Numerous Actors, TV Shows Give Westchester Big Presence On Small Screen

Rob Petrie and Laurie Petrie (Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore) called New Rochelle home on "The Dick Van Dyke Show," living at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road. Creator Carl Reiner grew up on Bonnie Meadow Road. The show aired on CBS-TV from 1961 to 1966.

One of the stars of Mary Tyler Moore's 1970s CBS sitcom, "The Mary Tyler Moore Show," Gavin MacLeod, grew up in Pleasantville as the son of a gas-station owner. MacLeod went on to star on ABC-TV's "Love Boat."

In 1972, the situation comedy "Maude" was spun off by CBS-TV from the No. 1-rated "All in the Family." The title character, played by Bea Arthur, lived with her fourth husband (played by Bill Macy) in Tuckahoe and often got involved in municipal affairs. The opening sequenced showed the drive from New York City to her Tuckahoe home. 

The 1980s brought "The Facts of Life," an NBC-TV sitcom which was set at a fictional all girls school in Peekskill, though the exterior shots of the school were of Pomona College in California. The school was modeled after St. Mary's School in Peekskill.

Recently, "Mad Men" and "Suburgatory" have put Westchester in the spotlight. Don Draper and his wife, Betty, originally live at 42 Bullet Park Road in Ossining, with Betty getting involved in civic issues. Norman Macdonald, president of the Ossining Historical Society, was a consultant for the show. Later, Betty remarries and moves to Rye.

The ABC-TV sitcom "Suburgatory," which aired from the fall of 2011 to spring of 2014, was set in the fictional Chatswin, but did not hide the fact that it was set in southern Westchester. The show spoofed the culture of affluent Westchester and made references to Chappaqua, the Hutchinson River Parkway and Yonkers. The show's zip code was 10805, the zip code for New Rochelle.

Westchester residents have also done well on TV. North Salem's David Letterman hosted a late night talk show for 32 years, while Matt Lauer, who lived in North Salem and grew up in Hartsdale, anchors NBC's "Today with weatherman Al Roker, who used to live in Yorktown. Bryant Gumbel, a former Waccabuc resident, also anchored "Today."

Owning property in Bedford seems to be the qualification for hosting "The Apprentice." Martha Stewart, who lives in Katonah and Donald Trump, who owns property in Bedford, both hosted the NBC reality show.

Pound Ridge was home to sportscaster Howard Cosell, who was known for his friendship with Muhammad Ali and his years as an announcer on ABC's "Monday Night Football." 

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