List of references to Long Island places in popular culture

Below is a list of references to Long Island locations in popular culture.

Books

• F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby takes place on the North Shore of Long Island.
• The book The Amityville Horror by Jay Anson takes place in Amityville, The sequel The Amityville Horror Part II takes place in Deer Park.
• Several books by Nelson DeMille, including Plum Island, The Gold Coast, The Charm School reference Long Island locations are take place on Long Island.
• E.L. Doctorow's novel World's Fair was set at the 1939 fair in Queens.
• Mary Gordon and Alice McDermott have written novels set in Irish-American Catholic culture of the urban and suburban areas of Long Island.
• Chang Rae-Lee set his first novel Native Speaker (1995) in the Korean-American community in Queens. His third novel Aloft was set in suburban Long Island.
• Fictional characters Joe & Frank Hardy, known as The Hardy Boys in the famous series of detective stories in both books and television, are from Bayport, Long Island.
• The book Jaws originally took place in Long Island, with Amity being a town on it rather than its own island.
• In the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series Camp Half-Blood is located on Long Island.
• The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt takes place in 1967 Long Island.
• Montauk an autobiographic novel by the Swiss author Max Frisch, retells his love to an American woman and is situated, among other locations, in Montauk.
• Spider Robinson's Callahan books are set in a bar on Long Island.
• William Gaddis's "novel of voices" J R is set largely in Massapequa.
• Sag Harbor, a novel by Colson Whitehead, is set in the Long Island town.
• Montauk Project by Preston Nichols, takes place in Montauk

Comics

• Characters in the comic book Marvel Universe from Long Island include:
  • At least three members of the superhero team the X-Men: Archangel (real name Warren Worthington and previously called Angel) is from Centerport; Iceman (real name Bobby Drake) from fictional Fort Washington (unrelated to real-world Port Washington); and Dazzler (real name Alison Blaire) from fictional Gardendale.
  • Siblings Susan Storm Richards (the Invisible Woman) and Johnny Storm (the Human Torch) of the superhero team the Fantastic Four lived in a fictional Long Island town, Glenville, early in their careers.
• In the DC Comics universe, the 1970s Teen Titans superhero team was headquartered in a Farmingdale club named Gabriel's Horn. The writer of the series, a Farmingdale native, based it upon an insurance building which he could see from his bedroom window as a boy.

Film

• Animal Crackers was set in a mansion on Long Island.
• In North by Northwest, Roger O. Thornhill is kidnapped and taken to the Long Island estate of Lester Townsend.
• The many film versions of The Great Gatsby take place on Long Island.
• The documentary Grey Gardens took place in East Hampton.
• In Annie Hall, Woody Allen's character remarks to Diane Keaton's character on seeing a pair of gay men walking hand-in-hand: "Oh look, they're on vacation from Fire Island."
• In The Godfather, the Corleone family live in Long Beach.
• The film series The Amityville Horror takes place in the town of Amityville, in the 2005 remake the Lutz family lived in Deer Park before moving to Amityville.
• In Goodfellas, Henry Hill's future wife, Karen, is from the Five Towns.
• In Pretty Woman, Edward Lewis says he has a home on Long Island.
• Amongst Friends takes place in Five Towns in Nassau County.
• The Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon opens with a scene of Jim Carrey who plays Andy narrating his story to the audience which he says begins "In Great Neck, Long Island..." (where Kaufman grew up.)
• In Private Parts, Howard Stern reminisces about growing up in Roosevelt.
• In Big Daddy, Sonny Koufax (played by Adam Sandler) said "I went to Jones Beach got drunk and went to sleep."
• Final Destination takes place on Long Island. In Final Destination 2, a MapQuest image is shown of the area around Stony Brook University Hospital.
• A scene in Pearl Harbor is set at Mitchel Air Force Base.
• L.I.E. takes place on Long Island.
• City by the Sea is set in Long Beach.
• In Mr. Deeds, Babe Bennett (played by Winona Ryder) says shes from Syosset, New York.
• Something's Gotta Give takes place in The Hamptons.
• White Chicks takes place in The Hamptons.
• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind takes place on Long Island, specifically in Rockville Centre and Montauk.
• New York Minute has characters who attend Syosset High School.
• In Hatchet one of the characters said they went to Hofstra University.
• In What Happens in Vegas, Joy (played by Cameron Diaz) retreats to Fire Island.
• Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet takes place around the Kings Park Psychiatric Center.
• In Something Borrowed the gang goes out to The Hamptons.
• Tyler Perry Presents Peeples takes place in Sag Harbor.
• At the end of The Conjuring, Ed and Lorraine Warren are told that they have to investigate a house on Long Island.
• In The Wolf of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort had a home on Long Island.
• In American Hustle, Irving Rosenfeld and Sydney Prosser met at a pool party on Long Island.
• In Soapdish, Montana Mooorehead is outed as originally being "Milton Moorehead, from Syosset, Long Island".

