9. Ruth Benedict and Ginger Rogers lived in Douglaston
Given Douglaston’s historic (and wealthy) past, the quaint waterfront neighborhood was bound to have attracted some of New York’s most famous celebrities and academics. Perhaps the most famous resident was Ruth Benedict, the anthropologist behind The Chrysanthemum and the Sword and Patterns of Culture. The Vassar College graduate married chemist Stanley Rossiter Benedict in 1914. After marrying, Benedict moved to Douglaston, though little is known about her time there. Another esteemed resident was Ginger Rogers, who moved briefly to Douglaston after being chosen to star in the Gershwin musical “Girl Crazy.” She signed a seven-year contract with Paramount Pictures in 1930, so she took residence in Douglaston to be closer to Astoria Studios.
The address 202 Shore Road housed two notable residents: German artist George Grosz and Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau. Grosz, a Dada artist prominent during the Weimar Republic, was known for caricatures and drawings of Berlin life before moving to New York in 1933. He is perhaps most known for his work Cain, or Hitler in Hell, created while he was in the United States. Arrau was often grouped with some of the legendary 20th-century pianists, known for performing the works of Beethoven, Bach, Chopin, and Schubert. Annette Kellerman, an Australian swimmer and vaudeville star, also lived in Douglaston. Her home features a sign that reads “COO-EE,” a shout that originated in Australia often to attract attention.