We enjoy the art given to us by the celebrities we love, but for the most part, we only see them on television, in the movies, on stage, on the back cover of a book (in an author’s case), hear them on the radio, or, in these days, anywhere online. It’s easier to imagine them living in high-class homes or apartments either on the west coast or any metropolitan area.
Sometimes, however, we will experience the excitement of living in close proximity to a celebrity if they purchase luxurious property in the regions that are more suburbanized. There are a few who have lived, or still live, in Rockland, Orange, and Westchester Counties, and Northern New Jersey.
Comedienne Rosie O’Donnell, known for her extensive work in television and film, has recent connections to the village of Nyack. Between 2002 and 2008, O’Donnell bought four homes in Nyack, all of which were situated on Washington Avenue, right near the Hudson River.
Being a top comedic performer, the closeness to entertainment venues in the Lower Hudson Valley and New York City must have been beneficial for her in order to keep her performances going. She has even performed a few times at the Levity Live comedy club at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack.
Rosie O’Donnell is a popular performer, so it’s not a surprise that she chose to reside in Nyack for over a decade, seeing as the town is known for its performing-arts aesthetic.
O’Donnell has since listed the Nyack properties and closed on a home in Saddle River, an upscale area in Bergen County, New Jersey in October 2013.
A few months ago, Oscar-winning director Ron Howard sold his Armonk home in Westchester, where he had lived with his family for 20 years.
Over the years, several films have had Westchester County make an appearance. Howard used the close proximity to the Lenoir Preserve in Yonkers to film a bit of his Best Picture-winner, “A Beautiful Mind.”
The couple moved to Armonk from Los Angeles in 1985 to raise their family, but have moved out now that their children are older. The Howards now live most of the time in California. With Howard being a high-profile director, it makes sense that he would move back to the west coast so he could be closer to the film industry.
Famous mystery novelist, Mary Higgins Clark, moved to New Jersey in 1956 and resided in Washington Township. Clark now lives in Saddle River. Clark has used Bergen County as a location in her novel, “All Around the Town,” which takes place in Ridgewood, and has said in an interview that she likes to use New Jersey as a setting as much as she can.
Back in August, Clark was voted by the Bergen County Historical Society for its first list of 10 “Bergen County Legends.”
In 2005, Oscar-winning actress Whoopi Goldberg sold her home in Tuxedo Park, New York. With the open land and less hectic lifestyle throughout Orange County, it’s easy to imagine a celebrity wanting to get away for a bit from the on-the-move way of life that comes with being an in-demand actress/comedienne.
After selling her property in Tuxedo Park, Goldberg lived in SoHo, and then moved to West Orange, New Jersey in August of 2009.
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