# What big celebrities live in surprisingly "out of the way" places? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 4, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134 "2016-02-04T14:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Salad\_Smell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@Salad\_Smell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Salad_Smell)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/1 "2016-02-04T14:20:01Z")
And I don’t just mean “has a house in…” but actually spends most of their domestic time there? Morgan Freeman somewhat famously lives in Mississippi, way away from Hollywood, though he’s in five or six films a year. I’ve heard similar things about Bill Murray and John Goodman. Who else lives somewhere surprising, given the heft of their celebrity and frequency of working? ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/2 "2016-02-04T14:26:27Z")
Sandra Bullock and the director Richard Rodriguez each live in Austin TX I believe and are both quite active. Richard Linklater, too, but he is more indie than even Rodriguez. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/3 "2016-02-04T14:59:51Z")
Maureen O’Hara lived the last few years of her life in Boise, ID. Screech from Saved By The Bell lives just outside of Milwaukee. Well, he lives in jail right now, but his primary residence is close by. As I once heard someone say, we like to pretend he doesn’t live here, he’s kind of an asshole. I know it’s a big city, but Oprah lives in Chicago. Her mom lives in Milwaukee. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/4 "2016-02-04T15:10:41Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Sandra Bullock and the director Richard Rodriguez each live in Austin TX I believe and are both quite active. Richard Linklater, too, but he is more indie than even Rodriguez. Does Matthew McConaughey still live in Austin? ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/5 "2016-02-04T15:42:17Z")
Are any of the places above “out of the way?” Arthur C Clark lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/6 "2016-02-04T15:46:31Z")
Eminem lives in Detroit. Julia Roberts lives in New Mexico, on her ranch. John Travolta (and his wife Kelly Preston) lives in/on an airport near Ocala, FL called Jumbolair, in Jumbolair Estates. Christian Slater lives in Coconut Grove, FL, a suburb of Miami (where I used to go party on weekends when I was a teenager). ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/7 "2016-02-04T15:51:27Z")
Dave Chappelle lives on a farm in Yellow Springs, OH. ---
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/8 "2016-02-04T15:56:35Z")
Kate Winslet lives on a farm out in the country somewhere in England. She has chickens (a good number) and uses the eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/9 "2016-02-04T15:59:38Z")
Actor, Jeff Daniels lives in Chelsea, MI ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/10 "2016-02-04T16:04:18Z")
Prince lives in Minneapolis, MN. Not the milieu I would have expected him to come from, but then again, where exactly could someone as unique as him arise? ---
**Author:** ![Gordon\_Urquhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/db5fbb/32.png) [@Gordon\_Urquhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gordon_Urquhart)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/11 "2016-02-04T16:09:31Z")
Small towns on the Western Slope of Colorado were home to several celebrities: Hunter S. Thompson lived in Woody Creek (adjacent to Aspen), pop. 210; Joe Cocker lived in Crawford, pop. 431; and Dennis Weaver lived in Ridgway, pop. 924. Many more (Tom Cruise, Oprah, John Denver, etc.) have/had residences in ski towns like Telluride, Vail and Aspen, but I think Dr. Thompson, Cocker and Weaver all lived semi-permanently in/near their respective towns. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/12 "2016-02-04T16:20:49Z")
I’m not sure if he still does but Stephen Colbert lived in Montclair NJ which is a pretty normal small town in NJ. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/13 "2016-02-04T16:33:34Z")
Last I heard Shania Twain and Tina Turner lived in Switzerland. And I’ve heard Howie Long, Sissy Spacek, Tim Reid, and John Grisham live in rural Virginia. ETA: Robert Duvall too. ---
**Author:** ![malaka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@malaka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malaka)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/14 "2016-02-04T16:37:05Z")
“Slowhand” Eric Clapton lives in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/15 "2016-02-04T16:38:01Z")
Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek both live in Charlottesville, Virginia when not working. Not exactly A-list, but Jim Nabors (and husband) live in Hawaii, though he keeps a home in Sylacauga, Alabama where his sister lives and he visits regularly (or did before his health declined in old age). His _Andy Griffith_ co-stars Andy Griffith and Frances Bavier both ended their days in small town North Carolina: Andy in a beachfront estate in Manteo (where he got his start as an actor in the outdoor pageant _The Lost Colony_- still in production- and where he was buried within hours of his death) and Frances Bavier in Siler City, a place she had no connection to until old age but happened to like and where she could live very comfortably on her retirement income. Fred “Herman Munster” Gwynne lived in [this very out of the way farmhouse](http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/g/Fred%20Gwynne%20and%20The%20Munsters/another%20angle.JPG) in rural Virginia full time. Elton John used to live in a suburb of Atlanta when not touring but I don’t think he does anymore. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/16 "2016-02-04T16:39:56Z")
Not sure if he still lives there, but Muhammed Ali had farm near Benton Harbor, MI. ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/17 "2016-02-04T17:01:07Z")
Mohammed Ali also had a lake place in Berrien Springs, MI. There was a dust-up with a privately owned, but open to the public, beach that operated directly across the lake (Barron Lake) from his property. The beach had a bar and music on weekends and Ali objected to the noise. He ultimately must have won the argument, because the bar closed down, although the beach remained for years afterward. During the years when Oprah was filming her show in Chicago, she had a country place between LaPorte and Rolling Praire, IN. She spent quite a bit of time there and people would spot her occasionally in the general area going out for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/18 "2016-02-04T17:23:41Z")
> [@stillownedbysetters](#): > > Mohammed Ali also had a lake place in Berrien Springs, MI. There was a dust-up with a privately owned, but open to the public, beach that operated directly across the lake (Barron Lake) from his property. The beach had a bar and music on weekends and Ali objected to the noise. He ultimately must have won the argument, because the bar closed down, although the beach remained for years afterward. > > During the years when Oprah was filming her show in Chicago, she had a country place between LaPorte and Rolling Praire, IN. She spent quite a bit of time there and people would spot her occasionally in the general area going out for dinner. Yeah you’re right Berrien Springs ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/19 "2016-02-04T17:26:57Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > Actor, Jeff Daniels lives in Chelsea, MI Yeah, and it’s kind of cool that he made it big. He realized that he didn’t want to raise his family in LA or NY, so he stuck to living where he wanted. He got on planes to go to auditions and he just flew back to be with his family. Very cool. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134/20 "2016-02-04T17:30:03Z")
Apparently several live in Montana Michael Keaton Dennis Quaid Huey Lewis David Letterman Tom Brokaw John Elway Mel Gibson Maury Povich Connie Chung Kiefer Sutherland Christopher Lloyd Patrick Duffy > **[What Famous Celebrities Live in Montana?](http://www.bigskywords.com/montana-blog/what-famous-celebrities-live-in-montana)** > > Information on famous celebrities living in Montana, including Michael Keaton, Huey Lewis, David Letterman and Tom Brokaw. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-big-celebrities-live-in-surprisingly-out-of-the-way-places/745134.md?page=2)