hollywood producer, power player. >> i'm a go-to guy. >> larry: and ultimate show business insider, jerry weintraub. >> i call my own shots. i do what i want to do. >> larry: next on "larry king live." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> larry: what a pleasure to welcome to "larry king live" for the full program tonight the legendary jerry weintraub. hollywood producer, talent promoter, and author of a terrific memoir. i read it and could not put it down. it's "when i stop talking you'll know i'm dead." it's a hell of a book about a hell of a life written with my old friend rich cohen who wrote "the great tough jews." why did you write this? >> i wrote it now because i'm 72 and because my life has been pretty extraordinary and i wanted to leave a legacy and my story behind for my children, my grandchildren, my great

grandchildren, and i wanted it in my words and i wanted it to be -- i didn't want anybody else writing it. i wanted to write it. >> larry: on your driver's license it says occupation. >> yeah. >> larry: what are you? >> concierge. when i get up in the morning, the first 50 e-mails are favors. can you get me, can you do it, can you get me in a room in vegas, can you get my kid into stanford, can you get me into cedars, into mayo clinic, can you call so-and-so. my rolodex and my contacts around the world are unbelievable for all these years. >> larry: are you a guy that makes things happen? >> i make things happen. i'm a go-to guy. >> larry: how does one become a go-to guy? >> just happened in my life. you know, i think it happened -- it was extraordinary. it started probably because my dad was in the jewelry business

and he -- >> larry: in brooklyn? >> he was in new york in manhattan and he started when he was 14 years old. and he went on the road. and he met people. and people liked him. and he wasn't afraid to be with people even though he was a jewish kid from brooklyn. he was not afraid to go out

this went on -- >> larry: were you doing movies then? >> yes. this went on every day.

every day. after 364 days, i got a phone call from him. and he said to me, you be in las vegas tomorrow. bring $1 million. i'll be at the international hotel. bring me the $1 million. and we'll do a deal. and you can have my boy and i can take him on a tour. and i said, okay, no problem. now, i didn't have $1 million. when i was that age, when i was a kid, i was a baby. i thought that rockefeller had $1 million. vanderbilt had $1 million. i didn't know what $1 million was. but i said, okay, i'll meet you there. >> larry: what did you do? >> well tlrvgs a lot of people in new york who used to say to me, you know, you're a smart kid. you're going to do very, very well. when you come up with a great deal, come to me and i'll help you. i'll give you some money, help you, do whatever. i went to every one of those people. not one gave me a nickel. not one. none of them. i called an attorney and i went

to vegas. >> larry: with no money. >> no money. i got to vegas. and there was a message waiting for me that there was a guy in seattle, washington, who i should call. who loved elvis presley. you know, owned radio stations. i said, fine, i'll give him a call. called the guy up. a guy named lester smith. got on the phone, i told him what i wanted to do. he said to me, okay, he says, what are you going to do with the $1 million? i said, i'm going to take elvis on tour. and he said to me, well, $1 million is a lot of money. he said, what do i get for the $1 million? i said, you get 50% of my concert company. he said 50%? i said, yeah, 50%. he said how long? i said forever. i made a very good deal because i didn't have a concert company so i wasn't really -- >> larry: he made a good deal, too. >> yes, he did. >> larry: the elvis presley performance that rocked the concert world, next.

he was also a victim of his own career, of his own love, which of course, was music. >> larry: also a victim meaning -- >> well, he grew up in it. he was a product of a business. and that was his only way of life. he loved it. he traveled all over before he was even discovered by carl parker. >> larry: the book is now out in audiotape. "useful stories from a persuasive man."

