They brought Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran, Rod Stewart, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Pitbull and many others to Huntington. And now they’re being recognized for their impact on the region.
The Paramount in Huntington is already among Long Island’s best known concert and comedy venues. It’s become a kind of center of entertainment for many. And it fills an important niche between small clubs and the region’s biggest venues.
Chances are, however, that you have no idea who owns and runs the venue, the team that transformed an old theater into a new venue – or how people with diverse backgrounds joined forces to bring a new entertainment venue to life.
Huntington Hospital is honoring The Paramount’s four founders — Dominick Catoggio, Jim Condron, Brian Doyle and Stephen Ubertini – at the Social, a fundraiser to be held Nov. 21 to raise money for the hospital and new facilities in the works there.
Northwell is shining a spotlight on the venue’s founders, a case study in partnership and cooperation, as they came together to transform a building on a main street into one of the region’s prime music and comedy venues.
“Dominick Catoggio, Jim Condron, Brian Doyle and Stephen Ubertini breathed new life into the community by reinventing the space that once housed the original Huntington Theatre, which first opened its doors in 1927,” the hospital said when it announced the honorees.
They credited them “with a dramatic transformation into a highly diversified venue for live concerts, comedy shows and special events,”
The Paramount also features the Founders Room, The Studio and a new experiential art space – Spotlight.
Although to many Longer Islanders The Paramount may seem like a standard part of the entertainment scene, it debuted in 2011 and now hosts over 200 live events a year.
Artists who performed there include Billy Joel, Ed Sheeran, Rod Stewart, B.B. King, Willie Nelson, Pitbull, Judas Priest, Steely Dan, Train, Matchbox 20, Stone Temple Pilots, Melissa Etheridge, Kevin Hart and Sebastian Maniscalco.
The venue is a partnership between people from different industries, all related one way or another to entertainment.
Catoggio is an award-winning designer and contractor, Condron is the regional senior vice president of Connoisseur Media, which includes WALK 97.5, KJOY 98.3, WHLI, 103.1 MAX FM and 94.3 The Shark.
Doyle is a music industry executive who has managed artists including Hall & Oates, Mariah Carey, John Mellencamp, Carly Simon and Taylor Dane.
And Ubertini is an entrepreneur who owns other successful businesses including Matrix Polymers and 3 Water.
“The Paramount has blossomed into a cultural center and economic engine for the Town of Huntington, a venue the community can be proud of,” Dr. Nick Fitterman, executive director of Huntington Hospital, said. “They have reinvented and improved the cultural experience of downtown Huntington.”
