Longtime music industry veteran music industry veteran Frank Dileo, who managed Michael Jackson for much of his ’80s heyday and again during the last months of Jackson’s life, died at his home in eastern Ohio at age 63, after a long illness. Dileo was the subject of a November 2007 Scene cover piece outlining his storied career. And we mean storied. He worked his way up from the bottom of the music industry to become one of the most powerful men in the biz. During his tenure at Epic Records, he was instrumental in signing or developing the careers of Culture Club, Cyndi Lauper, REO Speedwagon, Quiet Riot, The Clash and of course Jackson. Dileo lived in Nashville briefly in the ’70s and then moved here in January 2007 to start a management business, though he spent much of the last three years in Los Angeles after returning as Jackson’s manager, and then handling issues with the late pop singer’s estate.
His larger-than-life persona landed him a couple of movie roles, most famously as Tuddy Cicero in Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas. Not only did he play the brother to Mafia boss Paulie Cicero, but he was responsible for one of the most legendary mob hits in cinema history, putting a bullet in the back of Joe Pesci’s head in the film’s climactic scene.
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