J. Michael Cline, a founder and former chairman of online ticketing service Fandango, died Tuesday after falling from the window of a high-rise hotel in downtown Manhattan.
Fandango founder J. Michael Cline identified as jumper who jumped to his death from luxury New York hotel: police
The New York Post was first to report the news. The NYPD confirmed to Deadline that a man by that name and age, 64, fell from the Kimberly Hotel at 145 East 50th. He reportedly committed suicide and left a note.
Cline was a managing partner at Accretive, which finances early-stage companies, and executive chairman of Juxtapose, which has a similar mission but specializes in building consumer-facing companies, according to the company's social media and websites.
Before starting Accretive, Cline co-founded Fandango in 2000 as a partner at General Atlantic. Early employees at the ticketing service Deadline spoke to today called him absolutely crucial in getting the fledgling company off the ground. In particular, he negotiated deals with movie theater chains, including Regal and Cinemark, none of which had yet used online listings, to join the site. He wanted Fandango to compete with the 800-pound gorilla of the time, Moviefone, the ubiquitous phone-in listing service launched in 1989.
