Michael Jackson Manager Frank Dileo Dead at 63

Frank Dileo, who managed Michael Jackson during his commercial peak in the ’80s and returned to work with the star before his death in 2009, has died at the age of 63. The cause of Dileo’s death has not been made public, but he had recently experienced complications following heart surgery.

In addition to his work as a manager, Dileo had a sideline career as a character actor, most notably starring in small roles in Martin Scorese’s Goodfellas and both of the Wayne’s World movies.

Photos: Michael Jackson Remembered
Dileo bonded with Jackson during his stint as an executive at CBS Records at the time of Thriller. Dileo pushed to release “Beat It” as a single while “Billie Jean” was still Number One on the charts, an unorthodox move that resulted in both songs being massive hits simultaneously. Jackson recruited Dileo to become his manager in 1984, and he went on to executive produce the Moonwalker movie and presided over a series of Pepsi advertisements featuring the singer.

Photos: Michael Jackson Immortalized
In addition to managing Jackson, Dileo also worked with Prince, Taylor Dane, Laura Branigan, Jodeci and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora.