Sea Cliff residents can take a stroll through Hollywood history—without leaving the village.
“Lights, Camera, Sea Cliff!” a new exhibit at the Sea Cliff Village Museum, showcases more than a century of film, television, and commercial shoots that have used the village as their backdrop. The exhibit debuted Sept. 26 and will remain open through March 2026.
Productions range from the 1960 gangster film “Pretty Boy Floyd,” which transformed Sea Cliff Avenue into Bowling Green, Ohio, to the 1970 Carl Reiner comedy “Where’s Papa?,” filmed at the old Sea Cliff Pinnacle Hotel.
The 1981 shoot for “Endless Love” was a local sensation, and the village has since appeared in “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 featured a damaged boat owned by Janusas’s; and “She Said” (2022), the Harvey Weinstein exposé that filmed at the Sunset Club.
TV shows such as “Mozart in the Jungle,” “The Loudest Voice” and “Kaleidoscope” have used Sea Cliff’s streets and storefronts. One of the most high-profile recent projects: a Levi’s commercial starring Beyoncé, filmed at a local café.
The exhibit features movie posters, memorabilia, and behind-the-scenes photos. A highlight is a 20-minute video compilation edited by Sea Cliff resident Dan DiPietro, showing every known scene filmed in the village.
There’s also a section dedicated to films created by local residents.
The Sea Cliff Village Museum is dedicated to preserving the history of the village. Formed in 1976 after the American bicentennial, it is chartered by the state and housed in a historic complex that also includes the Village Hall and Library.
The museum features collections of documents, photographs, artifacts, and art related to the village's unique past. To learn more or support it’s work, visit SeaCliffMuseum.org.
