Fandango Founder James Michael Cline Dies After 20-Story Fall in Suspected Suicide

Summary

• Fandango founder Jason Michael Cline tragically dies from suspected suicide at 64.
• Cline revolutionized online movie ticketing, boosting Fandango’s partnerships with major theater chains.
• Following Fandango, Cline founded and invested in various tech firms, leaving a lasting impact.

Tragic news coming out of New York as Fandango founder, Jason Michael Cline, has died from a suspected suicide after jumping from the 20th floor of the Kimberly Hotel in Manhattan. Cline was 64 years old. Per MSN, the NYPD responded to the Kimberly Hotel and stated:

“Upon arrival, officers found an unconscious and unresponsive male with injuries indicative of a fall from an elevated position. The investigation remains ongoing.”

Further reports indicated that Cline jumped from the 20th floor of the hotel and landed in a third-floor courtyard. The Fandango founder also left an apparent suicide note that reads, in part, “So sorry. I can’t explain the pain of f****** up this much. I love you all.”

Jason Michael Cline Helped Change How Moviegoers Buy Tickets Online

Fandango

Cline started Fandango back in 2000 with Art Levitt, and it serves as a ticketing company that sells movie tickets and, more specifically, advanced movie tickets, online. The company is especially notable for simplifying how moviegoers purchase movie tickets online without the hassle of waiting in lines before theater chains began providing some of these services themselves. Helping boost the company’s profile, Fandango entered into partnerships with several major theater chains, including Regal Cinemas, Cinemark Theaters, General Cinema Theaters, Edwards Theatres, Century Theatres, Lowes Cineplex Entertainment and Carmike Cinemas.

When Fandango was launched, Cline spoke of the company’s services by saying, “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.”

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Fandango also owns Vudu, now known as Fandango at Home, which acts as a streaming digital video store, and the review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango acquired Rotten Tomatoes along with Flixster in 2016 from Warner Bros. Entertainment. In addition to advanced movie tickets, Fandango’s website also features celebrity interviews, movie clips, trailers, and movie reviews from other Fandango users. Fandango was ultimately acquired by Comcast in 2007 and Cline left the company in 2011.

Following his time with Fandango, Cline, a natural entrepreneur and finance executive, ran various tech firms. He founded the companies Accumen, Insureon and Accolade through his Accretive banner, a company that continued to invest in Fandango. At the time of his death, Cline was an executive chairman of business incubator, Juxtapose. Other companies founded by Cline include tech company R1 RCM and Everspring, which is an education solutions business. Cline is survived by his wife, Pamela B. Cline, and their six children.

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