Hampton Habitués

Good News Gossip About Our Notable Friends And Neighbors

We wait all year for the summer. And then, just like wild waves on the beach, the season comes crashing in and then sweeps out just as fast. How is it already August? 

My life
If you haven’t already seen Billy Joel: And So It Goes, stop everything and tune in to HBO Max asap. Now screening, the original two-part documentary is riveting!

This intimate inside look at the Sag Harbor-based musical legend’s life provides unprecedented access to him personally, and including never-before-seen performances, home movies, personal photographs, and so many major players. Directed by Sag Harbor-based Susan Lacey, it also includes Jon Small, ex-wife and former manager Elizabeth Weber, East End-based ex-wives Christie Brinkley and Katie Lee, daughter Alexa Ray Joel, current wife Alexis Roderick Joel, members of his band, and musical contemporaries, such as Bruce Springsteen, Sting, John Mellencamp, Nas, Pink, Garth Brooks, Paul McCartney, and more. Wow!

Drawing a line between Joel’s life and art, the film reveals how music transformed his career, sculpted his legacy, and kept him alive.

“Everything I’ve done and everything I’ve lived through, has somehow found its way into my music,” Joel says in the documentary.  “I think music saved my life. It gave me a reason to live.”

Age of Innocence?
Fans of period drama are surely over the moon now that The Gilded Age has returned to the small screen for a third season. We sure are! 

The Emmy nominated original series from Julian Fellowes, and starring Montauk’s Cynthia Nixon, is currently streaming on HBO Max. Set during a time of immense economic and social change, the period drama is absolutely stacked with enormous talent, including: Nixon, Carrie Coon, Christine Baranski, Morgan Spector, Louisa Jacobson, Denée Benton, Taissa Farmiga, Andrea Martin, Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Leslie Uggams, Merritt Wever, Phylicia Rashad and Amagansett’s Nathan Lane, this drama series is definitely one to watch. 

Threepeat
Big ups to The White Lotus, which received 24 Emmy nominations for HBO. Never one to disappoint, the latest season, set in Thailand, and with scenes filmed in East Hampton, featured fractured finances, murderous mayhem, revenge, and all sorts of other tumult. Our favorite watch topics.

And yes, Amagansett’s own Sam Nivola shines in this season of the ever-evolving multi-cast series. Season three also features standouts: Parker Posey, Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb, Jason Isaacs, Sam Rockwell, Walton Goggins, Natasha Rothwell, Scott Glenn and Hamptons habitue Michelle Monaghan. 

Memoir Movie Magic
Congratulations to East Hampton’s Mariska Hargitay, whose directorial debut, My Mom Jayne, has been winning everyone over – from Canne, Tribeca and the Hamptons Summer Docs film festivals, to us regular folk. 

The HBO Original documentary shares the story of Hargitay and her mom, Jayne Mansfield, who died tragically when her Emmy-winning actress daughter was only three years old. The film shares loads of intimate interviews, an extensive collection of never-before-seen photos and home movies, and Hargitay, as she grapples with her mother’s complicated public and private legacy. Grab some tissues and enjoy smiling through the tears. It’s a good story, wonderfully told. 

Reading Material
It’s not August without Authors Night, and this year’s event is even more special than ever. The 21st annual fundraiser for the East Hampton Library will feature more familiar East End-based bold-faced names than we’ve ever seen before, including: Christie Brinkley (Uptown Girl: A Memoir), Southampton’s Sean Avery and Lesley Cohen (Summer Skate), Amagansett’s Hilaria Baldwin (Manual Not Included), Bridgehampton’s Alex Guarneschelli (Italian American Forever), and East Hampton’s Jessica Seinfeld (Not Too Sweet). 

But that’s not all, other East Enders and Hampton-based books in the mix include: Gina Bradley, Helen Harrison, Erica-Lynn Huberty, Lola Kirke, Stewart Lane, Jaime Lopez and Coco Myers, Setha Low, Susan Morrison, Wilbur Ross, Marshall Watson, Chris Whipple, Peter Wolfe, Tom Clavin, Monte Farber and Amy Zerner, and James Patterson and Mike Lupica. Looks like we need to clear off our bedside table to make room for more reading.

Last But Not Least
Hurrah to East Hampton’s Harris Yulin, who recently appeared as Harry’s father on season three of And Just Like That on Max. Make sure to watch all the episodes, as there’s a David Eigenberg spotting, and even visiting Owning Manhattan’s real estate superstar Ryan Serhant makes some special guest appearances. Fabulous fun!