know him we send our deepest sympathy. You would have loved him."
In the March issue of Vanity Fair, Weintraub wrote how he still enjoyed life in Hollywood surrounded by friends.
"Come lunchtime, I'll go to one of my favorite restaurants, all of which are near my office," he wrote. "I'll go to Spago, E. Baldi, Bouchon, or my favorite table in town, at Il Piccolino, where my dog Bet always joins me . . . Depending on who's in town, I'll be joined by friends or business associates, many of whom I'm proud to call both, such as Steve Roth, Sly Stallone, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, George Schlatter, and Don Cheadle."
Along with Weintraub's big-screen success, he was praised for the HBO Liberace biopic "Behind the Candelabra," E! Online noted. He also executive produced HBO's current political satire "The Brink," starring Tim Robbins and Jack Black.
Fellow celebrities shared their condolences on Twitter.
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