Maverick movie producer Jerry Weintraub's hilarious, autobiographical account of what it takes to make it to the top, in life and business: a de facto primer in the Art of Persuasion.
Jerry Weintraub had barely hung up his jacket in the William Morris mailroom before getting himself hired at MCA, where he eventually became assistant to the legendary Lew Wasserman, staying only two years before leaving to open his own management company. Famously convincing Colonel Tom Parker to let him stage Elvis Presley's come-back tour.
"When I Stop Talking is anything but a rote, let-the-record-show
memoir . . . Although it's packed with stories he's surely been
telling at dinner forever, the book is also a modest set of
guidelines for how you too can be a successful mogul . . . it's
written with stealth and style, doubtless shaped by his co-writer,
Rich Cohen . . . The book, really, is a performance, a monologue by
a guy comfortable hanging with Armand Hammer at Leonid Brezhnev's
funeral or with Joey Bishop at a deli. It's a show based on horse
pucky on braggadocio."--RJ Smith, LA Times
"As the title of the book indicates, Weintraub loves to talk. And
the 72-year-old impresario has some amazing stories to tell . . .
All the stories are told in Weintraub's shooting-the-breeze voice.
Credit for the easy-to-read style goes to Rich Cohen, a
contributing editor at Vanity Fair magazine who turned Weintraub's
tales into a breezy first-person narrative."--Rick Warner,
Bloomberg News
"Edgy and honest but refreshingly spare in his criticism of stars,
colleagues and family . . . With a bold voice, a storied career,
and a cast of superstars, Weintraub's memoir makes a rousing
insider tour of some five decades in the entertainment
industry."--Publisher's Weekly
"It reads at times like a screenplay: a rags-to-riches tale
complete with stunning reversals of fortune, punchy dialogue, and
star cameos galore . . . Even the lows are enviable."--Nathaniel
Rich, VANITY FAIR
"Jerry has made a fascinating career for himself by finding ways to
put on a show and sell tickets at the door. Jerry has bloomed
wherever he's been planted. His life has put him in the company of
greats like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Rat Pack, Robert
Altman, and Steven Soderbergh, to name a few. Jerry's story
chronicles his journey that involved a lot of improvising, love,
and of course, luck. This story isn't just for music or movie
lovers, or entrepreneurs....it's for everyone. So, pick up your
copy of When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead by Jerry
Weintraub... If there was a Mount Rushmore of legendary show
business figures, he'd be one of them."--Don Imus
"Now, I could tell you stories about Jerry, but Jerry is the first
and best to tell them. He's funny and grumpy and perfectly
inappropriate. When it comes to work, nobody works harder. When it
comes to charities, nobody guilts better. And when it comes to
friendship, he has no peers. That's Jerry's great talent. He
doesn't just light up a room, he lights it on fire. He's a great
producer, a great organizer, a great friend, and truly the greatest
showman on earth."--George Clooney
"Old chestnuts from this journey are lovingly, and often
hilariously, burnished in Weintraub's new memoir, When I Stop
Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead . . . The book, which is in no way a
scandalous, showbiz tell-all, but a good-humored, and often
self-deprecating romp of outrageous will and amazing fortune, also
paints a picture of uncanny bliss."--Nicole LaPorte, The Daily
Beast
"This is a guy who can tell a story. And boy does he have stories
to tell."--People Magazine
"Weintraub knows a thing or two about placing bets. And his latest
venture sounds like a sure thing-an autobiography, pithily titled
When I Stop Talking, You'll Know I'm Dead: Useful Stories from a
Persuasive Man . . . [it's] a gripping personal
story."--Entertainment Weekly
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