The Sea Cliff Village Museum is rolling out the red carpet on Sept. 26 for the opening of its newest exhibit, Lights, Camera, Sea Cliff!, a celebration of the village’s history as a backdrop for movies, television shows and commercials spanning more than a century.
The exhibit will debut with a Hollywood-style fundraiser complete with spotlights, music, movie candy, popcorn and even “paparazzi.” The evening will feature raffles, including a poster from the Barbie movie and a “Weird Barbie” doll signed by Sea Cliff native and Saturday Night Live star Kate McKinnon.
Kristine Janusas, president of the Friends of the Sea Cliff Village Museum, said the project has been in the works for more than two years. Courtney Chambers, the museum’s director, said Sea Cliff’s film history stretches back to the silent era.
“Sea Cliff has actually been a filming location since 1918 when the silent film star Mabel Normand shot a scene from ‘A Perfect 36’ here in Sea Cliff,” Chambers said. “So that movie, ‘A Perfect 36,’ is actually considered lost. The way that those films were made, they just have deteriorated over time, and there are no known copies remaining.”
Over the decades, Sea Cliff has appeared in productions ranging from the 1960 gangster film “Pretty Boy Floyd,” which turned Sea Cliff Avenue into Bowling Green, Ohio, to the 1970 Carl Reiner comedy “Where’s Papa?,” filmed at the old Sea Cliff Pinnacle Hotel.
For many local residents, the 1981 filming of Endless Love was a major event.
“It was a big deal,” Chambers said. “You know, you talk to people who were teenagers, then they all would go and try to stand outside 140 Glen Lawn Avenue to catch a glimpse of Brooke Shields.”
Other notable productions include “Infinity” (1996), Matthew Broderick’s only directorial work; “The Door on the Floor” (2004) starring Kim Basinger and Jeff Bridges; Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman” (2019), which used a damaged boat owned by Janusas’ for an explosive scene; and the recent Harvey Weinstein exposé “She Said” (2022), which filmed a scene at the Sunset Club.
Television shows such as “Mozart in the Jungle,” “The Loudest Voice” and “Kaleidoscope” have also used the village as a backdrop, while the most recent high-profile project was Beyoncé’s Levi’s commercial, filmed at a local café. The exhibit will showcase posters, memorabilia, and photographs of films shot in the village. One highlight is a 20-minute video compilation created by resident Dan DiPietro, which pieces together clips of every known Sea Cliff scene from film and television.
“Dan has done an amazing job, where he's taken every movie and you see the main title, and then he cuts to the actual scene that's filmed at Sea Cliff,” Janusas said. “He compiled all those movies and TV shows together, and we'll have this running in the exhibit.”
Visitors will be able to compare “then and now” images, with screen grabs paired against modern photos of the same locations, showing how little some parts of Sea Cliff changed.
Physical artifacts are scarce according to Chambers, but notable items include a thank-you note written by Bette Davis after filming the 1981 television movie Family Reunion at a local restaurant, and the Ruth Bader Ginsburg robe worn by McKinnon on Saturday Night Live, loaned directly from the show.
In addition to Hollywood productions, the museum has set aside a section for films created by Sea Cliff residents.
“We're going to have a little section of local movies,” Janusas said. “Anyone who's done a little local Sea Cliff movie that will be featured in a section of the museum.”
Other local projects include DiPietro’s “Less Than Angels” and filmmaker and actress Brianna Lee’s “The Troll,” which was recently shot in the village.
Friday’s premiere event doubles as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Sea Cliff Village Museum, with a suggested donation of $30. Proceeds will go toward items not covered in the museum’s regular budget, such as display cases and technology to support future exhibits.
The party will feature live music, refreshments, a boxed cocktail called “Box Office Buzz,” and raffle prizes signed by celebrities with Sea Cliff roots. “There’s going to be a red carpet that you will enter through. There’ll be some spotlights. We’ll have a popcorn machine and movie candy, and some fake paparazzi will be there,” Janusas said. “It’s just going to be fun, and we’re going to try to make it as movie premiere-like possible.”
For Chambers, the exhibit is not just about entertainment, but also about documenting how the village has appeared through the lens of filmmakers across time. “From a historical perspective, I love this exhibit because it's really fun to see Sea Cliff captured in these moments of time on screen,” she said. “That's really special from a historical point of view.”
The exhibit will remain on display through March 2026. “I think people don't realize what has occurred in our town,” Janusas said. “No one will ever have imagined that all these movies were made in Sea Cliff. I think they'll find that very interesting… It's like we're this little version of Hollywood.”
The fundraiser will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Friday. To donate to the museum and learn more about the work they do, visit SeaCliffMuseum.org.
