With New York as the hub of the new television industry, many of those involved in this media, including performers and personalities, joined our community in year-round or summer homes. “TV Neighbors: Westport and Weston Television Performers and Personalities 1946-2003” highlights our community’s participation in television from its birth to the present with photographs, episodic stills, illustrations, costumes, early TV sets, and other TV memorabilia representing over ninety broadcasters and performers connected to our area.

The exhibition committee discovered three series that claimed Westport as their locale (although they were not filmed on location). Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (in “I Love Lucy” for anyone who has been marooned on a desert island for the past few decades) supposedly moved to Westport in the last few months of that show. “Bewitched” also claimed Westport as its fictional home. In fact, one of the possible names for the series was “The Witch of Westport!” Finally, “My World and Welcome to It” was about a fictional Westport cartoonist. Video clips of these series will be playing during the exhibit.

Tom DeLong wrote and produced the exhibit, aided by a dedicated committee including Mollie Donovan, Wally Woods, Dorothy Bryce, Cheryl Bliss, Erin Bliss, Mindy Mooney, Nancy Cash, Kim Cooper, Gordon Joseloff and Alice Shelton. This group worked for over a year to create an original show that salutes “our TV neighbors” for their accomplishments in television.

Photos from Opening of TV Neighbors Exhibit