Fandango Founder J. Michael Cline Dies by Suicide From NYC Hotel

Image Credit: hbshealthalumni.org

J. Michael Cline, a finance executive who founded the ticketing company Fandango, died Tuesday morning of an apparent suicide in Manhattan after falling from the 20th floor of the Kimberly Hotel. He was 64.

According to law enforcement sources, cops from the 17th Precinct and EMS rushed to the Kimberly Hotel located at 145 East 50th St. at around 10:30 a.m. on July 16 after receiving a report of a man with a serious injury. Responding officers found a 64-year-old man, who was discovered as Cline, dead in the rear of the building. Upon further investigation, police believe the man took his own life by hurling off the building’s 20th floor.

According to TMZ, Cline left an apparent suicide note that read, “So sorry. I can’t explain the pain of f–king up this much. I love you all,” the outlet reported.

Cline, who completed his undergraduate at Cornell University and received an MBA from Harvard Business School, founded Fandango, a movie ticketing service, in 2000. He stayed with the company, which was acquired by Comcast in 2007, for more than a decade before leaving in 2011. Fandango is now owned by NBCUniversal and Warner Bros.

Although Cline had long ago cut ties with Fandango, the company struggled in part due to movie theater attendance dwindling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm reportedly tried to pivot to streaming, but its parent company NBC-Universal’s profits in the category representing Fandango reportedly fell 40.8% in 2020.

Cline told Variety at his old company’s launch, “A Fandango is fast and fun. Fandango is the perfect match to a service designed to make going to the movies easier and more enjoyable than ever before,” It’s “an instantly recognizable and distinctive name that sets us apart in our industry,” he added.

He was described in a recent Fordham University article as a “serial entrepreneur” who inspired students to dream big and “work with people you trust.”

He is survived by his wife Pamela B. Cline and their six children.

If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.