okay. cowboy hat on, cigar. and take him up to his room. we sit down and make a deal. i didn't know how to make a concert deal. >> larry: how were you making a living? >> will i did shows with paramount, and shows here and there. stuff at that time at the four seasons was just starting. and joey bishop and johnny carson. >> larry: a smalltown guy, though? >> yeah. great acts. anyway, i had this -- i knew this was all going to happen. and quhen i sat down with him to make the deal, i didn't know how to make a deal. but neither did he because elvis hadn't done any concerts and nobody had done concerts in arenas. >> larry: elvis just worked hotels and movies? >> there was nobody in arenas. he had done concerts as a kid on the back of a truck but nobody

had done basketball arenas or hockey arenas. that was me. i started it. i said to him, i'll make any kind of deal you want, colonel. what do you want to do? he said, i don't know, what do you want to do. >> and this went back and forth. he finally said to me, how about 50/50? i said 50/50 is always good. that's good. he said 50% for elvis and me and 50% for you. is that okay? i said, yeah. sounds good to me. well, three weeks later, larry, i was a multi-millionaire. and i was the biggest thing in show business. >> larry: advanced tickets. >> yeah. >> larry: how long did it take to book a tour? a couple weeks? >> i booked the tour. it took me about four weeks to get it started and i didn't know what the hell i was doing. i started the tour in miami beach, florida. i ended it in san diego. that's how dumb i was. >> larry: why is that dumb? >> because i could have gone to places that were closer. i didn't have to go across the whole united states in three weeks.

but i took it -- the first date was in miami at the miami beach convention center. >> larry: know it well. i remember that night. i remember that day. he flew in and then helicoptered over to the beach. >> exactly. and we stayed at the fountain booth in those days. >> larry: right. >> i had 10,000 seats at the miami beach convention center and elvis told me when i first met him -- >> larry: which was in vegas? >> vegas. he said to me, i have two requests. only two requests. i don't care about the money. i don't care about anything. i care about every seat in the building being full. if every seat in the building is full, don't put the big shots in the front rows. first 20 rows, i want my fans. i need them. that's what makes me work. it makes me feel good. it makes me sing better. do those two things for me and the rest of it's up to you. you can do whatever you want. >> larry: you remember the ticket prices? >> yeah, $10 tops, $7.50 in the middle, $5 in the balcony. >> larry: true or false? elvis was a gem of a guy.

>> true. and so was the colonel. a gem of a guy. and the colonel didn't steal from him. the colonel was a good guy. i know. i was there. i was there. he made some bad deals but he didn't steal from him. >> larry: yeah. >> and i walked into the box office. i had sold out the night show of 10,000 seats. and they convinced me to do a matinee. i went to elvis. i said -- elvis said sure i'll do a matinee. i'll do anything. i'll do a morning show, i don't care. fill the seats. i said okay. so i put the matinee on sale. now, you've been to miami july 4th. >> larry: i lived there 20 years. >> i know. even the alligators leave on july 4th. >> larry: right. >> nobody hangs around. it's humid. it's terrible. there's no joe stone crib. there's nothing to do july 4th in miami. >> larry: right. >> everybody leaves. but i had 10,000 seats sold and they told me i could sell a matinee. called them up, three days after i put the matinee on sale and i said, how am i doing?

sold out. he said, you're sold out. i said, i'm sold out? you're sold out. i said, great. when i got to florida, i went directly to the convention center. i walked in the box office and i saw all of these tickets, racks and racks of tickets. and i said to this guy, what are those? what is -- what are those? he said to me, it's tickets for the matinee. i said, how many tickets? he said 5,000. i said, you told me we were sold out. the show's tomorrow. what the hell are you talking about? no. i grabbed this guy by the collar. i could have killed him. it was like i was back in the old neighborhood on the corner. i could have killed this guy. i said, you're going to ruin my career. it'll be over. he said, no, no, no. that's it. there's 5,000 seats. i walked back into the arena. elvis was doing a sound check. i grabbed the colonel. and you interviewed the colonel so you know that he was a tough guy. >> larry: don't grab him. >> i walked up to him and i said, colonel, we have a problem.

he said, we do? i said, yeah. he said, what is it? i said, i've got 5,000 seats left for the matinee. he said, son, we don't have a problem. you have a problem. and i walked out of the convention center and right next door to the convention center is the miami beach police station. and i walked in there and i found a warden. the jail was there. the whole jail. and i found the warden and i said, i've got a problem. i need some help. what's the matter? i said, i need to take 5,000 seats out of the miami beach convention center for the matinee show with elvis. >> larry: because he won't play to an empty seat. >> right. then i need to put them back for the night show. he said, well, that's no problem. you got some money? i gave him some money. he gave me all the prisoners. the prisoners came into the convention center. >> larry: this is, by the way, just a sample of what's in this book. the stories are endless.

