Tommy DeVito of the Four Seasons dies at 92 'from coronavirus'

Tommy DeVito, a founding member of the 1960s American rock band the Four Seasons, has died from coronavirus complications at the age of 92.

The musician’s friend, actor Alfred Nittoli, announced on Facebook that he had passed away on Monday evening in Las Vegas after being hospitalised with COVID-19.

Tommy DeVito, original guitarist of the pop group The Four Seasons, arrives at the grand opening party for Rao's at Caesars Palace January 11, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tommy DeVito (pictured in 2007) - the original guitarist of the band The Four Seasons - has passed away at 92 from COVID-19 complications. Photo: Getty Images.

“My dear friend Tommy passed away in Las Vegas at 9:45 last night,” he wrote.

“With deep regret I am writing this sitting in his living room. I was informed by his daughter Darcel there will be a service in New Jersey,” he added.

DeVito’s former bandmate Frankie Vallie also wrote in a post on Facebook that DeVito had died, writing, “We send our love to his family during this most difficult time.”

DeVito along with Valli, Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi founded the Four Seasons in 1960 and sang huge hits like, ″Can’t Take My Eyes Off You,” and “Oh, What a Night.”

RELATED:

circa 1965:  Promotional portrait of the American pop group The Four Seasons. From left: Tommy DeVito, Frankie Vali, Bob Gaudio, and Nick Massi. The band members are dressed identically in light striped shirts and black pants.  (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Tommy DeVito (far left) with his Four Seasons bandmates Frankie Vali, Bob Gaudio, and Nick Massi in 1965. Photo: Getty Images.

He left the band in 1971 but was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 along with Valli, Gaudio and Massi.

The hugely successful Broadway musical Jersey Boys, which opened in 2005, tells the story of the band and has won a Tony award, a Grammy Award and was made into a feature film directed by Clint Eastwood.

Deven May, who played DeVito in the Jersey Boys musical, took to Twitter to pay tribute to his ‘dear friend’.

“Tommy DeVito what an amazing man. He changed lives of so many for the better. You will be missed my dear friend. So if you’re in #Vegas play a hand for Tommy! Raise a glass let his name echo through the town he loved so much. Rest In Peace brother,” he wrote.

With AP.

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