BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK

Celebrity Sightings

After being mistaken for “Kate Austen,” Evangeline Lilly’s character on Lost, on the G train the other day, I started thinking about the celebrities I have seen around New York – which admittedly haven’t been many.

Does anyone have any interesting stories to tell? Ever actually go looking for a celebrity? Or is that something people only do in Los Angeles. :)

Kate Hudson once zoomed by me on Ave A at 7th Street, though she was pretty inconspicuous and my friend who was with me at the time was much more excited about it than I was. I think I probably take the typical New Yorker stance that I have better things to do than harass celebrities. Though I still think it’s cool to see someone famous once in a while.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
In the last few months, Katherine Zeta Jones, Ethan Hawke.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
In Berlin I saw the former German Kanzler, Gerhard Schroeder, getting a doener and fries near the Kudamm. People noticed it was him but otherwise seemed normal about him popping in to the doener shop, considering his former job was running a major west European nation. Which is in stark contrast to the idea of Bill Clinton or George Bush ever grabbing a hot dog on the go on Sixth Avenue--
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Since being in NYC, I have seen Rod Stewart and Henry Wrinkler. I not only met Rod but we spoke. I met Henry on a street corner. I was going by and waved to him. He waved back.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
My first celebrity sighting in NYC was John McEnroe on 81st street and Central Park West .. after that I once saw Cynthia Nixon ( Miranda of SATC fame) on the UWS and Mary Kate Olsen going to a Halloween party at a town house on Bank Street
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl could you tell she was going to a Halloween party because she was wearing a couture costume? That is one of the best celeb sightings I've heard.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBk she alighted from a limo and was attired in one of her trademark slouchy,outfits couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a costume but the sighting was around Halloween time and I presumed that it must have been a Halloween party for there was thumping music being emitted from the townhouse into which she disappeared. Moreover there seemed to be hordes of other people who were all in costume who were headed in the same direction.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Being in NYC you get to see a number of celebrities. I ran into one actor (don't know his name but remembered him from Law and Order), about three months ago. I did not talk to him for he was going in the opposite direction. I just happened to see his face and remembered him.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
I saw Ryan Gosling at the corner of Graham and Metropolitan. I was staring at him forever, trying to figure out how I knew the guy. By the time I realized I don't know him at all he had caught me staring. Not one of my finer moments.
James Franco seems to be the everywhere man nowadays because of his dual schooling. He was at the Astor Starbucks a few weeks ago just sitting at a table reading a book. He is definitely not hard on the eyes.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@JenMac I never really realized just how awesome James Franco is until I saw him on 30 Rock. And I find the fact that he did General Hospital really amusing.... And though reading in a Starbucks is a completely normal activity, for some reason I can't picture him doing it.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
I'm going to try this one again and let's see how it works this time around. A couple of weeks ago I saw Keanu Reeves arrive and get seated at a table at the restaurant I was just about to leave. I don't think he recognized me, though...
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Goldie Hawn at Trattoria dell'Arte. Linda Fiorentino in a Japanese restaurant on the Upper West Side. Brittany Murphy (RIP) by Rockefeller Centre. But not as many as you'd think, given that I'm living in NYC. My mother sat next to Bloomberg at a restaurant once, though...
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
Woody Allen buying presents at the Whitney gift shop a couple of Biennials back...Michael Moore getting into a cab...The singer singer from this British electropop-act called LaRoux just a few weeks ago...
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Oh, I would love to run into Goldie Hawn. She's one terrific actor. I also like Keanu Reeves.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@hhusted I actually saw her in a nightclub in Mumbai!! she goes to India often with Deepak Chopra and the whole holistic lifestyle lot.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Oh, really, uptowngirl. I didn't know she was involved in holistic stuff. Quite interesting to say the least. That brings up an interesting point. How many of you know celebrities first hand? And if you do, are you familiar with their habits. Just curious to know.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Heath Ledger dropped into a bar where I used to work in the East Village about five years ago. In person he was very dude-next-door looking. He and his friends came in because his friends thought our hostess was insanely hot, and of course they were right.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
I once saw Nicole Kidman and daughter shopping in an Express in Soho - she looked just like you would expect.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Uma Thurman walking around near Washington Square Park. I think she lived in the area, or maybe still does. That woman is incredibly tall!
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish I love her! Though I have never found her particularly attractive, I guess you just have to appreciate Tarantino's muse.