the way he puts movies together. sinatra. we'll have that story. but you will not put it down. sinatra, clooney, pitt, and roberts. jerry knows them all. that's ahead. waking up with morning pain drain the energy right out of you. fight it with (new) bayer am. it combines extra strength bayer aspirin to treat pain plus an alertness aid to help you get off to a running start. try bayer am - the morning pain reliever. heartburn that keeps coming back? then you're ready for new zegerid otc. zegerid otc is the first 24-hour treatment ever

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it should be noted this isn't the first time somebody tried to put jerry weintraub's feet in cement. >> larry: your father took you out to l.a. when you were 9. you were at the chinese theater and now you've got a hand print. >> that trip was incredible. and the first thing i did because i loved the movies so much, i just loved movies, the first thing my dad -- the first place he took me was the chinese theater.

and i put my hands, the hand prints and my feet in the foot prints of the actors of the time, errol flynn, melvin douglas, blah, blah, blah, and when my hands and footprints were nut in front of the chinese theater and i'm the only producer in front of that theater, and i looked up at that hotel, i swear to you, i could see my mother and father standing at the window. i could see them. i got tears in my eyes. and i looked down and i put my feet in there and i said, i looked and i said oh, god, thank you. it was beautiful. >> larry: before we get to sinatra, the oceans movies. >> yeah. >> larry: by the way, a couple weeks ago, jerry did "the new karate kid" you produced that and it's your biggest opening ever. >> yeah. you know, it's crazy. i did the original "karate kid" 30 years ago. 30 years ago. and this one i didn't want to do because "karate kid" is part of my legacy. when you go through all the films i've made and all the

things i've done that's one of the most important films i ever made. so i didn't want to mess around with it. will smith came to me and he said to me, i want to do "karate kid" with my son, jaden. he's a karate kid. he loves karate. and i know he'll be great. he's a terrific actor, terrific kid. i said, will, i don't want to do it. i don't want to mess with it. it's a piece of my history. i don't want to mess around with it. it's iconic. pat morita did a fantastic job. he was great. he was up for an academy award. i said ralph macchio was iconic. as the karate kid. i don't want to mess with it. he said i do. i really do. he talked to me every week, every week with his partners. >> larry: so he promoted you. >> big time. he and his partners came to me over at sony pictures and they convinced me we should do this. >> larry: and did a good thing for you. >> the picture is unbelievable.

>> flow with my movement. connect to the energy around you. >> i kind of just want to learn the cobra thing. >> cobra takes a lifetime. it requires great focus. >> i already have great focus. >> but i'm hungry. oh, my god. >> your focus needs more focus. >> $56 million. my biggest opening before that for a weekend was $39 million with oceans. >> larry: i want to ask you about oceans. >> yeah. >> larry: years ago frank sinatra and his gang made "ocean's 11" a great movie, my tear friend angie dickinson, dean martin. great movie. you had nothing to do with that movie. >> great movie. >> larry: how did you do "ocean's 11" with clooney and brad pitt? >> i was hanging around vegas in those days and i knew those guys. i wasn't working with them but i

knew i'd end up working with them. i saw "ocean's 11" and i didn't think it was great. i knew it could be better. i knew i could -- >> larry: working at the sands at night and shooting during the day. >> that's why. there was a lot of laughter on the set. a lot of parties. a lot of booze. and a lot of fun. you know, guys hanging out. a lot of camaraderie. but i knew that i could create that again, and i could create it better, and do a better story. >> larry: how many years later? >> the story was great. i did it in 2001, the first one. i did three of them. 11, 12, and 13. the first one i did, i shot it in 2000. so that's ten years ago. it was -- we just put together a great cast. >> larry: who did you get first, clooney? >> clooney was first. >> larry: he played the sinatra part. >> played the sinatra role. and then brad pitt came in to play dean. not to play dean, but to -- and

