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Tommy DeVito attends the play opening night of “Jersey Boys” November 6, 2005 in New York City.
Tommy DeVito, an original member of famed New Jersey group The Four Seasons, died of COVID-19 on September 21. DeVito’s friend, actor Alfredo Nittoli, confirmed his death on Facebook, writing: “My dear friend Tommy passed away in Las Vegas at 9:45 last night 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.”
The 92-year-old had been hospitalized with the virus earlier this month and died at the Siena St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, just outside Las Vegas. He died on Monday night at 9:30 p.m., the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
Bobby Valli, the brother of The Four Seasons’ Frankie Valli, also confirmed DeVito’s death:
DeVito and Frankie Valli performed together from 1954 in The Four Lovers and The Variatones and founded The Four Seasons together in 1960, alongside Bob Gaudio and Nick Massi. The years that followed were filled with chart-topping songs like “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Rag Doll” and “Dawn (Go Away),” according to their website’s bio. DeVito and the other founding members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
DeVito left The Four Seasons in 1970 and pursued various projects afterward, including appearing in the movie “Casino” in 1995. He released an instrumental album in 2007, titled A Man 4 All Seasons: 1st Season — Summer, NJ Arts reported.
This story is still developing and will be updated.
His Granddaughter Brittany Reilly Posted About His Hospitalization Due to COVID-19 on September 3
Reilly took to Facebook on September 3 to clarify a rumor that was circulating of DeVito’s death. She wrote, “My family was hoping for some privacy during this extremely emotional time but because of how incredibly talented and friendly this man is, that’s impossible.”
She explained, “I just want to set the record straight since my family has been getting horrible phone calls all day. YES, he has been in the hospital battling COVID but NO he HAS NOT passed away. Please stop the spreading of this rumor because it’s very hard on our family.” According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, DeVito had been on a ventilator.
DeVito Grew Up in a Rough New Jersey Neighborhood & Had a Difficult Upbringing
According to an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal from 2009, DeVito had a difficult childhood, growing up on welfare in a rough Belleville, New Jersey neighborhood. He was the youngest of nine kids in an American-Italian family, and told the outlet his father frequently beat him. He said, “When I was a kid, I was locked up. I was in six or seven jails. I went to prison one time. But my teenage years were a son of a bitch. I was a hell raiser. … I was a menace to everybody.”
He told the Las Vegas Sun that his family lived with his uncle in a cold-water apartment. “You did anything to survive,” he said. “You’d steal milk off of porches.” He learned how to play the guitar on his own at the age of 8, playing on his brother’s guitar and listening to country music. He said, “I was so small I couldn’t hold the guitar in my lap so I put it on the floor on its side and leaned over and played it that way.” He started earning money by the age of 12 by playing in local taverns for tips. By the age of 16, the outlet reported, he’d started his first R&B band and was earning $20 to $25 a night.
He said unlike what’s implied in the “Jersey Boys” musical, he didn’t have connections to the mob. “Some of my family were friends with some of their family. I was never part of the mob. They might have asked me to play a private party or something, but they paid me for it. Mostly they asked me to do benefits. That was the extent of the connection, but naturally they put it in the play to show I got into trouble.”
The Four Seasons & DeVito Were Portrayed in the Hit Musical ‘Jersey Boys’
DeVito was known for his big personality, which can be seen in the 2005 Broadway musical “Jersey Boys” and subsequent 2014 movie of the same name, which are based on The Four Seasons. In 2006, DeVito told the Jersey Boys Blog why he thinks the musical became such a hit:
I think people connect with it because they see the story about guys from the wrong side of the tracks who are toughin’ it up, arguing, and you’re also hearing the stories about the mob. It’s a rags to riches story about tough guys and good guys. There’s so much interest in what’s going to happen to these guys. It’s not just a jukebox musical; it’s great songs combined with a really great story.
In the same interview, DeVito was asked about his legacy and how he’d like to be remembered. DeVito said, “First, I’d want people to remember all of the great music the Four Seasons did together. Then, I’d also want people to know that everyone makes mistakes-nobody’s perfect. I’m not ashamed to admit it-I’ve been punished; did some jail time; and I’ve paid my dues.”
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