The heartbreaking suicide note left by a tycoon father-of-six before he jumped to his death on Tuesday morning has been revealed.
J. Michael Cline, the 64-year-old co-founder of movie-ticketing firm Fandango, leaped from The Kimberly Hotel, landing in a courtyard on the third floor.
Cline appeared to be in turmoil as he left a note in a room on the 20th floor of the luxury hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
‘So sorry. I can’t explain the pain of f****** up this much. I love you all,’ Cline wrote before jumping.
The suicide happened only days after he had undergone gallbladder surgery.
J. Michael Cline, the 64-year-old co-founder of movie-ticketing firm Fandango, leaped from The Kimberly Hotel, landing in a courtyard on the third floor, on Tuesday morning
Cline jumped from the 20th floor of the hotel and landed in a courtyard area on the third floor
Cline’s business, which he founded in 2000, had struggled during the pandemic which saw movie theaters shutter or forced to follow restrictions on the number of audience numbers allowed for almost two years.
Cline was also a ‘serial entrepreneur’ and managing partner at the startup-funding firm Accretive.
Cline’s wealth saw him owning several multi-million dollar homes in the Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, Greenwich, Connecticut and Palm Beach, Florida.
One of the homes include a $20.75 million lakefront mansion that he purchased during the pandemic in December 2020, reports the Palm Beach Daily News.
Cline’s body was brought out from a courtyard in the hotel and taken away by the New York Medical Examiner
Cline also sat on the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
In recent years, Fandango had struggled after movie theater attendance was essentially non-existent during the pandemic.
The firm attempted to pivot to streaming but reported a loss in profits in 2023.
Art Levitt, who co-founded Fandango alongside Cline remembered him as brilliant, creative and loyal and as someone who would stick it out even in ‘tough’ times.
He described his former business partner as ‘a bit of an adventurer.’
Levitt told how with Fandango ‘he saw an opportunity in the market’ and asked Levitt to manage the company.
Cline, who had been married to wife, Pamela, for almost 30 years graduated from Cornell University and obtained an MBA from Harvard University.
Cline, who had been married to wife, Pamela, for almost 30 years graduated from Cornell University and obtained an MBA from Harvard University
A body bag containing Cline is seen being wheeled out onto the sidewalk on Tuesday
His career started in the early 1980s when he began a hand warming businses importing the items from Japan.
‘Business failed,’ he wrote on his LinkedIn page when describing the company, ‘Penguin Warmers.’
‘I had no idea what I was doing. Seriously,’ he wrote.
In a profile by Fordham University, he was described as a ‘serial entrepreneur’ and as someone who ‘helped to who inspired students’.
Cline is seen taking part in a discussion with business students at Fordham University
Cline also sat as the executive chairman of Juxtapose – another firm which specializes in funding startups launching a number of tech businesses in areas ranging from health care and wellness to property management.
He was also a philanthropist and had recently served as chairman of the board of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
If you or anyone you know needs help, you can reach Samaritans NYC at 212-673-3000 or the Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386.
For confidential assistance, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988 or click here.
