By Dan Murphy
One of cable television’s hit series “Ray Donovan” recently filmed in Yonkers. One of the stars of the show is legendary actor Jon Voight, who is a native of Yonkers and proud of it. Mayor Mike Spano recently visited Voight as he was filming “Ray Donovan” at a private home in Yonkers.
“We are on the set. My name is Jon Voight. I’m from Yonkers and we are on the set of ‘Ray Donovan.’ We are using this home for ‘Ray Donovan.’ I’m in the scene, and I love being from Yonkers. Hello, Yonkers. I actually have the mayor here with me, and it’s great to be back,” said Voight, from outside of a non-descript house in Yonkers last month.
“Ray Donovan,” which has been based in California for years, moved back east at the request of its lead actor Liv Schreiber, who plays Ray Donovan. The NY Post reported: “Schreiber misses his kids so much he is having Showtime move ‘Ray Donovan’ to New York. Naomi Watts – his partner of 11 years, until they announced a split in September – and their two sons live in Tribeca and spend summers in Montauk. The show is a hit, and he’s the star. He told Showtime that filming had to move to New York next season, and they agreed.”
Perhaps it was Voight who recommended filming in his hometown of Yonkers. Other scenes have been films in Rockland County and New York City.
Voight was born in 1938 in Yonkers to Slovak and German parents. He has two brothers, one is known as Chip Taylor, a singer-songwriter who wrote hit tunes like “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning.” Voight attended School 5 in Yonkers before attending Stepinac High School in White Plains. After that it was onto New York City and Hollywood to become an actor.
Many in Yonkers were happy that Voight remembered and appreciated his Yonkers roots. “At least he remembers where he came from,” said one Yonkers resident on Facebook. “Some others seem to be ashamed of it and no mention in their bio. I knew a priest, Father Pete from St. John the Baptist, that taught him around the time he started in midnight cowboy. I like Jon Voight.”
Another resident claims that Voight “lived in Yonkers in the house of someone I know and knocked on their door about 30 years ago to show Angie (Jolie, his daughter) and his son.”
It’s hit or miss for other Yonkers-born celebrities to welcome, and acknowledge, their hometown. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler admits it. He attended Roosevelt High School and was a wild child during his teenage years but doesn’t enjoy the discussions with the media about it.
Another famous singer, Lady GaGa, refuses to discuss it and claims that she never lived in Yonkers. Others disagree and claim that she attended school with them at Sacred Heart. This is one tidbit we have never been able to confirm; friends of ours at Sacred Heart say she never went to school there – others swear she was their friend and fellow student in Yonkers.
But it is good to see Voight, playing Ray Donovan’s father and filming in Yonkers, and welcoming the mention with open arms. If you haven’t watched “Ray Donovan,” check it out on Showtime. It’s one of my favorites – and you have several years of episodes to enjoy.