then don cheadle and then matt damon and just went from there. julia roberts did the angie thing. we just mixed it up. we sent julia roberts a letter to be in the movie with a $20 bill and in the letter we said, we understand you get 20. so we sent her a $20 bill. the point was that they all did this movie for half price, less than half, actually, and a very big back end. they all made an absolute fortune on the movie, as i did. yes, i did. and it was great. and it was great for all of us. great for them. great for me. and we had a wonderful time together and great camaraderie and lots of fun. and it was just as much fun as the guys had on the first one. >> larry: which actually led to 13. >> yeah, 11, 12, 13. yeah. made all three of them. no 14. no 14. >> larry: pacino was a villain.

gars garcia. >> andy, that's right. >> larry: they said in the last one it looked like they were having more fun than making a movie. >> we had a lot of fun. i created it, an atmosphere for them, and for myself, to go to work every day. i built a restaurant and a bar and we ate there together every day. we hung out there. i had limousines come so we could drink at night after work and take them home. >> larry: how about dealing, though? you have an affinity for this. with egos and superstars? >> well, on oceans, on the oceans movies, i can only speak for my movies, first of all, i've never had that problem with any star. and i've worked with the biggest, most important stars in the world. >> larry: ocean's 11, 12, and 13 with george clooney and brad pitt. that's next.

excuse me, your honor. >> your honor, he -- >> i'll take it from here. >> may i ask who you are, sir?

>> you better swear me in. you'll never believe it. >> do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? >> so help me, me. >> so help you, you? >> if it pleases the court, and even if it doesn't please the court, i'm god, your honor. >> larry: who came up with the genius? >> you know, it's a great story. carl reiner and i are very dear friends. carl reiner directed "o god" for me in 1974. >> larry: one of the great lines in the history of movies. george burns says to the guy who is playing i guess the number one minister. >> yeah. >> larry: why don't you sell shoes? >> in fact, he suggested you sells shoes. >> larry: i love that.

>> you know, there was no -- when carl did "o god" for me, he was 50. >> larry: and john denver. >> yeah, with john. it was a great movie and it was a big surprise to everybody just like this new "karate kid" is a big surprise to everybody. and it was a big smash hit. i'm going to remake it now. it's a big, smash hit. and reiner wasn't signed to do "ocean's." alan arkin was supposed to be god in "o god" not george burns. when i got the property, i wanted george burns. and i paid alan arkin his full salary, i think, i can't remember, but i'm pretty sure i did. he's a great actor. i just wanted burns. burns to me was god. i loved burns. and burns was 80. i couldn't get him insured. i had to self-insure him. the studio was going crazy. but i self-insured him.

i said, burns is god. he is god. the only problem i had with him being god was he had to wear a toupee. and i said, you cannot wear a toupee, george, and be god. god would not run around in a toupee. can't imagine that. so if you notice in "o, god" george always had a hat on. >> larry: correct. >> a cowboy hat, a baseball cap. >> larry: every time you see him. >> always a hat. that's because of the toupee. anyway, reiner -- >> larry: how do you get him for "ocean's?" >> well, arkin was signed to do "o, god" and i got rid of arkin at the time. didn't get rid of him. i asked him to step aside for george, which he did gracefully. years go by and i always remembered i owed alan arkin one. we get to the "ocean's" thing and i turned to steven soderbergh, and i said, i've got a great idea to play sol. he said, who? i said, alan arkin.

he's great. he said, great. sign him. i love him. he's a great actor. signed arkin. two nights before we're getting ready to shoot i get an emergency phone call. arkin is in the hospital. gallbladder or something. had something removed. in the hospital. and i don't know who should -- who should do the part. so i said to soderbergh, i said, i've got one great idea. i think it'll work. i said, who? i said, carl reiner. again, carl reiner and alan arkin. they were great, close friends. i called reiner. it was 11:00 at night. went over to his house. beverly hills. went in. he had guests in the house, mel brooks was there, a couple other people. he said -- he said, what is it, jerry? what's so important? i said, i need to talk to you right away. he said, what is it? i got a script i want you to read. he said, well, when does it start?

