TBS Series, Indie Film Use Historic Mansion as Location
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum, like many historic and picturesque locations on Long Island, has benefited from the rising level of television and film production that uses regional locations as backdrops.
William K. Vanderbilt II’s 43-acre Eagle’s Nest waterfront estate and 24-room Spanish-Revival mansion is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In the past few years, the Vanderbilt has been selected as a location for a television series, an independent mystery film, and major fashion and cosmetic shoots.
(Photo: At the 24th annual Hamptons International Film Festival, from left, Lance Reinheimer of the Vanderbilt Museum, Dianna Cherryholmes of the Suffolk County Office of Film and Cultural Affairs, and Patrick Askin, producer, writer and actor.)
Lance Reinheimer, executive director of the Vanderbilt, said, “We’re excited that television and film directors, fashion magazines and cosmetics companies continue to discover the natural beauty, historic elegance and economic convenience of Long Island as a world-class backdrop within easy reach of New York City.
“We’re also pleased that William K. Vanderbilt II’s spectacular estate and mansion have distinctive architecture, a waterfront setting and a visual magic that can stand in for many places in the world.”
An independent film-production company used the mansion and estate grounds recently for scenes in its mystery-romance Nick and Nicky, based on the screwball comedies of the 1930’s. Actor Patrick Askin, who wrote the script and plays one of the lead characters, is also producing the movie, scheduled for release in 2017.
Askin joined Reinheimer and Diana Cherryholmes, director of the Suffolk County Office of Film and Cultural Affairs, at a recent reception in East Hampton, N.Y., hosted by the Suffolk County Film Commission during the 24th annual Hamptons International Film Festival.
In September, producers of a major television series for the TBS network shot for several days in and around the Vanderbilt mansion. The grand house is the centerpiece of the museum complex and home to six of Mr. Vanderbilt’s natural-history, marine-life and cultural-artifact galleries, and wild animal-habitat dioramas. The series episode will air in 2017.
Previously, Avon completed an extensive cosmetics shoot that included transforming the Spanish architecture of the mansion and courtyard into an outdoor Mediterranean restaurant and evening street scene. Harper’s Bazaar posed actress Kate Hudson against various evocative Vanderbilt backdrops for a magazine fashion shoot.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
MUSEUM AND PLANETARIUM INFORMATION
Hours – Museum and Mansion
September 5 – October 31: Tuesday and Friday at 2:00, and Saturday and Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00. (The Museum and Mansion are closed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.) Planetarium open Friday and Saturday nights.
Hours – Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium
September 5 – October 31: Daytime shows Tuesday and Friday at 2:00, and Saturday and Sunday at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00. Evening shows on Friday and Saturday at 8:00, 9:00 and 10:00. (The Planetarium is closed Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.)
Planetarium Schedule – Fall 2016
September 30 – October 30
Friday Nights
8:00 – Long Island Skies
9:00 – Haunted Skies – Back for Halloween
10:00 – Pink Floyd: The Wall – NEW LASER SHOW!
Saturday Nights
8:00 – Night Sky, Live!
9:00 – Haunted Skies – Back for Halloween
10:00 – Pink Floyd: The Wall – NEW LASER SHOW!
Saturday and Sunday Afternoons and School Holidays
12:00 – One World, One Sky
1:00 – Earth, Moon, and Sun
2:00 – Stars: Powerhouses of the Universe
3:00 – Haunted Skies – Back for Halloween
4:00 – Fright Light – NEW HALLOWEEN LASER SHOW!
Tuesday and Friday Afternoons
2:00 – Haunted Skies – Back for Halloween
Observatory
Year-round viewing of the night sky (weather permitting), Friday only, 9:00-10:00 (free with show ticket; $3.00 without show ticket)
Museum Admission
General museum admission is $7 for adults, $6 for students with ID and seniors (62 and older), and $3 for children 12 and under. General admission includes estate-grounds access to the Marine Museum, Memorial Wing natural-history and ethnographic-artifact galleries, Nursery Wing, Habitat Room, Egyptian mummy and Stoll Wing animal-habitat dioramas. For a mansion tour, add $5 per ticket. (A video tour of the mansion is available on request.)
Mansion Tours
Guided tours of the Vanderbilt Mansion — listed on the National Register of Historic Places — are available Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00.
Planetarium Admission
During the day, visitors to the Planetarium pay general museum admission ($7 for adults, $6 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $3 for children 12 and under), plus $5 each for a Planetarium show. Since the museum is closed in the evening, no general museum admission is charged — visitors pay only for Planetarium show tickets: $9 for adults, $8 for students with IDs and seniors 62 and older, and $7 for children 12 and under.
Vanderbilt Observatory
Night-sky viewing on Friday (weather permitting), 9:00-10:00 p.m. Observation is free to visitors with a planetarium show ticket, $3.00 for those without a show ticket.
Location and Website
The Vanderbilt Museum is located at 180 Little Neck Road, Centerport, NY. Directions and updated details on programs and events are available at www.vanderbiltmuseum.org. For information, call 631-854-5579.
Images
Available upon request. Call Patrick Keeffe at 631-854-5562.
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum
The Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum — a unique combination of mansion, marine and natural history museum, planetarium and park — is dedicated to the education and enjoyment of the people of Long Island and beyond. This mission is achieved through the thoughtful preservation, interpretation and enhancement of the Eagle’s Nest estate as an informal educational facility. Many exhibition and program themes focus upon Long Island’s Gold Coast Era. Programs also concentrate on William K. Vanderbilt II’s desire that his marine, natural history and ethnographic collections promote appreciation and understanding of the marvelous diversity of life, other cultures, and scientific knowledge. Planetarium programming, more specifically, focuses on scientific knowledge and seeks to capture Mr. Vanderbilt’s sense of adventure and exploration through state-of-the-art entertainment.
###