Tommy DeVito, a founding member of doo-wop group the Four Seasons, died Monday at 92.
“We send our love to his family during this most difficult time,” read a statement from surviving co-founders Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio. “He will be missed by all who loved him.”
DeVito, a New Jersey native, was being treated for COVID-19 at Siena St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada.
With Valli, Gaudio and the late Nick Massi, DeVito launched the Four Seasons in 1960 and had a string of hits, including “December 1963 (Oh, What a Night),” “Walk Like a Man,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Working My Way Back to You” and “Sherry.”
The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 and inspired the 2005 Broadway musical Jersey Boys.
DeVito left the group in 1970 and sold his share of rights to Valli and Gaudio, reportedly to cover gambling and tax debt, and ended up struggling to earn a living.
“You’re brought down to your knees,” he told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “That feeling is rough. You say, 'What the hell did I do with myself? Here I am a celebrity, and I wind up being a guy that’s cleaning houses, dealing (cards), doing anything to make $5.’ It’s a horrible feeling.”