i said, two days. he said, who fell out? i said, alan arkin. he's in the hospital. he's sick. he said, come on, jerry. i said, read it. it's george clooney, brad pitt, matt damon, don cheadle, julia roberts. read it. you're going to like it. >> say we get into the cage and through the security doors there and down the elevator we can't move. and past the guards with the guns and into the vault we can't open. say we do all that. we're just supposed to walk out of there with $150 million in cash on us without getting stopped? >> yeah. >> oh. >> larry: frank sinatra made history with his main event concert. behind the scenes of frank's comeback and triumph, next. we've been there for clients through good times and bad, when our clients' needs changed we changed to meet them. through the years, when some lost their way, we led the way with new ideas for the financial challenges we knew would lie ahead.

this rock has never stood still. and there's one thing that will never change. we are, the rock you can rely on. prudential. my subaru saved my life. i won't ever forget that. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

you're a legend. you do know that. >> i don't know about legend. i mean, everybody's a legend. if everybody were really legends there would be no normal people in the world. everybody would be a legend. >> larry: you know you've gone beyond. you're in another ballpark. >> yeah, i agree with that. and there's a very good chance that i probably should have gotten out by now. but i enjoy it. >> larry: okay. sinatra. >> yeah. >> larry: you booked ole blue eyes is back, madison square garden. how did you do it? you didn't know frank. >> i knew frank. i knew him. but in the knew him, knew him. i got a phone call from him one day, from him directly. and he said to me, i want to go

back to work. >> larry: he was retired. >> retired. he said, i want to go back to work. i want to have a meeting with you. and when he called, i didn't believe it was him, you know? i idolized him. the greatest in the world. there was nobody better. i watched your show the other night. i saw you interview him again. i've seen your show so many times. i love it. i got this call from him. my secretary said frank sinatra is on the phone. i said, yeah. i know, he's one of my friends. i said, who is it? frank sinatra is not calling. yes, he's on the phone. pick up the phone. he said, jerry, frank sinatra. i said, how you doing, mr. sinatra? no, no, no. call me frank. and then when we get to know each other, you can call me francis. but right now you call me frank. >> larry: that's the way he was. >> so i started talking to him and he said he wanted to have a meeting. i said great. let's have it right now. i said terrific. come on over.

he said no, no, no, you come over here. i said, where are you? palm springs. i said, i'm in los angeles. he said, yeah. you go out to santa monica airport. my plane is waiting. it'll bring you down to palm springs. come over to the house and we'll talk. >> larry: that's the way he was. >> we sat down, had a drink, he told me what he wanted to do. he said, do you think you can pull this off? i said, absolutely. >> larry: what did he want to do? >> he wanted to do a concert to start someplace important. i started it at carnegie hall. that was the first place we played. then i took him on a tour in arenas. he wanted to do what elvis did. he was very smart, frank, as you remember. he said to me after we finished talking, okay. we're going to do this deal. and i said, great. he said, do you have anything -- any questions? i said, yeah, one question. he said, what is it? i said the question is, i understand sometimes that you don't show up for shows. and i'm a young kid and i'm making a lot of money and i'm really doing well and my career

is just starting to really hit it on all cylinders and if you don't show up, it's going to hurt me. and i don't want to do that. and he said to me, are you crazy? you remember he used to stare at you. boy, he could stare at you. he stared at me and he looked at me. you must be crazy talking to me like that. nobody talks to me that way. he says, that's crazy. why would you ask me a question like that? i said, because that's what i heard. and you asked me if i had any questions. that's my question. he said, okay. here's what we're going to do. we're going to make a deal. the deal is as follows. number one, you're going to call me francis from now on because we're friends. and number two, we're never going to disappoint each other. i'm never going to disappoint you. and you're never going to disappoint me. is that a deal? i said, yes. he said, great. we're in business. and he never disappointed me.

