1973 Dan Madia

When last we left Dan, he had loved the diversity of working on the student productions and decided that a more generalist type occupation might be more satisfying. And so to the bewilderment of Point Park College, Dan switched to a Business Management major, returned to working at the hardware store on the North Side and taking night classes and some Saturday classes.

Before long Dan applied for a job at Ketchum, MacLeod & Grove, a major Pittsburgh advertising agency and got a job in the administrative group…just slightly above the mailroom level. After 4 years, a marriage and one child Dan was asked to move to Houston as the Financial Manager of that Ketchum office and the career was taking off. In 1981 Dan, now with two children and still the one wife, moved to New York City, where he spent a little more than 8 years. Then they yanked him back to Pittsburgh in 1989, now with 4 children and the same wife, as part of the corporate staff. In 1996, Omnicom Group bought Ketchum and once again Dan found himself on the move…back to New York City in 1997 as a Sr. Partner and responsible for Human Resources for Ketchum worldwide.

After 35 years with Ketchum, Dan retired and moved back to Pittsburgh last June, the “home town” for both he and his wife Patty…now with 4 children (Brian 33, Erica 31, Allison 24 and Keith 22), one Grandson (Miles 9) and another Grandchild (to be named later) on the way.

After Dan left Point Park and his theater major, he didn’t do any other show but one…In 1975, Dan happened to see the show “Jacque Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris” which was playing at “Walt Harpers Attic” in Pittsburgh’s Market Square. To his amazement, there was Beth Austin dazzling the patrons. After the show, Beth tells Dan they are auditioning for another male cast member and asked if there was any interest…there was…and Dan got the part and did the show with Beth for nearly 9 months…all the while working just a few short blocks away at his day job with Ketchum. When the show closed, so did Dan’s theater career…and he was off to raise a family and climb the ladder of the corporate world within Ketchum.

By the way…Dan never really missed the theater until Jim Marcus reached out and asked if he would like to join in a reunion from the playhouse years…he sure is looking forward to seeing some great old friends.