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. Making his way to California, he spent a few years in and around Los Angeles and San Francisco, 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, 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.

Serving as the "house hippie" (formally termed Client Liaison Officer), his duties included promotional campaigns for The Beatles, Badfinger, and other artists who appeared on Apple Records.

DiLello would publish a memoir of his experiences working at Apple titled "The Longest Cocktail Party".

Additionally, DiLello also worked as a screenwriter, producer, and director, penning the screenplays for the 1983 crime-drama film "Bad Boys", starring Sean Penn, 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.

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".