Anyone ever accidentally found themselves on any film sets of note? Seems like I am always wandering into film sets, but never know what is actually being shot.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
Yes, I ran into film sets a couple of times. One of the assistants, I guess that is who she was, told us we weren't allowed to proceed further because they were filming a show.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps Guess this one is a matter of taste, but I think Uma Thurman has a much more beautiful face than the more bland-featured starlets around.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps Just last week opposite Bloomies on 59th and Lex but I was in too much of a rush to stop and gawk or even ask who/ what was being filmed.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
My family in Italy's pretty involved with the theatre/film scene there, so I grew up around plenty of Italian-film-world celebrities. Can't say we know any actors in the US - although I am related to two of the three stooges!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@ajdadedidealist: Which of the two stooges. I followed them for years. There was Moe, Larry, Curly, Shemp, Curly Joe (Joe DeRita), and Joe Bessar.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@ajadedidealist What an awesome claim to fame!
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Uma Thurman's pretty hot.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@DBlack Haha ha Well so long as that's now officially confirmed...
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@ajadeidealist How did you swing consanguinity with not one but two of them?
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish - two of them are cousins, I think. I have no idea how we're related - it's just a story I remember growing up hearing/being aware of.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
Uma's too boyish looking in my opinion. That's not to say she's not symmetrical, just that I never found her all that gorgeous.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
I heard that the vampire dude from the Twilight movies liked to hang out at a particular bar in the LIC...I guess that's a neighborhood that's not yet "over."
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
I always get really excited when I see people from Saturday Night Live. That show is iconic and I kept help but feeling like a school girl when I see one of the cast members.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Everyone I would love to see Chris Noth a.k.a Mr Big of SATC fame.. heard he owns a bar somewhere in NYC...
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
I would really love to see Conan O'Brien.... I miss him. Wish I was more familiar with the current cast of SNL. Maybe one day when I get a DVR.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBK LIC??? really? ? went to look at apartments there last year it just seemed so deserted..though there are tons of new condos there so I guess it will be buzzing in the years to come...
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl My source said he was hanging out there so as not to be bothered by people, which makes sense if it's deserted. They say that LIC is an up and coming place - the next Williamsburg! - but I've actually never been.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
I would really love to see Henry Wrinkler of Happy Days fame. I saw him on a street corner in the spring a few years ago, but haven't seen him since.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
LIC? As in Long Island City? I was there a couple of months ago and it is an absolute wasteland. Weird.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
@JenMac I just reread the thread here and realized you stared at Ryan Goselin...Hah! he's so lame he's not even a celebrity. Definitely not worth staring at.
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
Ryan Gosling! From the Notebook and Lars and the Real Girl. He's a total celeb and a total dreamboat!
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
Oh, okay, okay. Boy I read that too quickly, hunh? I don't even think Goselin's first name is Ryan. shows you how much I know from reality TV.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
I'm not really a huge Chris Noth fan. I like him as a big jerk in "The Good Wife" - but I hated his character, Mr. Big. Although I suppose that was more the way his character was written rather than the actor.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@BroadwayBk actually on of of our LIC adventures we did chance on a cool bar called Dutch Kills- dark,and edgy a bit like an old world speakeasy and they do great cocktails at $10 a pop...so maybe the area is still in its nascent stage..
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@JenMac: I agree with you regarding LIC. I went there a few months ago, and couldn't wait to get out. What a dump. It is ugly, disgusting looking, and so many weird looking people. They should isolate that place as the most disgusting thing about NYC.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@uptowngirl I think any neighborhood in NYC - no matter how dismal - has at least one cool place. And I'm guessing that since LIC is supposed to be bringing in the new poor artist crowd that there are cool spots popping up, even if they aren't immediately apparent.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
But by NYC logic, every dismal neighborhood is "up and coming" isn't it? Forgive me my skepticism about LIC (though they DO have PS 1...hmm...)
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
@BraodwayBK and Uraniumfish and uptowngirl Yeah Crown Heights is also supposed to be up and coming which is a nice little phrase that means depressing and dismal. Complete with exactly one cool outpost, to really give you that wild frontier feeling. And I'm wondering how long the nascent stage is supposed to last? You know what I mean? I think a lot of people around here bought buildings during the real estate boom and now have to talk up the place because they don't want to lose value on their crappy investments.
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
Haha, I never trust "up and coming" when I read it in travel guides - it invariably means "hasn't quite come yet."
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@DBlack Wow...Crown Heights is so not up and coming. Is K-Dog the cool outpost? Or is that Lefferts Gardens....

@Uraniumfish I think you are on point with that one.

