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When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead

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When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead

Useful Stories from a Persuasive Man

Twelve,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

How to promote fearlessly: Jerry Weintraub explains his daring, star-filled career.

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Jerry Weintraub loves Jerry Weintraub and believes that Jerry Weintraub has led a fascinating life. As a result, Jerry Weintraub loves to tell stories about Jerry Weintraub. Here, Jerry Weintraub tells a lot of them, about promoting stars and making deals. Most are quite short. Many are compelling. Weintraub dispenses show business gossip, Mafia talk, family tales, accounts of rock music and movie excesses, and instructions for a successful career in promoting, agenting, managing and producing, all of which he carried out with astonishing success. getAbstract recommends Weintraub’s insider yarns and finds that mostly what Weintraub presents is his joy at being Weintraub. That this delight remains for the most part charming underscores a continuing theme: His charm allowed Weintraub to pull off career moves few others would have dared.

Summary

The Home Town: The Bronx

Jerry Weintraub grew up in the Bronx borough of New York City. After high school, he joined the Air Force. During basic training in the south, he was subjected to anti-Semitism, but responded with cunning rather than violence. While stationed in Alaska, Weintraub made money setting up Florida tours for his fellow servicemen. He always understood that this venture – like most of the segments of his career – would be a short-term proposition. In 1956, when his enlistment was over, Jerry’s father, Sam, offered him a monogrammed briefcase and a chance to join his jewel-selling business. Jerry declined and set off on his own course. Growing up, Jerry learned a crucial lesson from his father, who had acquired a huge sapphire of no great worth. Sam named it “The Star of Ardaban,” and commissioned a special case and display for it. Using the stone as his entrée, Sam sold jewels to customers who never would have spoken to him otherwise. Thus Weintraub learned at a young age that promotion and packaging trump content.

The Education: The Neighborhood Playhouse School

Instead of college, Weintraub auditioned for Sandy Meisner’s method-acting academy...

About the Author

Jerry Weintraub is a producer, agent, manager and philanthropist. Rich Cohen is a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone.

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