Hollywood Producer Dies in Santa Barbara

Jerry Weintraub, the dynamic producer and manager who pushed the career of John Denver and produced such hit movies as “Nashville” and “Ocean’s Eleven,” died in Santa Barbara while undergoing medical treatment in the hospital. He was 77.

Weintraub’s representatives say he died Monday of cardiac arrest in Santa Barbara. Officials reached at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital declined to comment, citing privacy laws.

A source close to the family told our sister station KESQ-TV that Weintraub went to Cottage Hospital complaining of stomach pains. He was taken in to surgery and suffered cardiac arrest while on the operating table.

The source said Weintraub was in the Santa Barbara area to conduct some business and to celebrate the 4th of July holiday with his family.

Weintraub became a top concert promoter in the 1970s, working with the likes of Elvis Presley and shaping John Denver’s career. He then tackled the movie business and produced such films as “Oh, God,” ”Diner” and “The Karate Kid” and its sequels.

Though Weintraub’s attempt to found his own studio ended in bankruptcy, his success as an independent producer spanned decades, including 2013’s Emmy-winning “Behind the Candelabra.”

He died with numerous projects in development, including the recently debuted HBO series “The Brink” and an upcoming remake of “Tarzan.”