Noel N. Ashman

Noel Ashman is a New York City based nightclub owner, film producer and entrepreneur.

Career

In 1996, Ashman opened his first club, Veruka. The Manhattan nightclub is widely regarded as one of the first clubs to have bottle service, and became well known for its strict door policy. Veruka had a number of high-profile celebrity guests, including Sean Penn, Ben Affleck, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Wahlberg, Cuba Gooding Jr., Nicolas Cage, Debbie Harry, Dennis Leary, Martin Sheen, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Veruka was also a frequent hangout for members of the New York Yankees. The club operated from January 1996 to July 2005. Ashman followed the venture with a brief revival of Studio 54.

In 2004, Ashman purchased the legendary nightclub Nell’s along with partners Chris Noth, Samantha Ronson, Damon Dash, and Jesse Bradford, among others, and opened a private club, NA, in the newly redesigned space. Ashman operated NA and a semi-private club, The Plumm, at the West 14th Street location from 2004 to 2009.

In 2014, Ashman opened The Leonora in the Chelsea section of Manhattan with investors Michael Strahan, Simon Rex, and Damon Dash.

Ashman has been a producer and acted in several films. He was the associate producer for the 1999 film Speedway Junky, which starred Jesse Bradford and Daryl Hannah. He was a co-producer of the 2000 film The Atrocity Exhibition, based on the writings of British author J. G. Ballard. He was also a co-producer of the 2001 film Never Again, starring Jeffrey Tambor and written and directed by Eric Schaeffer, and an executive producer on Schaeffer’s 2004 film Mind the Gap (2004 film). In 2013, Ashman co-produced the TV Series The Trouble with Billy, and in 2015 produced the Short Film Fall 4 You.

Ashman appears in films Mind the Gap, Never Again, and Fall 4 You, and was a producer on The Guitar, Carlito’s Way: Rise to Power, and Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope.

Ashman co-produced the 2001 off-Broadway play The Dog Problem (play) by David Rabe, and is co-owner of a film production company called Co-op.

Upcoming projects

Ashman is an executive producer on the 2017 film Gotti, starring John Travolta and directed by actor Kevin Connolly, as well as on the upcoming film Reprisal, starring Bruce Willis and Olivia Culpo. He is a producer and actor in the 2018 film Clinton Road, starring Ice T & Vincent Pastore. Ashman is also a producer on the 2018 documentary Wasted Talent, which examines the temptations and struggles many young celebrities go threw on their rise to stardom. The documentary stars former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams, journalist Rita Cosby, actors William McNamara & Lillo Brancato, actress Paula Devicq, and Ashman, among others.

Personal life

Ashman was born in Manhattan in 1970. He graduated from Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in 1989. Ashman attended Boston University, where he graduated in 1993 with a degree in Economics.

Ashman dated actress Paula Devicq from the television series Party of Five. He was also romantically linked to singer-songwriter and model Kimberly Locke, who gained fame after participating in the 2003 season of American Idol.