Joseph Dipinto

Joseph Dipinto, beloved brother, son and friend, passed away on July 12th, 2024 at the age of 69, at New York Presbyterian hospital in Brooklyn, from complications from a fall due to underlying chronic illness.

Joe was born on December 13th, 1954 in New York City to parents John and Vera Dipinto. He was the second of a set of identical twins, born twenty minutes after his brother John. He also had an older sister Carolyn, born in 1946. Joe grew up in the Auburndale section of Queens and with his brother attended kindergarten at P. S. 162, and grades 1 through 8 at St. Kevin’s elementary school. A high honors student, Joe received at graduation an unprecedented four scholarships to different high schools, the only student to do so, and (along with his brother) enrolled at Regis High School, a Jesuit school in Manhattan that provides a four-year tuition-free education for all students who are admitted. While at Regis Joe sang in the glee club and wrote for the school paper, and was active in dramatics, notably appearing as Sancho Panza in the musical “Man of La Mancha” to rave reviews in his senior year. The summer after his graduation he composed the score for a musical version of “The Little Prince”, co-written, directed and performed by classmates and friends from Regis and other schools.

Joe then attended New York University, graduating with a B.A. in music. While there he continued his interest in acting as well, appearing in campus productions including “The Comedy of Errors”. He also wrote all the band arrangements for the senior year musical production “Anything Goes.”

After graduation, he worked a variety of jobs. He was manager of the jazz record department at Sam Goody Records at Rockefeller Center, which enabled him to begin to amass his large collection of jazz LP’s. Next, he was hired as a solfeggist at ASCAP (American Society for Composers and Publishers), a job, which required him to transcribe melodies, he heard on radio or TV broadcasts so they could be identified and proper royalties could be paid to the composers. From there he moved into the area of music licensing and publishing, working first at the Harry Fox Agency, and then at music publishers MCA (Universal), Boosey & Hawkes, and Music Sales Group/G. Schirmer, Inc. At one point, through his expertise he single handedly saved some early Beatles songs which had not been properly copyrighted from falling into public domain in the US. When Music Sales packed up their NY offices to move to California, Joe opted not to relocate for his job and retired, staying in his hometown.

He became very interested in paralegal work and enrolled in a program at Pace University, which culminated in his graduation as top student and valedictorian of the class. Joe’s outside interests included crossword puzzles - he competed in the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament from 2008 to 2014. Although he did not pursue a professional career as a musician or composer, he did play in and write for a few short-lived bands in the 80’s, and later sang in several choirs. His musical skills remained excellent, and at the time of his passing, he was a member of the choir at St. Malachy’s Church in Manhattan.

It should be obvious from reading this that Joe was very smart. He was also very sweet, kind, friendly, conscientious, funny, witty and likable - in other words, a truly great person you would want to hang out with. He will be remembered very fondly by the many friends he made. He is survived by myself, his twin brother John, who could not have asked for a better brother. We shared an enviable amount of wonderful times together through the years, and I will love him and miss him always.

There will be a Memorial Service held for Joe on Saturday August 3rd at 11:00 AM, at St. Malachy’s Church, 239 W. 49th Street, in Manhattan, NY.