J. Michael Cline, the co-founder of Fandango and a prominent figure in the tech and entertainment industry, has passed away at the age of 64. According to reports, Cline died after falling from the 20th floor of the Kimberly Hotel in Manhattan. A suicide note was reportedly found at the scene.
Cline’s career was marked by significant achievements, including the co-founding of Fandango in 2000. The online ticketing company revolutionized the way Americans approached movie-going, transforming the industry with its innovative business model. Cline, who remained with the company until 2011, saw an opportunity in the market and capitalized on it, creating a service that made movie attendance “easier and more enjoyable than ever before.”
Fandango’s success was remarkable, with the company handling ticketing for major theater chains and generating revenue through processing fees and advertising on its platform. The company’s impact was so significant that it was later acquired by Comcast and is currently under the ownership of NBCUniversal and Warner Bros.
Art Levitt, Fandango’s co-founder and former chief operating officer and president, remembered Cline as a “brilliant, creative and loyal” individual who persevered through challenging times. Levitt also noted Cline’s adventurous spirit, which likely contributed to his success in identifying and pursuing market opportunities.
Beyond Fandango, Cline’s career spanned various ventures in the tech and finance sectors. He ran venture capital firms and was involved in private equity through his firm Accretive. At the time of his death, Cline held the position of executive chairman at Juxtapose, a company that launched numerous tech businesses across diverse fields.
Cline was born in New York to Rose Marie and James G. Cline. He earned a degree from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard University. His entrepreneurial journey began in the early 1980s with an unsuccessful venture importing hand warmers from Japan, which he humorously described on his LinkedIn profile as a failure where he “had no idea what I was doing. Seriously.”
Despite this early setback, Cline went on to achieve considerable success in business, acquiring multi-million-dollar properties in affluent areas such as Palm Beach, Florida, Greenwich, Connecticut, and the Hamptons. His success extended beyond personal wealth, as he was also known for his philanthropic efforts. Cline served as chairman of the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and had a particular interest in big cat and jaguar preservation.
