old timer FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com OCTOBER 6, 2016 • TIMES 23 The residents of Spotlight on Woodhaven’s If you have any memories and photos that you’d like to share about “Our Neighborhood: The Way it Was,” write to The Old Timer, c/o Ridgewood Times, 62-70 Fresh Pond Rd., Ridgewood, NY 11385, or send an email to [email protected]. All mailed pictures will be carefully returned upon request. Woodhaven are excited this week with the arrival of films crews making the brandnew Spider-Man film. Star Tom Holland was seen practicing flips and jumps on the football field of Franklin K. Lane, which appears to be doubling as Spider-Man alter-ego Peter Parker’s high school. For the younger residents who were lucky enough to see some of the action, it’s an experience they’ll remember for many years to come. We know that because older residents today still look back fondly at some of the other films and television shows that have used Woodhaven as a backdrop. One of the more beloved productions filmed here in Woodhaven was “ Q u e e n of the S t a r d u s t Ballroom,” a television movie starring Maureen Stapleton as Bea, a lonely widow who lives on Forest Parkway and runs a small thrift shop on Jamaica Avenue. She’s encouraged by a friend, who tries to help her get out and enjoy life a little more by taking her to the Stardust Ballroom to go dancing. There she meets Al, played by Charles Durning, who asks her to dance. That begins a little romance between the two and it turns Bea’s outlook on life around. Of course, being a movie, things aren’t as straightforward as they seem. Stapleton and Durning were nominated for Emmy awards for their outstanding performances, two of the 11 nominations the film would receive. It ended up winning two Emmys: one for Outstanding Achievement in Choreography and another for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for a Special. Those watching the film will be treated to several glimpses of Woodhaven circa 1974, when it was filmed. For example, you’ll see the post office and you’ll see the long-since-removed steps to the elevated train on Forest Parkway. It was July 17, 1974, when the production filmed here in Woodhaven, and the shoot lasted a little over 12 hours. I remember a classmate telling me how he and his brother stayed out late, watching the shoot. He told me how he’d gotten Stapleton’s autograph and how weird it was to see a bus on Forest Parkway. I was so very jealous that I’d missed it. Ten years later, Hollywood returned to Woodhaven to film scenes f o r 1984’s “The Flamingo Kid” starring Matt Dillon, Hector Elizondo and Richard Crenna. The coming of-age story was set in 1963 and director Garry Marshall, himself a native New Yorker, chose Woodhaven as a stand-in for Brooklyn in some scenes. The film’s set decorators adorned the stores and buildings with some period dressing. The Associated Supermarket on Jamaica Avenue opposite 96th Street (today it’s a Rent-ACenter) had signs up advertising pot roast at 59 cents a pound and a bakery special, apple pies, at 45 cents apiece. Also, a vintage ad for Coppertone, featuring a 3-year-old child with a playful puppy tugging at her briefs, was hung on a building. One of the more famous film shoots in Woodhaven took place in July of 1989 when director Martin Scorsese came to town to shoot “Goodfellas.” The classic gangster film starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta was based on the non-fiction book “Wiseguy” by Nicholas Pileggi. The film tells the story of a young gangster named Henry Hill and his involvement in the infamous Lufthansa heist at John F. Kennedy International Airport in December 1978. Neir’s Tavern o n 78th Street in Woodhaven served as the gang’s favorite watering hole and was the location of the famous Christmas Party scene where they gathered in the immediate aftermath of the heist. “People come here all the time and stand at the corner of the bar, where Robert De Niro stood smoking his cigarette in that famous scene,” said Loy Gordon, owner of Neir’s Tavern. “They take out their smartphones and watch the scene from the fi lm and look around to see exactly where the actors were standing!” The scenes, most of which took place at Christmas, were fi lmed in the middle of an explosive heatwave. As a result, fake snow was brought in to cover the sidewalk outside the bar. However, fake snow wasn’t needed in January 2011 when Hollywood returned to Neir’s to fi lm scenes from “Tower Heist.” Stars Ben Stiller and Téa Leoni fi lmed scenes inside, while residents of Woodhaven were digging out from a massive blizzard outside. At the time of fi lming, very few streets were manageable, and the crew had to dig out their trucks to get to the equipment. A few other productions have come to Woodhaven in recent years. Scenes from “Morning Glory” starring Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton were fi lmed along Park Lane South and 94th Street, and scenes from “Run All Night” starring Liam Neeson and Ed Harris were fi led at Mike’s Pub, on 80th Street and Jamaica Avenue. Here’s an i n t e r e s t i n g Wo o d h a v e n historical note about “Run All Night”: Mike’s Pub was renamed “The Old A b b e y ” during the s h o o t ; N e i r ’ s T a v e r n was named “The Old Abbey” in 1835 and stayed that way until it was purchased by Louis Neir in 1898. And fi nally, one of the other more notable Woodhaven fi lm shoots took place in the fall of 2010 when “The Sitter” starring Jonah Hill fi lmed scenes in Forest Park. What was notable about this shoot was that it included close-ups of the Forest Park Carousel, which was shuttered at the time. Residents who visited the set were treated to the fi rst glimpse anyone had had of the historic ride since it closed its gates in 2008. Since then, the carousel has reopened and, under the guidance of New York Carousel, has fl ourished and in 2013 was designated a New York City Landmark. However, all scenes fi lmed on the Forest Park Carousel itself ended up on the cutting room fl oor. That’s show business for you! lm histor y
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