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Arts & Entertainment

NYC As Seen On TV: <em>Love Story</em> And Manhattan

By
Jen Carlson

Published Nov 14, 2011

Modified Nov 14, 2011

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As you probably know by now (if not: spoiler alert!), Love Story is a movie (and novel) by Erich Segal, that follows a young couple—Oliver and Jenny—as they fall in love. Everything is great until one of them dies of "Ali MacGraw's Disease." That tragic scene, and the last part of the movie, takes place in Manhattan, after the couple moves from Boston, when Oliver gets a job at a big law firm here. Filmed in 1970, many deem this movie hitting the big screen as "the birth of the chick-flick."Exact filming locations are hard to find, but the production did film around New York. In the novel, Oliver and Jenny's address is listed as 263 East 63rd Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues. And their apartment looks pretty reasonably represented for an one belonging to the "nouveau riche"—it consists of a foyer, living room, kitchen, and bedroom.The production filmed at the City College of New York City, which posed as Harvard for some scenes. Presumably this was after the filming caused damage to the actual Harvard campus, eventually leading the university administration to deny most subsequent requests for filming on location there. They also filmed in the Bronx, at Fordham University, Central Park, and on 5th Avenue, with the final scene filmed at 1190 Fifth Avenue, Mt. Sinai Hospital.Last year the stars, Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw reunited for the 40th anniversary of the film on Oprah, where we also met the real Jenny, a New Yorker who served as Segal's muse. She told People in 1998 that she had to break her silence after Al and Tipper Gore were declaring they were the model couple for the book, but it turns out only Al was—"Segal recently said that he never met Tipper but that the character of Oliver Barrett was based both on Gore and actor Tommy Lee Jones, Gore's Harvard roommate" (who is also in the movie).Here's a video of some of the couple's classic banter; click through for images of the couple's Manhattan (and previous NYC As Seen On TV features can be found here).
Gothamist
By
Jen Carlson

Published Nov 14, 2011

Modified Nov 14, 2011

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Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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