>> larry: the first thing you did was? >> carnegie hall. >> larry: but you also did madison square garden, right? >> i did. that was later on. >> larry: and the strangest thing about that was he wouldn't rehearse. >> because i told him, no rehearsals. it was my fault. it wasn't his fault. it was my fault. i called him one day. >> larry: that was also a comeback. that was television, howard cosell, abc. >> it was around the world. >> to a man who bridged four generations and somehow never found a gap. hello everyone. i'm howard cosell. >> larry: ole blue eyes is back. around the world. and retired again. >> the main event. and he was upset -- >> larry: in the ring. >> in the ring. he was in vegas. and he was upset. he called me up very early in the morning like 9:00 in the morning, which for him is when he goes to sleep. he called me up. i knew he was drinking. and i knew he was smoking. and i knew he was unhappy. he said to me, jerry, i can't do this anymore.

i can't go down. i can't sing these songs anymore. i've had it. i've done it. i've done it all. i've got to quit again, get out of this racket. i can't do it. i can't do it. i can't do it. i said, frank, stop it. you're the greatest performer in the world. no, jerry. i said, frank, i'll be right there. i jumped on a plane. on my plane. went up to vegas. >> larry: now it's your plane. >> my plane. went up to his rooftop at caesar's palace. i went up to the rooftop, and he had a swimming pool and sitting in the room in that sweater he used to wear. >> larry: the m & m candy. >> exactly and he's drinking jack daniels and smoking a cigarette and he says to me i can't do this anymore. i said, frank, you've got to stop this. you're talking crazy. he said to me, i don't like it. i need something new. i need something to get my juices going. i said, i've got it, i got it, i

got it. he said what is it? i had nothing. so i kept saying, i've got it, i've got it, i've got it. i said we're going to do madison square garden. he said we've done madison square garden. you sold it out for me ten times. 12 times. we've done it already. that's nothing new. i said the way we're going to do it is new. i said we're going to do the main event. i was in boxing in those days. i used to also promote fights. i said we're going to do the main event at madison square garden. what's the main event? i said you. you're the main event. you're the heavyweight champion of the world. i want to get cosell. he's going to announce it. he's going to say jerry weintraub presents sinatra live in the main event, madison square garden. he said to me, sounds great. i said no rehearsal. no rehearsal. i said no. why? what else are you going to do? i said we're going to do this around the world, put it on television in every country in the world. ♪ that's why this chick is a tramp ♪ >> you are?

i said yeah we'll make a record that night too. now i'm on a roll. i keep going at him. we'll do a cd, a record, a dvd, whatever you can do. we'll film it. make a fortune that night. he says, i love it. great. let's do it. let's do it saturday. i said, no, saturday -- he was a little quick. i said, francis, i can't do it saturday. i need a few months to set this up. >> larry: one of the biggest nights of frank sinatra's career about to be broadcast to millions. and music is the last thing on frank's mind. that incredible story, next. so i take one a day men's 50+ advantage. it's the only complete multivitamin with ginkgo to support memory and concentration. plus it supports heart health. [ bat cracks ] that's a hit. one a day men's. when you least expect it... a regular moment can become romantic. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready

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coming through the tunnel as so many champions have walked before, the great man, frank sinatra! ♪ i've lived a life that's full

traveled each and every highway ♪ ♪ more, more than this ♪ i did it my way >> larry: we're back with jerry weintraub. in 1974, sinatra was about to come back at madison square garden. jerry put the main event together and it wasn't easy. >> i called abc and i made a deal with them to do this. we went into new york. and i was rehearsing for a week. i had 300 people on the crew. my line producer -- i was the check tiff producer, it was my show. jerry weintraub presents frank sinatra. he had monday night football cameras and cameramen. and i knew that they could

capture this live electricity that was in the air. i needed that. i told them, no rehearsals, but i needed them to go to commercial six times. so i kept calling them at the waldorf towers. he was staying at the waldorf towers. he wouldn't take my call. a kid came in, brought me a list of songs. not one sinatra song, larry. can you imagine? frank sinatra going live around the world singing "crocodile rock"? not going to happen. i got this list. i ran to the waldorf, walked in the room. he was reading the newspaper. i said to him, frank, what the hell are these songs? he said to me, what do you mean? i said, this list of songs. there's no sinatra songs on it. he said, jerry, i just wanted to see you. and i didn't want to come over to you. you told me no rehearsal. frank -- he said, i knew if you sent that over, you'd be here in

