Film & Television
overview
New York City, perhaps the most popular location ever to appear on screen, played a founding role in the burgeoning motion picture industry at the turn of the 20th century.
LGBT people have made important contributions to the fields of film and television, from experimental work and groundbreaking documentaries to independent and major studio productions.
This curated collection highlights New York residences and filming locations associated with LGBT stars and creators of film and television.
Historic Sites in Film & Television
Best remembered for his pioneering book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies, Vito Russo was also a significant gay rights and AIDS activist in the 1970s and 1980s. He lived... Learn More
Iconic movie star Katharine Hepburn owned this Turtle Bay Gardens rowhouse from 1931, a year before her breakthrough performances on Broadway and in Hollywood, until her death in 2003. The... Learn More
Actor Montgomery Clift lived here at the height of his career, from 1951 to 1959. During these years he was nominated for an Academy Award for A Place in the Sun (1951)... Learn More
Greta Garbo was one of the silver screen’s most iconic stars of the 1920s and 1930s and was also well known for being protective of her privacy. Garbo found refuge... Learn More
Legendary Black performer Ethel Waters lived in this apartment building from at least 1925 to 1927, when she was well known in Harlem’s lesbian circles. During this time, an important... Learn More
The Chelsea Hotel, the storied residence hotel on 23rd Street, has played host to a succession of countercultures throughout the 20th century, serving as a hub and inspiration for the... Learn More
Pioneering pop artist Andy Warhol lived in this house from 1960 until 1972, during the most creative period of his career. In 1974, Warhol began renting the house to his... Learn More
Three-time Grammy winner and platinum-recording artist Wendy Carlos lived in this Upper West Side rowhouse from 1969 to 1980. While here, Carlos composed the film scores for A Clockwork Orange... Learn More
Jack Doroshow, better known as the iconic drag queen Flawless Sabrina, lived in an apartment in this Upper East Side townhouse from 1967 to 2017. During this period, Doroshow/Flawless starred... Learn More
A rare surviving Harlem building that hosted drag balls, the Imperial Lodge of Elks (also referred to as the Elks Lodge) was prominently featured in the documentary Paris Is Burning (1990), which... Learn More
Richard Hunt was a prominent Muppet performer at The Jim Henson Company, working there from 1969 until shortly before his death, due to AIDS-related complications, in 1992. His first big... Learn More
Bisexual poet-filmmaker-educator Willard Maas and his wife, visual artist-filmmaker Marie Menken, resided in this building from at least 1940 to their deaths in 1971 and 1970, respectively. Founders of the... Learn More
Lyricist, actress, and producer Nancy Hamilton lived in this building from 1932 until her death in 1985; her longtime companion, noted Broadway actress Katharine Cornell, lived with her for 13... Learn More
Playwright, screenwriter, librettist, and director Arthur Laurents lived in this house, with Tom Hatcher, his partner of 52 years, from 1960 until his death in 2011. Laurents is best known... Learn More
With its inaugural broadcast in April 1994, HoMoVISIONES was the first Latino LGBT public access television program in New York City. Between 1995 and 2000, HoMoVISIONES leased an office on... Learn More