Television

• In an episode of I Love Lucy, the Ricardos are visited by Tennessee Ernie Ford who gets lost on Long Island and needs to walk home to the Ricardos' apartment in Manhattan.
• In an episode of All in the Family, Archie tells Edith that a bowling team he hopes to join has an annual banquet at the American Legion hall in Mineola.
• Growing Pains takes place in Huntington.
• The TV movie The Long Island Incident takes place on Long Island.
• On Seinfeld, George Costanza is from Long Island, and in an episode the characters get lost in a parking garage in a mall in Lynbrook.
• In an episode of NYPD Blue, the detectives rescue a kidnap victim held at an abandoned military base in Suffolk County.
• On Friends, it is referenced that Monica, Ross, and Rachel grew up on Long Island and Phoebe's birth mom lives in Montauk.
• Everybody Loves Raymond takes place in Lynbrook.
• On The King of Queens, it is referenced that Doug Heffernan briefly went to Nassau Community College and dropped out after 8 days and that he also work as a security guard at Nassau Coliseum.
• In an episode of The Simpsons, Marge gets drunk off of a Long Island Iced Tea and says "I'd like to visit that Long Island place, if only it were real."
• In an episode of Everybody Hates Chris, Chris and his brother Drew skip school to go to Long Island to try and meet Wayne Gretzky.
• On Drawn Together there is a recurring character known as Steve from Long Island.
• In an episode of Futurama, Mom's henchman Walt proclaims to the Professor, "The robots have taken Suffolk County!"
• In an episode of Family Guy, Stewie's acting teacher said his act "was like Fire Island after Labour Day: over." In another episode a cut away gag shows a clip from the fictional movie "Jaws 5: Fire Island."
• In an episode of American Dad!, a bartender tells Stan that he got a drink idea while he was bar tending on Fire Island.
• In an episode of CSI: NY, Danny and Lindsay investigate a mass murder at the Amityville Horror house.
• In an episode of Ugly Betty, it is revealed that Wilhelmina's sister went to Stony Brook University and burned down one of the buildings.
• Royal Pains takes place in The Hamptons and the mansion scenes are shot at Oheka Castle in Huntington.
• On Necessary Roughness, the main character, Dani Santino, lives and works as a therapist on Long Island
• On Castle, Richard Castle's favorite vacation spot is The Hamptons.
• The HBO film Grey Gardens takes place in East Hampton.
• Revenge takes place in The Hamptons as well as Montauk.
• In an episode of South Park, Funnybot makes a joke asking "Does everyone in LONG ISLAND have hair that looks like PUSSY you DIPSHIT?”
• In an episode of Glee, Kurt suggests Adelphi University as a potential college for Finn.
• The 3rd episode of the 5th Season of Criminal Minds takes place in Commack.
• On How I Met Your Mother, Lily and Marshall, temporarily move to Long Island, in another episode, Ted and Barney take the late train on the Long Island Rail Road to try and pick up women, and the final season takes place on Long Island in a fictional town called Farhampton.
• On New Girl, Schmidt is from Long Island.
• In an episode of the Wonder Pets, the Wonder Pets visit Long Island to potty-train a puppy.
• In the HBO film The Normal Heart, Ned Weeks goes to Fire Island to celebrate his friend's birthday.
• On Once Upon a Time, Cruella de Vil lives in Great Neck.
• The AMC revolutionary war drama Turn: Washington's Spies takes place in Setauket.

Reality shows

• On an episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition they fixed up a home on Long Island.
• In an episode of the MTV show Rich Girls the girls spend a weekend in The Hamptons.
• The A&E reality series Growing Up Gotti took place on Long Island.
• The MTV documentary series True Life had an episode called True Life: I'm Hustling in The Hamptons.
• The MTV show Engaged and Underage had a couple from Montauk on it.
• The Real Housewives of New York City had scenes shot around The Hamptons where some of the ladies had beach homes.
• The E! reality show Living Lohan was shot around Merrick and other places on Long Island.
• Some scenes on Jersey Shore were shot at JWoww's Long Island home.
• The A&E reality show Growing Up Twisted took place on Long Island.
• The TLC show Long Island Medium takes place in many locations on Long Island.
• The Bravo show Princesses: Long Island takes place in many locations on Long Island.
• The Bravo show Newlyweds: The First Year had a couple from Long Island on it.
• An episode of Celebrity Wife Swap featured Dee Snider on Long Island as well as Long Island native Flavor Flav
• Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons takes place in The Hamptons.

Stage

• Irving Berlin composed and produced a musical revue entitled Yip Yip Yaphank while he was stationed at Camp Upton there during World War I.
• In the Broadway musical RENT, Maureen Johnson is said to be from Hicksville.
• The musical Grey Gardens takes place in East Hampton.

