Who are the actors and athletes living in our midsts? Here are this year’s reveals.
Mary Stuart Masterson
She’s not just a local; actor Mary Stuart Masterson is a local who cares about bringing women, minorities and veterans into the film industry and breaking barriers as she did portraying Idgie in Fried Green Tomatoes—and for this writer, her portrayal of drummer Watts in Some Kind Of Wonderful really butters my popcorn. She pays it forward as the founder of Stockade Works, a Hudson Valley-based local crew training and mentorship program and Upriver Studios, a woman-led sustainable production facility in the Hudson Valley, which opened in 2020.
When asked what people get wrong about her, the star of Chances Are as well as Benny And Joon answers succinctly: “They think that I’m super organized and buttoned up,” Masterson says. “The truth is, on most days, I’m living my life like a finger painting.”
Oh, also when she had to pose for a glamorama photo at an event in Kingston, NY, Masterson spit out her chewing gum in my hand. Baller!
—Abbe Aronson
Eric Williams
A former standout NBA player—most notably his many years as a member of the storied Boston Celtics—Eric Williams brings his wealth of knowledge in health and nutrition
to both Copake, NY-based Empire Farm and FarmOn! Foundation which he co-owns with his wife, Tessa E. Williams. Williams often invites his NBA pals to participate in some of the foundation’s many activities on the bucolic farm. “We try to do creative, engaging and fun things, because having fun is important too,” Williams says.
—Richard Pérez-Feria
Karen Allen
The legendary star of stage and screen, Karen Allen is also a local cornerstone at the Berkshire Film Festival, Berkshire Theater Festival and Bard College at Simon’s Rock. Two decades ago, she opened Karen Allen Fiber Arts, where she sells her own knitwear line, in Great Barrington, MA. An FIT graduate long before Allen became an actor, she changed her tune when she saw Jerzy Grotowski’s Laboratory Theater perform, and she knew then whatever she had just seen, she wanted to be a part of it. “What I love about the Berkshires is that it’s encouraging and supportive of people who are creative and trying to make something happen,” Allen says. “And I hope it stays that way.”
—Sarah Carpenter-Peck
James Schamus
Acclaimed film producer, screenwriter—and Crandell Theatre board member—James Schamus is known for his collaborations with director Ang Lee on films Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. A key figure in independent cinema, he continues to shape the industry while maintaining deep ties to Upstate New York and the Hudson Valley.
“Looking back over decades of work with filmmakers around the world, I’ve come to realize how much of its meaning for me comes from sharing it at Chatham’s Crandell Theatre,” Schamus says. “Cinema may be a global business, but it’s the way our local community gathers and grows around the images we make that stays with me as time goes by. And not even as time goes by. Just recently, I was thrilled to share a sneak preview of the latest film I co-wrote and produced, Andrew Ahn’s The Wedding Banquet, at PS21, the Crandell’s off-site screening partner during the ongoing renovation. It’s a reimagining of a movie I helped Ang Lee make three decades ago.”
—James Long
Melissa Gilbert & Timothy Busfield
“We love our neighbors, and I’m much happier here than I ever was in Hollywood,” says Highland Lake, NY, resident and actor Melissa Gilbert (pictured at top with her husband), whose breakout role as Laura on the legendary television show, Little House On The Prairie, propelled her into a lifelong acting career.
“I love the clean air of the Hudson Valley, the smell of the lakes, the colors of the trees, the beautiful change of seasons,” says Gilbert, who now shares a rustic cottage on 14 acres with husband, fellow actor, writer and director, Timothy Busfield, whose own career soared with his Emmy-award winning turn on the era-defining TV show, thirtysomething.
“The woods and wildlife are constantly trying to take back our property,” Gilbert says. “That’s what nature does. We watch and care for the animals, the deer, the bears. We respect them. We genuinely love where we live.”
—Mitch Rustad
Vera Farmiga
The Academy Award and Emmy nominee and ferociously whirling dervish of an artist who lights up the screen lends her passion and voice to protesting the war in Ukraine (her ancestral homeland) and fronts her hotter-than-hot metal band, The Yagas, with an album forthcoming this year. Lesser known? Vera Farmiga’s killer green thumb and her family’s enormous garden, where she grows a bounty of fruits and vegetables; if you’re lucky like me, you might be a recipient of her signature hot sauce.
“The Hudson Valley is where my soul takes off its steel-toed boots and sighs big-ass relief,” Farmiga says. “Living here influences my everything—equal parts muse and mischief. This place gives me permission to be my weird and sentimental self, it’s wildly inspiring. The stars feel closer somehow here, and that magic seeps into everything I do; so much so, my life feels like a folktale.”
—Abbe Aronson
Tyler Lydon
Former NBA forward Tyler Lydon grew up in Elizaville, NY, before reaching the 2016 Final Four with legendary college basketball coach Jim Boeheim at Syracuse University. The six-foot, ten-inch sharpshooter, who played two seasons with the Denver Nuggets, now runs Tyler Lydon Basketball Training, which offers private and public sessions and camps throughout Hudson Valley.
“That was my childhood dream,” Lydon says of playing in the NBA. “Now, I want to give back to the community and place that helped me so much.”
—Sean McAlindin
Mickey Brantley
Former major league baseball outfielder and batting coach Mickey Brantley knows a thing or two about America’s pastime. He grew up in Catskill, NY, the 6th of 11 children. Brantley says he learned the game at Catskill Little League and Columbia-Greene Community College before playing at the highest level for the Seattle Mariners from 1986-89. His son, Michael Brantley, played for the World Series champion Houston Astros in 2022.
“It was a dream come true,” Brantley says of playing in the major leagues. “Looking back on my incredible memories, there’s still no place like home.”
—Sean McAlindin
Helena Christensen
The famed supermodel Helena Christensen has built a multifaceted career in fashion, modeling, photography and design while maintaining a deep connection to nature. Splitting time between an apartment in Manhattan’s West Village and a home in her beloved Catskills, Christensen says she embraces sustainability, creativity and environmental advocacy.
“I always choose from my heart and belly, whatever feels right is the path I definitely go towards,” Christensen says.
—Isabella Joslin
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