| Fred Weintraub | |
| Birth Name: | Fred Robert Weintraub |
| Birth Date: | 27 April 1928 |
| Birth Place: | The Bronx, New York, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Pacific Palisades, California, U.S. |
| Known For: | Original owner of The Bitter End, martial arts and action films |
Fred Robert Weintraub (April 27, 1928 – March 5, 2017)[1] was an American film and television producer and writer.
Weintraub was the original owner and host of The Bitter End in New York City's Greenwich Village.[2] Weintraub discovered singers and stand-up comedians such as Peter, Paul and Mary, Lenny Bruce (with whom he was arrested for obscenity), Randy Newman and The Isley Brothers. The club also featured early performances of Neil Diamond, Woody Allen, Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, Ricky Nelson, Nina Simone, Dustin Hoffman, Charles Aznavour, Lily Tomlin, Stevie Wonder, Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell, George Carlin, Bob Dylan, Harry Chapin, Bill Cosby and Phil Ochs.[3] During the early 1960s The Bitter End hosted "Open Mike" Hootenannies every Tuesday night, showcasing young, old, known and unknown folksingers.[4]
Weintraub is not related to fellow film producer Jerry Weintraub.
Moving west in the mid 1960s, Weintraub created, wrote, and produced several television shows including Hootenanny and Dukes of Hazzard.[5] Beginning with Rage then Enter the Dragon Weintraub produced dozens of movies, many with a martial arts theme (like China O'Brien with Cynthia Rothrock, for example), as well as directing a documentary on Bruce Lee, (1993).[5]
In 1970 Weintraub became an Executive Vice President of Warner Bros. One of the first films he oversaw for the studio was Woodstock. In 1972 he became an independent producer, and made a number of adventure films, including Enter the Dragon, starring Bruce Lee.
One of Weintraub's documentary films was It's Showtime (1976) which consisted of film clips profiling various animal actors, such as Rin Tin Tin, Flipper, Trigger, and Asta, with commentary from the actors who worked with them, and including footage of James Cagney, Jimmy Durante, Cary Grant, Maureen O'Sullivan, Dick Powell, Ronald Reagan, and Mickey Rooney working with animal stars.[6] [7]
In 2011, Weintraub published his memoir, Bruce Lee, Woodstock and Me, along with collaborator David Fields,[8] recalling his fifty-year career in the entertainment industry.[9]
Weintraub died on March 5, 2017, in his Pacific Palisades home due to natural causes related to Parkinson's disease. He was 88.
He is survived by his wife Jackie; children Sandra, Barbara, Max and Zachary; and four grandchildren.[10]
| Title | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christmas at F.A.O. Schwarz | 1968 | Executive producer; television film | |
| Rage | 1972 | ||
| Invasion of the Bee Girls | 1973 | Executive producer | |
| Enter the Dragon | 1973 | ||
| Black Belt Jones | 1974 | ||
| Truck Turner | 1974 | ||
| Golden Needles | 1974 | ||
| The Ultimate Warrior | 1975 | ||
| Trial by Combat | 1976 | ||
| It's Showtime | 1976 | Documentary film | |
| Hot Potato | 1976 | ||
| Checkered Flag or Crash | 1977 | ||
| Outlaw Blues | 1977 | Executive producer | |
| The Pack | 1977 | ||
| The Promise | 1979 | ||
| Jaguar Lives! | 1979 | ||
| Tom Horn | 1980 | ||
| The Big Brawl | 1980 | ||
| 1981 | |||
| High Road to China | 1983 | ||
| Gymkata | 1985 | ||
| Out of Control | 1985 | ||
| The Women's Club | 1987 | ||
| My Father, My Son | 1988 | Television film | |
| The Best of the Martial Arts Films | 1990 | Documentary film | |
| Chips, the War Dog | 1990 | Executive producer; television film | |
| China O'Brien | 1990 | ||
| A Show of Force | 1990 | Co-producer | |
| China O'Brien II | 1990 | Direct-to-video | |
| Born to Ride | 1991 | ||
| The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes | 1992 | Documentary film | |
| Gypsy Eyes | 1992 | ||
| Trouble Bound | 1993 | ||
| The Curse of the Dragon | 1993 | Documentary film | |
| Backstreet Justice | 1994 | ||
| Under the Gun | 1995 | Executive producer | |
| Triplecross | 1995 | Television films | |
| Playboy's Really Naked Truth | 1995-97 | Executive producer (21 episodes) | |
| Undertow | 1996 | Television film | |
| The New Adventures of Robin Hood | 1997-98 | Executive producer (53 episodes) | |
| The Devil's Arithmetic | 1999 | Television films | |
| Perilous | 2000 | Television films | |
| Amazons and Gladiators | 2001 | ||
| Warrior Angels | 2002 | ||
| Endangered Species | 2003 | ||
| Dream Warrior | 2003 | ||
| La Femme Musketeer | 2004 | Mini-series (2 episodes) | |
| Patton's Ghost Corps | 2006 | Executive producer; direct-to-video documentary |
| Title | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Belt Jones | 1974 | Story | |
| Trial by Combat | 1976 | Story | |
| Hot Potato | 1976 | Characters | |
| The Promise | 1979 | Story | |
| The Big Brawl | 1980 | Story | |
| The Women's Club | 1987 | Story | |
| The New Adventures of Robin Hood | 1997-1998 | Creator (53 episodes) |
| Title | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| It's Showtime | 1976 | Documentary film | |
| The Curse of the Dragon | 1993 | Documentary film |
| Title | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hootenanny | 1963-1964 | Talent coordinator (2 episodes) | |
| Black Belt Jones | 1974 | Cameo as "Judge" | |
| The Dukes of Hazzard | 1979 | Consultant (5 episodes) |