Tommy DeVito, founding member of The Four Seasons, dies of COVID-19 at 92

Tommy DeVito, one of the original members of the iconic American pop group The Four Seasons, has died, according to multiple reports. He was 92.

A representative for DeVito’s longtime friend and Four Seasons bandmate Frankie Valli told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that DeVito died Monday night after being hospitalized for weeks due to a coronavirus infection. He was on a ventilator when he died at Siena St. Rose Dominican Hospital in Henderson, Nevada, the Review-Journal reported.

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Dawn Wells FILE PHOTO: Actress Dawn Wells attends the 2015 TV Land Awards at Saban Theatre on April 11, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. Wells died Wednesday of illness related to COVID-19. She was 82. (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images) (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

In a joint statement obtained by the newspaper, Valli and Four Seasons co-founder Bob Gaudio shared well wishes for DeVito’s family.

“He will be missed by all who loved him,” the statement said.

Bobby Valli, Frankie Valli’s brother, also shared news of DeVito’s passing on social media, calling him a “MUSIC LEGEND!”

DeVito co-founded The Four Seasons in 1960 alongside Gaudio, Frankie Valli and Nick Massi. The group produced a slew of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, including “Sherry,” “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” “Bye Bye Baby (Baby Goodbye)” and “Walk Like a Man.”

“It was crazy,” DeVito told the Las Vegas Sun in 2008. “We went from making $1,000 a week to $1,000 a day. It was a monster. I think it changed everybody a little bit. Not personality wise. I was the same guy whether I had $40 or $40 million.”

In 1990, The Four Seasons were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with officials noting that, “In the Sixties, few acts had as many hits -- or sounded as unique -- as the Four Seasons.”

The group’s story inspired the 2005 musical “Jersey Boys,” which was adapted into a movie in 2014.

Cox Media Group