Music

• Billy Joel, a Long Island native, is strongly associated with Long Island, and has made frequent references to its places and culture in his songs. His 1971 solo debut album was titled "Cold Spring Harbor" .His song "The Ballad of Billy The Kid" features the line From a town known as Oyster Bay, Long Island. The hit song "The Downeaster Alexa" is written about fishermen primarily on Long Island who struggle to make a living, and mentions Montauk and Gardiner's Bay. In "It's Still Rock and Roll to Me", he asks "Are you gonna cruise The Miracle Mile?", presumably a reference to the well-known shopping (and teen hangout) area along Northern Boulevard in Manhasset. In "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", Joel references hanging out "on the Village Green," widely interpreted as a reference to the West Village Green area on Newbridge Road in Hicksville, a short distance from the high school that Joel attended.
• The song "Soul Power" off the 2002 album Iron Flag by Wu-Tang Clan features dialogue at the end by Method Man and Long Island-native Flavor Flav of Public Enemy that mentions Westbury, Freeport, Roosevelt, Hempstead, New Castle Park, and Hundread Terrace Avenues
• Throughout his career in numerous songs, rapper YelloJaket mentions hometown Westbury and neighboring towns such as Levittown, Salisbury, Garden City, Hempstead, and even mentions the East Meadow School District with W.T. Clarke Middle School. Along with his hometown, specific places such as Jones Beach and Eisenhower Park are also mentioned.
• Several songs by the band Brand New include references to the Island. For example, in the song "Play Crack the Sky," one lyric is, "Four months of calm seas To be pounded in the shallows Off the tip of Montauk Point."
• The band Straylight Run also references the island, such as in the song "Your Name Here (Sunrise Highway)," which references Long Island's own Sunrise Highway, and Carmen's Road: Go east on Sunrise Highway, Turn left at Carman's Avenue, Go right at the first stoplight, And I'll be outside waiting for you, Oh, I'll be waiting for you."
• Hardcore group Silent Majority's song "And They Loved It To Death" off the album You Would Love To Know EP features the lines Head up to the North Shore with Huntington girls and Head down to the South Shore with Babylon girls. The album also features a song entitled "Amityville Horror". The song "Polar Bear Club" off the album Life of a Spectator also features the line I pray that we're still friends, in the sand at Gilgo Beach, which is located in Babylon.
• The 2005 album No Matter Where We Go...! by Latterman features the song "Fear & Loathing On Long Island"
• The 2003 album Welcome Interstate Managers by Fountains of Wayne features the song "Fire Island."
• Public Enemy's hit "Rebel Without A Pause" features the line Strong Island, where I got 'em wild and that's the reason they're claiming that I'm violent
• The song "Vibes & Stuff" off the classic album ...The Low End Theory by A Tribe Called Quest features the lines Found my thrill in Amityville, I'm always in the Island. Fudge and Luckey know the deal, they know who keeps me smiling and ...all the people in Long Island, we got the vibes. The song "We Got The Jazz" also features the line: Make sure you have a system with some phat house speakers. So the new shit can rock from Mars to Massapequa. Cause where I come from quality is job one. And everybody up on Linden know we get the job done.
• De La Soul's album Stakes Is High features the songs "Long Island Degrees" and "Wonce Again Long Island" which references many different towns (specifically "East Mass" (E. Massapequa), Amityville, Wyandanch, Bayshore, "C.I." (Central Islip), Brentwood, Hempstead, Roosevelt, Freeport, Uniondale, Long Beach, and Huntington) and aspects of Long Island.
• Beirut's 2007 EP is called Lon Gisland.
• Bayside also references Long Island in their song titled "Montauk" with the line meet me in, Montauk which is based on the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"
• Circa Survive also references the movie with their song entitled "Meet me in Montauk" written and performed by Anthony Green
• Dogbowl and Kramer's 1994 album "Hot Day in Waco" contains the song "Tarantula" which contains the line "I was dreaming of that Central Islip field behind the school."
• Wyandanch native Rakim's 1999 album "The Master" contains the song "Strong Island" which references Long Island throughout the song. The chorus repeats the line "Rough enough to break New York from Long Island"
• In "Hard Candy" by Counting Crows the lyrics include "In the evenings on Long Island" and describe time spent on Long Island beaches
• The Rolling Stones song "Memory Motel" is based on the motel in Montauk which the band spent time at while visiting Andy Warhol.
• The Movielife references the Long Island Sound in the song "Ship to Shore" off their 2003 album Forty Hour Train Back to Penn.
• Ron Pope's song "Seven English Girls" Long Island is referenced in the line, "we had our summer on Long Island.. now there's wounds that never heal"
• Lana Del Rey's song "National Anthem" references Long Island's Hamptons with the lyric "Take me to the Hamptons"
• Halsey's song "New Americana" references The Hamptons on Long Island with the lyric "They're Monaco and Hamptons bound but we don't feel like outsiders at all."

See also

• List of films shot on Long Island
• Montauk, New York in popular culture