{{Short description |Business executive (1953–2008)}} {{Infobox person | name = Jon Stoll | birth_name = Jonathan Edward Stoll | birth_date = {{Birth date|1953|11|6}} | birth_place = Mamaroneck, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2008|01|12|1953|11|06}} | death_place = West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. | occupation = Concert promoter, businessman | known_for = Founder and president of Fantasma Productions | alma_mater = Bryant College }} '''Jonathan Edward "John" Stoll''' (November 6, 1953 - January 12, 2008) was an American concert promoter and the founder and president of Fantasma Productions, which was the worlds largest independent live event and '''concert promotion''' company sold to Live Nation. The company was based in West Palm Beach, Florida. <ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Jon Stoll Obituary (2008) - West Palm Beach, FL - The Palm Beach Post |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/palmbeachpost/name/jon-stoll-obituary?id=24385655 |access-date=2025-12-08 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref>
== Early life == Jon Stoll was born on November 6, 1953, in Mamaroneck, New York. He was raised in Mamaroneck and completed his secondary education at Mamaroneck High School.<ref name=":0" /> He later attended Bryant College (now Bryant University) in Smithfield, Rhode Island, during which time he began promoting concerts. His early interest in live events reportedly began in high school, when he organized rock‑concert style events for fellow students
As a 15-year-old student at Mamaroneck High School, Stoll raised money for the school through a battle of the bands. He gained experience working backstage at theaters around New York, and at age 18, he managed a rock band. While attending Bryant College in Smithfield, Rhode Island, he continued to run stage shows. After he and his parents moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, he started promoting concerts at South Florida drive-in theaters. He sold tickets to concerts or movies for $3–4 each, drawing in 6,000 to 10,000 people.{{Citation needed|date=December 2025}}
== Fantasma Productions == In 1970, Stoll founded Fantasma Productions in mamaroneck ny. By 1987, Fantasma grew to 50 employees, booking and managing more than 500 concerts a year. Fantasma Productions expanded to Miami and Fort Lauderdale, then throughout Florida, the Southeast, and other major venues, including in Las Vegas.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=report, AP |first1=Staff |last2=report |first2=Staff |last3=AP |date=2008-01-14 |title=Indie music promoter Jon Stoll dies |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/indie-music-promoter-jon-stoll-102467/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> Fantasma was responsible for booking acts for SunFest, Mizner Park in Boca Raton, and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood. Stoll purchased the Carefree Theatre in West Palm Beach, converting parts of the building into a retail art gallery, sports bar, bistro, and comedy club known as the Comedy Corner. The theater also hosted the Palm Beach Film Festival and the South Florida Jewish Film Festival every year. In 1990, the theatre began showing foreign and art films.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carefree Theatre in West Palm Beach, FL - Cinema Treasures |url=http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/18440 |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=cinematreasures.org}}</ref> After hurricanes in 2005 damaged the Carefree Theatre beyond repair, Stoll purchased an abandoned church just north of Southern Boulevard off Parker Avenue, and created The Theatre, another small concert hall.{{Citation needed|date=September 2025}}
According to ''The Hollywood Reporter'', by the mid-1990s, Stoll was one of a small number of independent promoters who resisted buyout offers by larger corporations, arguing that the result would hurt business and artists. "I just think it's unfortunate that there are less options for artists," he told ''The New York Times'' in 2006. "If you have no options, then you have to deal with one buyer – and whatever they decide to pay you."<ref>{{Cite web |author=AP Staff |date=2008-01-14 |title=Indie music promoter Jon Stoll dies |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/indie-music-promoter-jon-stoll-102467/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2000, he was named Independent Promoter of the Year at the 12th Annual Pollstar Awards in Las Vegas, and in 2007 he served as president of the National Association of Concert Promoters.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Pollstar |date=2007-02-15 |title=NACPA Names Board - Pollstar News |url=https://news.pollstar.com/2007/02/15/nacpa-names-board/ |access-date=2025-09-17 |language=en-US}}</ref> In late 2007, Stoll had a stroke that required surgery. On January 12, 2008, at the age of 54, Stoll died of complications from brain cancer.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=report, AP |first1=Staff |last2=report |first2=Staff |last3=AP |date=2008-01-14 |title=Indie music promoter Jon Stoll dies |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/indie-music-promoter-jon-stoll-102467/ |access-date=2022-11-09 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
== General references == * {{cite web|last=Carlos Coto|first=Juan|title=Fantasma's Jon Stoll Keeping Pace With The New Beat|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-10-25/specialsection/8702010848_1_stoll-music-scene-audience|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813191647/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-10-25/specialsection/8702010848_1_stoll-music-scene-audience|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 13, 2012|work=Article Collections|publisher=Sun Sentinel}} * {{cite web|title=FANTASMA FOUNDER JON STOLL PASSES AWAY|url=http://www.trashmenagerie.com/blog/2008/01/13/fantasma-founder-jon-stoll-passes-away/|work=Trash Menagerie}} * {{cite web|title=Industry Profile: Jon Stoll|url=http://www.celebrityaccess.com/news/profile.html?id=2|work=Industry Profiles|publisher=Celebrity Access}} * {{cite web|last=Lefsetz|first=Bob|authorlink=Bob Lefsetz|title=So Little Time To Fly|url=http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/index.php/archives/2008/01/13/jon-stoll/|work=The Lefsetz Letter|date=14 January 2008|publisher=Bob Lefsetz}} * {{cite web|last=Passy|first=Charles|title=Jon Stoll: Larger than life|url=http://www.palmbeachpost.com/accent/content/accent/epaper/2008/01/16/a1e_stoll_tribute_0116.html|work=Accent Section|publisher=Palm Beach post}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoll, Jon}} Category:Music promoters Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Florida Category:West Palm Beach, Florida Category:1953 births Category:2008 deaths