- Born to restaurateur parents, Richard DiLello was a young man from Queens, New York whose life was forever changed after he saw the Beatles for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show in February 1964.
After graduating from high school, he made his way to California, spending a few years in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco, avidly attending concerts, and often crossing paths with former Beatles press officer Derek Taylor, who at that point was doing publicity work for several musical artists. When the Beatles launched Apple Corps, Taylor was summoned back to London, he told DiLello to look him up if he was ever in London.
In the summer of 1968, after a short spell in Morocco, DiLello made his way to London and took Derek up on his promise. Within weeks of arriving, he had a British work visa and was hired to work at The Beatles' press office.
Serving as the "house hippie" (formally termed Client Liaison Officer) from 1968 to 1970, his duties included promotional campaigns for The Beatles, Badfinger, and other artists who appeared on Apple Records.
During the winter of 1971, DiLello would write a memoir of his experiences working at Apple titled "The Longest Cocktail Party", which was later published in 1972.
DiLello began writing screenplays in 1975, he pursued this for five years, while subsisting on his photographic work. He managed to complete three or four screenplays, which led to a meeting with producer Robert Solo, who asked DiLello to write a script about a young James Cagney in a modern day reform school, the result was the 1983 crime-drama film "Bad Boys", starring Sean Penn.
Officially launched as a screenwriter, DiLello, penned the screenplays for the 1986 television movie, "Popeye Doyle" starring Ed O'Neill, and the 1988 police procedural action-crime film "Colors", which also starred Penn and Robert Duvall.
Additionally, DiLello also worked in television. He wrote and directed a segment of the 1997 television film "Riot", which starred Luke Perry and Lucy Liu, he also wrote and produced episodes for the television shows "Midnight Caller", "DEA", and "Dellaventura".
- IMDb mini biography by: F.J. Trescothik
- Served as the "house hippie" (formally termed Client Liaison Officer) for the Beatles' Apple Corps headquarters in London from 1968-1970; his duties included promotional campaigns for the Beatles, Badfinger, and other artists who appeared on Apple Records. He later published a memoir of his experiences (including firsthand accounts from the Beatles' breakup) titled "The Longest Cocktail Party".
- On May 22, 1994, the Washington Post reported that Di Lello was tapped to write the screenplay adaptation of "Never Fade Away: The Kurt Cobain Story".
- In May 1992, the Los Angeles Times reported that DiLello was writing a script about the creation, growth, and rise of the L.A.'s Crips gang, through the personal story of Michael Concepcion one of it's founders, producer Benny Medina described DiLello's 140 page script as epic, and along the lines of The Godfather (1972) and JFK (1991) with a real historical backdrop, Renny Harlin was slated to direct, M.C. Hammer was reportedly interested in the lead role, other actors considered were Wesley Snipes, and Ice Cube.
- In May 1997, Variety Magazine reported that DiLello and Warren Lewis were developing a series for the USA network called "Vegas Metro", a Las Vegas-based action drama.
- In May 1993, Variety Magazine reported that DiLello was to be executive producer on a TV pilot for the Fox network called "Aspen".
- I'm hoping that DEA (1990) will provide a platform for education, responsible but realistic advocacy of the problems we are facing, as well as being good storytelling.
- On Dellaventura (1997): This is not hard-edged, it's not gritty. I could have done it dirtier, darker. The network was concerned I'd do a dark show. Leslie Moonves's perception of me is I'm good, but I tend to go dark. It's not a question of pandering, it's a question of being realistic. I didn't want to spend five months in development and have yet another pilot go in the toilet.
- [on pitching Dellaventura (1997)]: I knew I would be able to sell this show to a network, because it takes absolutely no imagination on the part of an executive to know what it's about.
- on Gary Cole's character, Jack Killian, in Midnight Caller (1988): He's a sort of blue collar avenging angel, a Sam Spade of the 80's with the soul of an Irish poet, and the heart of a Jack Kerouac.
- on Bad Boys (1983): I feel that this movie is a plea for sanity, it deals with a very violent world and in a very realistic way with young kids who because of illiteracy and lack of parental guidance throw their lives away.
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