Never been to LIC but have been to the up and coming Bushwick which has... what? Two bars and a lot of industrial warehouses. One of my friends that lives there keeps saying "Give it five years!" But yeah, right - where are all those people who live in all those low income housing projects going to go in five years?
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JenMac
JenMac 2yrs+
I know that Bushwick is pretty scary . . but, I kinda do think it's gonna blow up. There are a lot of really successful artists who live there now . . . .gives it a lot of street cred.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@Ajadedidealist: I agree with you. When I read "up and coming," I think the same thing you do. I wonder is it worth actually going to a place when it is 'up and coming." I hate wasting time, you know.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@Everybody I guess its the recession which has delayed the gentrification of all these neighborhoods, why a couple of years ago even Bedford -Stuyvesant was touted to be an 'up and coming' nabe as they call them..
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@JenMac I thought street cred was something you get from living in a bad neighborhood, rather than something you get from living next door to a successful artist?
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@uptowngirl I actually considered moving into a Bed-Stuy studio until I found my current place - you can't beat the prices there, even if some of the blocks are known gang hangouts.
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uptowngirl
uptowngirl 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps yes I believe it has some historic townhouses which are very affordable compared to those in other parts of Brooklyn.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@uptowngirl The neighborhood is not exactly upscale, but parts of it are really pretty. Generally if you find a really affordable neighborhood in NYC, it's best to watch your back while you're in it.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Ha, I love overhearing hipsters in Bushwick talk about how bad the neighborhood is like it makes them really cool or something. And I'm sorry, but Bushwick is not as scary as say, Brownsville. And I also prefer Bushwick over Bed-Stuy. Not saying this is the world's safest neighborhood - I have heard of people being mugged and whatnot, but it's not that bad.
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DBlack
DBlack 2yrs+
As recently as two years ago there was a major race riot in Crown Heights. It's a neighborhood populated by two unlikely groups: Lubavich Hassidic Jews, and Caribbean Blacks. Guess which group is rich and which group is predominantly in poverty? You couldn't draw a more pronounced line. And the one cool place in my hood hasn't even happened yet: it's an upscale kosher pizza place that's about to open soon. This is on the same block I routinely walk to get to the subway. What else is on that block? Typically, people just hanging around in the afternoon, because most of them don't have jobs. The word is, for this new kosher pizza joint, they brought in some ritzy chef from the Upper East Side. I'm wondering about the business sense this makes? Who from the surrounding area is going to patronize a place where a dinner entree costs $35 ? The poor people from the projects just a couple of blocks away? I'll be the first person to be glad if the restaurant succeeds, because it'll be a welcome relief for this depressing hood. But I'm seriously doubtful about it.

Right, so, Crown Heights is "up and coming."
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@DBlack Just like every other NYC neighborhood populated by poor people and being infiltrated by recent college grads and artists who can't afford to live anywhere else in this ridiculously overpriced city!
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
Ha...Bushwick is totally "up and coming." Police are out in droves on Graham Ave in the warmer months, and I just a few blocks away from such charming establishments as Conway and Rainbow.

Thought this was pretty funny: http://bushwickbk.com/2009/06/24/bushwick-declared-cool-by-tourism-magazine/
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
That's such a crazy story, @Dblack. And there's something intrinsically hilarious about $35 kosher pizza.
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
By reading each person's comments in this forum, I'm glad I live in Manhattan. Although I do share the place with someone else, it is better than living in a bad neighborhood. I would rather pay more money for an apartment, if it means living in a good neighborhood.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
@hhusted Not all neighborhoods in Brooklyn are "bad." Park Slope is quite nice, thank you.
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NeverSleeps
NeverSleeps 2yrs+
To go back to the original topic - today I saw Keith Powell - Toofer from 30 Rock - at Beacon's in Park Slope. He looked really uncomfortable...
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ajadedidealist
ajadedidealist 2yrs+
@Neversleeps - Park Slope certainly is nice. Does the stereotype of "granola moms" still hold, or is it an outdated label? I've only really started hearing about Park Slope in the past couple of years - I think I'm behind the times!
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@NeverSleeps: I never said all of Brooklyn is bad. I merely stated I would rather live in a neighborhood that is a good. When I said I'm glad I live in Manhattan, I meant I'm glad I have a safe place to live compared to some bad neighborhoods. If you live in a nice neighborhood, I am happy for you. Perhaps when I am ready to move, I'll look for nice neighborhoods in Brooklyn, and compare them to see which is the best one.
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Uraniumfish
Uraniumfish 2yrs+
I keep seeing Katherine Zeta-Jones. What the heck. Do you think she's following me?
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@Uraniumfish Is she as unbearably gorgeous in person?
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hhusted
hhusted 2yrs+
@uraniumfish: I though Katerine Zeta-Jones lived in LA? If you do see her, maybe you see her look-a-like. You never know with so many people playing that role in NYC.
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BroadwayBK
BroadwayBK 2yrs+
@hhusted She's starring in a Broadway show: http://www.nightmusiconbroadway.com/

Apparently her performance is "inspired."
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