LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) — Longtime entertainment executive Chuck La Vallee has died after a long battle with liver cancer. He was 56.
According to an update posted to La Vallee’s GoFund Me page, his niece, Cassidy La Vallee reported that he passed away on March 22nd.
La Vallee followed a unique path to becoming a music industry exec and as his niece noticed, he spent the lion’s share of his teen years as a homeless heroin addict. However, by the age of 17, he managed to get himself clean and went on to attend Columbia University.
After graduation, he served as the owner and primary talent buyer for the Dragonfly Nightclub in Los Angeles. He also did several stints at the William Morris Agency, serving in both their Contemporary Music and Contemporary Urban departments, and two years as a talent buyer for Metropolitan Talent.
In 2000, he launched his own artist management venture Chuck La Vallee Management and guided the careers of the hip-hop collective Spooks until 2004.
In 2006, he joined the team of ticket resale service StubHub, serving as Head of Business Development, helping the company to establish itself in the insular world of the music industry and bringing tours such as The Rowdy Frynds Tour featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. to the platform.
Lavallee was diagnosed with liver cancer a little over five years ago and underwent extensive treatment to combat the disease.
He is survived by his wife Dana and his 12-year-old son Dashiell. According to Billboard, a memorial service is being planned for La Vallee at Hollywood Forever Cemetary in the coming days.
A GoFund Page has been established to help La Vallee’s family defray medical costs and will continue to be operated to assist his family with expenses.
