Stars Honor Weintraub
10:01 AM,
Saturday 12/12/09
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The A-list dinner party drew top performers and singing legends.
George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, Larry David, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie gathered around Jerry Weintraub’s table at the posh UNICEF Ball in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel ballroom Thursday night to honor the legendary producer’s philanthropic work. Clooney presented Weintraub with the Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award, named after the late singer-actor.
UNICEF Ball in Beverly Hills, Calif.
December 10, 2009
(AP Photo)
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“When it comes to charities, nobody guilts better,” Clooney joked about Weintraub to the crowd.
Weintraub’s wife, singer Jane Morgan, serenaded her husband with the tunes “Ten Cents a Dance” and “Big Spender” as hundreds of attendees noshed dessert: chocolate lava cakes and waffle cone sundaes.
UNICEF Ball, Beverly Hills, Calif.
December 10, 2009
(AP Photo)
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Other performers at the benefit included Tony Bennett, Frankie Valli and Paul Anka, who rewrote the lyrics to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” in Weintraub’s honor.
Born in the Bronx in 1937, Weintraub began working in show business in the 1950s and ‘60s, managing musical acts such as John Denver, The Four Seasons and The Moody Blues. He went on to produce Hollywood films like “Diner,” “Nashville,” “The Karate Kid” and “Oh, God!” Weintraub produced all three of the “Ocean’s Eleven” movies starring Clooney, Pitt and Damon.
“When UNICEF came to me, and my friends came to me and asked me to do this, I said I will do it because of the crazy things going on in the world, and the help that we can give,” said Weintraub, who co-founded the nonprofit humanitarian organization Not On Our Watch Foundation with Clooney, Pitt, Damon, Don Cheadle and human rights lawyer David Pressman.
UNICEF Ball, Beverly Hills, Calif.
December 10, 2009
(AP Photo)
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During the event, Pitt and Jolie held their position at Weintraub’s table while Damon, Willis and David mingled with other guests, including Dustin Hoffman and Jeremy Piven.
Other celebrities in attendance at the UNICEF Ball included Selena Gomez, Suzanne Somers, Alyssa Milano, Dolph Lundgren, Ellen Barkin, Mario Lopez and Benji and Joel Madden.
--Associated Press