Fandango founder J. Michael Cline dies of apparent suicide at New York City luxury hotel

The founder of movie ticket company Fandango died after falling from a New York City luxury hotel in an apparent suicide on Tuesday, authorities say. 

J. Michael Cline, 64, of Palm Beach, Florida, was found “unconscious and unresponsive” Tuesday morning. 

New York City police were called to The Kimberly Hotel at 145 East 50th Street in Manhattan just shortly after 10 a.m. where they found Cline with injuries “indicative of a fall from an elevated position,” police said. He was pronounced dead at 10:30. 

An investigation is ongoing as police note “no criminality is suspected.”

NBC News reached out to the medical examiner’s office for cause and manner of death.

Cline was a serial entrepreneur. He founded Fandango in 2000 and left in 2011. The company is now owned by NBC Universal, the parent company of NBC News.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he attended Cornell University and Harvard Business School. He founded the company Acumen, an outsourcer of lab operations for large hospitals, in 2010 and served as chairman and director through 2017. He also founded Accolade, a vendor of health services for large employers and hospital systems, in 2007 and worked as founder and chairman through 2022.

He also founded and served as managing partner of Accretive, which funds start up companies. NBC News has reached out to Accretive for comment.

Cline further served as chairman for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In a 2020 annual report, he spoke on his passion for the nation’s wildlife, writing: “The importance of protecting conservation gains and sustaining momentum to protect wildlife and natural habitats cannot be overstated.”

Cline married his wife Pamela in 1995, according to a New York Times wedding announcement, and they share six children, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.