The first minute of His Way, HBO's new documentary about veteran show-biz producer Jerry Weintraub, hooks you with the people lining up to tell stories about him: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and lots more.

The second minute sells you with footage of some of his most famous clients, starting with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.

And from then on, Weintraub himself shows up to hook you for the duration...

In HBO's His Way: A Portrait of Hollywood Legend Jerry Weintraub (Monday night at 9 ET), Weintraub spins yarns of his childhood, his first jobs, being the "real" version of the promote-anything agent in Woody Allen's Broadway Danny Rose, and how he linked up with Elvis, Sinatra and everyone else.

And then the REAL stories begin -- from Clooney and Pitt on the practical jokes pulled on Weintraub during the making of Ocean's 11, from Ellen Barkin on getting her big break from Weintraub in 1982's Diner (and another break many decades later), and from Weintraub's family members about his unusual private life and his fierce determination and childlike joys.

Describing the stories, and the contents, doesn't do them justice. Like Weintraub, this documentary, written and directed by Douglas McGrath, is one speedy joy ride.

The clips from the acts produced by Weintraub are a treasure trove here, and, for the first time, reveal a connecting thread. Elvis sings. Sinatra sings. Elvis sings with Sinatra. Sinatra sings with John Denver. The common demoninator? Weintraub.

From the first minute to the last (when Weintraub, who served as a Morse code operator in Alaska while in the military, spells out his name in Morse code), The Kid is an unexpectedly light and yummy confection. Weintraub is a charmer -- and so is this new HBO documentary.