East Hampton - As Memorial Day approaches, so too will the wave of celebrities (real and self-imagined), media players, princes of finance, artists, designers, writers, fashionistas and the rest of the cadre of seasonal samplers of Hamptons summer lifestyle and culture desperately hoping for a bold face mention and photo in the likes of Hamptons.com Hamptons Magazine, Dan's Papers, and The New York Social Diary, etc. - then there is Alec.

Alec Baldwin signing copies of the Twain classic for thrilled students. (Douglas Harrington)

I speak, of course, of Alec Baldwin. Raised in Massapequa, Alec is not actually a native son of the Hamptons, but he may as well be as no celebrity who calls the Hamptons home seems to give more to improve the quality of life of the East End. Moreover, his passion for the Hamptons is not reserved for the pristine summer, but continues throughout the year. Yes, even in this extremely cold, extremely snowy, extremely bleak winter.

As this brutal East End February came to a close, a bitterly cold late Saturday afternoon saw Baldwin do a free reading of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" at BookHampton in East Hampton. All the front row seats were reserved for local school children and dozens of them sat on the floor at the actor's feet. The parents had the back rows and for everyone that had a seat, there were as many standing. So many families showed up for this event that Alec graciously offered to do a second reading for the several hundred parents and children that huddled outside in the cold after BookHampton hit its occupancy capacity.

In what seemed to be a spontaneous decision, Baldwin invited a young student to read with him. They alternated paragraphs while reading the first chapter of Twain's seminal American literary classic, with Baldwin commenting on how superbly the young lady was reading. As pro-civil rights a piece of literature it may be, anyone who knows the novel knows it is written in language that would clearly be considered politically incorrect in our era. However, it was not written in our era and Baldwin stopped the reading at one point to explain that to the children in attendance. Baldwin deserves credit for not, if you'll pardon the pun, white washing Twain's intended words in this great American piece of world renowned, timeless fiction. Instead he explained the frequent use of the word "nigger" to the children as a term accepted in a less enlightened era.


Chapter Two had Baldwin bring a second student to the chair to share in the reading. At the end of this first seating Baldwin signed copies of the Twain classic for dozens of attendees, most of them students who had been motivated by Alec to not only read this historic book, but to keep reading in general. No paparazzi, no tuxedoes, no champagne, this was Baldwin empowering children in his own Hamptons neighborhood to read and an opportunity for him to support one the few remaining independent community bookstores left not only in the East End, but in the country at large. Yes, this was Alec being Alec.

As if that were not enough, Baldwin had volunteered on this same cold February day, and I stress the word volunteered, to host a screening on behalf of the Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) of John Frankenheimer's 1966 groundbreaking film "Seconds" at Guild Hall barely three hours after he finished his BookHampton readings.

Following the reading at Bookhampton, Baldwin hosted a HIFF event at Guild Hall. (Douglas Harrington)

Guild Hall is another of Baldwin's passions, not only contributing a significant financial donation to the restoration of the John Drew Theatre at Guild Hall, but he supports this cultural jewel of the Hamptons with sweat equity, appearing as recently as this past summer in an extraordinary production of Sir Peter Shaffer's "Equus".

Baldwin also attended the Guild Hall Lifetime Awards Gala at Cipriani's earlier this week. He was not receiving an award; he was simply in attendance in support of this venerable Hamptons venue. Just Alec being Alec.

Baldwin's passion for Guild Hall is equaled by his passion for the HIFF. He is not only a Board Member active and visible throughout the October festival; he hosts a spring screening of documentaries he personally chooses called the "Summer Docs Series." From the Indiana Jones' film "The Last Crusade" and in the words of Sir John Gielgud, last summer "He chose…well!"

Yes, very well indeed as last year one of the films Baldwin chose was "The Cove" and it won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary. Thanks to Alec, we in the Hamptons were able to see the film in East Hampton long before the rest of the world and the Academy even knew the film existed. The screening included a Q&A with director Louie Psihoyos, producer Fisher Stevens and the hero of the film, dolphin defender Richard O'Barry, click here for the full article.

In June 2010, Baldwin moved the attention of the HIFF to Manhattan by hosting a Q&A at the Museum of Modern Art with heralded Hamptonian photographer and filmmaker Bruce Weber regarding his biopic about actor Robert Mitchum called, "Talking Tough & Singing Soft".

Along with Baldwin supporting the HIFF and Guild Hall, he supports his passion for books and the written word with his personal commitment to the East Hampton Library's Authors Night. Along with co-chairs Jay McInerney and Candace Bushnell, Alec sits, signs and gives photo opts to book loving supporters of the library for hours under a tent in August.



In the summer of 2010 he concluded the authors series Bridgehampton Library's "Fridays At Five" with a reading of his book "A Promise To Ourselves." Without a doubt the most attended of that year's series in support of the Hamptons library.

If that were not enough, Baldwin carries his support for the written creative process to the mid-summer Southampton Writers Conference held at Stony Brook University, Southampton. Again, he does not play the star; he plays the part of the moderator of a Q&A, the advocator of the creative process, the supporter of new voices and the most effective and committed ambassador of the extraordinary art, culture and lifestyle that is uniquely the Hamptons.

Baldwin lends his support to many other Hamptons cultural and charitable organizations like The Group for the East End, ARF and Bay Street Theatre among others. He does not support and appear at these events and venues for the publicity, frankly the popularity he has garnered as Jack Donaghy on "30 Rock" alone is more than enough publicity for any actor, with the possible exception of Charlie Sheen. If anything, he sees the publicity as a necessary evil that provides exposure for the Hamptons treasures he holds dear. Yes, Baldwin walks the step & repeat. Yes, he politely answers reporter's questions, elaborately if it relates to the event, but curtly if it is something personal.

In truth, I do not think that Alec likes talking about himself at all. I take great pride in my reputation as a journalist who interviews celebrities for their passion and their art, not their celebrity. Over the years I have secured in-depth interviews with Hamptonians like James Brady, Dick Cavett, Mercedes Reuhl, Joe Pinturo, Tim Bishop, Terrence McNally, Lanford Wilson, Frances Hayward, Bob Balaban, Gahan Wilson and the last interview ever given by George Plimpton, to name but a very few. To date, even though Alec and I must run into each other almost monthly at events, I cannot get him to agree to a sit-down.

I try not to take it personally. I have not given up, even though I may need to start my own not-for-profit theatre company whose proceeds go exclusively to Hamptons based charitable organizations. Alec Baldwin does not want to talk about Alec Baldwin; Alec Baldwin wants to talk about the cultural and charitable treasures that make the Hamptons the paradise that it is for him. It is just Alec being Alec and for that all Hamptonians should be grateful.