a minute. and you're here. i said, i have to go to commercial six times, frank. he said, i'll see you in a little while. i'll be over there. 20 to 8:00 he rides into madison square garden with a police escort. jane in the back seat, barbara in the back seat. he says to me, i want you to do me a favor. i said, what? he said, i want you to get me when "my way" starts, get barbara and jane and put them in the car. he said, because i've got to go to patsy's and pick up pizzas so we have something to eat on the way to palm springs. that's what was on his mind, the pizza. on my mind were the 20,000 people and x million people that were going to watch the show. >> larry: it was an unbelievable -- where was the band? >> right next to the stage. next to the ring. it was a boxing ring. it was electric, larry. when he walked in. and he came out of it -- >> larry: '74, right? >> 1974. he came out of the dressing room.

i did it like a heavyweight fight. and on tape i'm on one side and billy on the other. 25 people were pushing us. we got to the curtain and he looked up at me -- he was shorter than me. he said, kid, are you okay? i said, no. he said, what's the matter? i said, i think my career's over. i said commercial six times, what are you going to do when i go to commercial? he said, i'm going to sing a song. i said what are you going to do when i come out of commercial? i'll be singing a song. i said, what if it's not the same song? he said, it's live, it's going to be great. don't worry about it. then he pinched my cheek, larry, before we went out, just like that, and said, listen, kid, you got me into this, and i'm going to get you out of it. >> larry: what a night. ♪ and did it my way [ cheers and applause ]

♪ my way [ cheers and applause ] >> larry: can you imagine michael douglas playing liberaci and matt damon as his lover? jerry tells us about the new film in the works next.

jerry weintraub is -- >> he's a puncher. >> he is a rare bird. >> he's a lot of things to a lot of different people. >> he's ringling brothers, barnum & bailey. >> you cast buy -- can't buy him dinner. >> he's tough as nails with a mushy center. >> he doesn't have a filter. he'll say -- you know, i woke up this morning and my balls ache. you know, you're like, you know my grandmother? >> he's a force. >> a force of nature. >> one lucky [ bleep ]. >> he puts on a big show. he cannot help himself. he can't help it. >> larry: that's a clip from "his way" a documentary about

jerry weintraub that's still in production. and speaking of still in production, he never stops. jerry, what are you going to do now? going to keep making movies? >> well, i have a documentary coming out. yeah, i'm making the story of liberace this year. michael douglas is liberace. >> larry: whoa. >> matt damon is the boyfriend. soderburgh is directing. it's going to be great. >> larry: who's the brother? george, right? >> yeah, george liberace. i don't know. lee was great. >> larry: i met him once. >> great guy. >> larry: that's great casting. >> yeah, it's going to be fun. >> larry: who's going to sing? >> that's another story. i don't know. michael. >> larry: will he lip synch? >> yeah, we can do that. but you know, the piano playing, people don't realize that l liberace was a great musician.

not a good musician. he was a great pianist. that's really what it's about. >> larry: nothing slows you down, right? >> no. i don't want to slow down. work, to me, is a vacation. you know, i call my own shots. i do what i want to do. i have a great time every day. i enjoy it. i had a tough year last year. 2009 was not a good year for me. i almost died. i had an infection and i was laying in bed. and i thought i died. i saw that light and i floated out the window, the whole deal. >> larry: you did? >> i really did. i was always afraid of death until that happened. when it happened, my doctor said to me, say good-bye to your family. we can't -- it's over. and i came to peace with it. my rabbis were there yelling and screaming out the window, don't take him! don't take him! i floated out the window, i saw the light everybody talked about. i don't know if i saw a light or it was something that's been suggested to me so many times over the years. but i did float out the window.

and i think i saw the light. and i floated back and i woke up. so this is a great year. >> larry: your lips to god. thank god. >> thanks for having me. >> larry: what a man. what a book. tape's out. look for the documentary. you heard it here. michael douglas as liberace. when i stop talking, you'll know i'm dead. useful stories from a persuasive man, jerry weintraub with rich cohen. thanks for joining us. good night.