10. Francis Ford Coppola lived at 67-24 49th Avenue
Francis Ford Coppola, who would go on to direct legendarily films such as The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, had his beginnings at 67-24 49th Avenue in Woodside. Born in Detroit, Coppola moved with his family to the Woodside home in 1941 at age two, living there for a decade before moving to Lake Success in Nassau County. The family moved to New York due to his father’s promotion to principal flautist of the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
Coppola was constrained to the home for much of his childhood after developing polio. He would watch puppet shows at home, which inspired his interest in theater, then movies. Other famous Woodside residents in the film world have included actor Edward Burns, the voice of Popeye the Sailor Jack Mercer, and actor Joe Spinell.