77 Photos
Ann Liguori and her dog Skye.
Inside the Westhampton home of Ann Liguori
The Westhampton home of Ann Liguori
With a manicured yard that includes a large putting green and interior furnishings and memorabilia that reflects every facet of her award-winning golf and sports broadcasting career, the Westhampton home of Ann Liguori definitely suits her to a “tee.”
Ms. Liguori’s post-modern home is chock-full of photographs of the sports legends and celebrities she’s interviewed (from Ted Williams and Arnold Palmer to Matthew McConaughey and Vince Gill), posters from the six Olympic Games she’s covered, framed articles she’s written (a USA Today cover about Wimbledon, for example), as well as thousands of autographed balls and a few oddball tchotchkes.
“I’m definitely easy to buy for,” laughed Ms. Liguori as she held up toilet plunger with a clear acrylic handle filled with golf tees that she had received as a gift from a friend. “This is something for the woman golfer who has everything. I actually have two of them!”
For more than two decades, Ms. Liguori has hosted a live, weekly call-in sports show on WFAN 660 AM Radio. She also works as the station’s expert golf and tennis correspondent, covering such events as The Masters, US Open Golf (and Tennis), the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup.
As owner of Ann Liguori Productions, Inc., she is widely known for producing “Sports Innerview with Ann Liguori,” the longest-running syndicated sports cable show hosted, owned and produced by a woman. Locally, Ms. Liguori’s weekly radio show, “Golf Innerview with Ann Liguori,” airs on WLIU 88.3 FM on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10 a.m.
The busy broadcaster and sports journalist is also the author of the book “A Passion for Golf: Celebrity Musings about the Game” and is a celebrity spokesperson, marketing consultant, and president/founder of the charitable Ann Liguori Foundation. Each October, she hosts a charity golf classic (often at the Maidstone Club in East Hampton), which has raised more than $1 million for cancer research. She also serves on the Women’s Advisory Board of the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center. And her golf handicap is an impressive 12.
Still lightly tan from a Thanksgiving family cruise to Jamaica, Ms. Liguori recently sat down in her cozy French Country living room—gleaming with Christmas lights and decorations—to talk about how her home in the Hamptons offers respite from her busy schedule and worldwide travels.
“Before I could even unpack from the cruise, the whole Tiger Woods story broke and I was whisked into the city to appear on “Fox and Friends” and WFAN Radio,” she said. “I’ve covered Tiger’s career from the start, so the media wanted to know if I was shocked by it all. I think it definitely tarnishes his image and his brand because I believe that athletes should be role models.”
Entering the nearby hall bathroom on the first floor, Ms. Liguori pointed out a framed photograph of Mr. Woods which hangs over the commode, though the politically correct broadcaster did not seem to notice the irony of the photo’s placement now that the scandalized golfer’s career is going down the toilet. “This picture shows how powerful Tiger’s swing is,” she said instead.
The bathroom, papered with dog-themed wallpaper, is a nod to Ms. Liguori’s love of animals, especially her beloved golden retriever, Skye, who lopes around the house offering constant love and affection. The room also contains autographed photographs of Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. A dozen souvenir golf towels from courses all over the world are creatively displayed on the towel rack.
Another first-floor bathroom features an autographed Kevin Costner poster from the movie “Tin Cup,” a limited-edition poster from the Bill Murray comedy, “Caddy Shack” and a poster from the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Ms. Liguori said she bought the 2,800-square-foot house 15 years ago and has been living in it full-time since 2002. Housemate Scott Vallary, her significant other (and young Richard Gere look-alike), works as a sales representative for Ann Liguori Productions.
Ms. Liguori said she knew the house was as good as hers from the moment she first arrived, though she reflected that she didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. “The house was owned by Anthony Bonner of Sea Level Construction and I knew I had to buy it when my old golden retriever happily jumped in the pool the day we saw it,” she laughed.
Ms. Liguori’s favorite room in the house is the family/living room “because of the coziness factor,” she said. With its brick fireplace, buttery yellow walls, large overstuffed floral chairs and a 52-inch big screen television for watching sporting events (perched on a delicate blue French Country table), the space is perfect for entertaining and relaxing. A lover of Christmas decorations, Ms. Liguori manages to cram an all-gold Christmas tree, a real tree and a small fiber-optic tree into the living room during the holidays.
The living area is also host to Ms. Liguori’s playful side. One of the more whimsical additions is a little toy critter she “picked up during the Olympics” that wolf-whistles whenever someone walks by.
Decorating is a definite passion for Ms. Liguori. Although she likes “the look” of country furnishings, she said she is not a fan of real antiques. Instead, she selected and bought most of the home’s furnishings in one fell swoop during a visit to North Carolina’s famed “Market Week.”
“It’s a great way to furnish a home because you can spend days going from one showroom to the next to see a variety of styles. I really enjoyed that process,” she noted.
The living room also contains several of Ms. Liguori’s prized possessions—a glass display case showcasing some of the Telly broadcasting awards she’s won (more are in the basement) and two large framed drawings of Snoopy by “Peanuts” creator and golf lover Charles Schultz.
“I was doing a TV show with Charles Schultz and asked if he’d sketch something for me, which is something he never did,” she said. “It was six months before he passed away and you can see his hands were shaky,” she added, smiling at the drawing inscribed “To Ann, with Love and Friendship.” A similar Schultz drawing hangs by the Christmas-stockinged fireplace.
The adjoining dining room, with its sage green walls and floral fabric wallpaper in her favorite blue and yellow hues, features a custom-made pine table and hutch with hand-painted floral accents.
“I enjoy setting a creative table as much as I like decorating a house. Scott is a great cook and we love to entertain,” Ms. Liguori said, noting that a number of celebrities and sports figures have enjoyed meals at her home, including actor Tony LoBianco; two-time Super Bowl quarterback Mark Rypien; socialite Sharon Bush; and baseball greats Tommy John, Gene Michael and Rick Cerone.
Ms. Liguori’s kitchen, with its blonde-wood cabinets, Mexican tile and colorful Italian ceramics from Florence, has been used by chefs Todd English and Star Boggs to prepare culinary creations for the various charity events she’s hosted at her home.
Hanging on the kitchen wall is a large wooden display case that spotlights Ms. Liguori’s extensive golf ball collection from courses all over the world.
“There’s a rare black ball from Bethpage; balls from the Masters, the Ryder Cup and Pebble Beach; one from President Bush; and one from a golf tournament I played in Morocco,” she said as she pulled select balls from display. “The case holds about 80 balls, but I probably have over a thousand. I have another one in my office, but I’m beginning to think I need a bigger house with more wall space!,” she exclaimed.
The hallway off the kitchen leads to Ms. Liguori’s home office and is filled from top to bottom with more framed photographs and memorabilia. Highlights include a plaque that recognizes her 2002 induction into her Brecksville, Ohio high school “Alumni Hall of Fame,” recognizing her career achievements since she graduated in 1978; a photograph of Ms. Liguori as a cover girl for “Distinction Magazine;” a picture of her with actor Sylvester Stallone back when she was a brunette; and one of her on the golf course with singer Celine Dion (“She has an amazing swing,” Ms. Liguori reported.).
She admitted that she spends “far too much time” in her home office, but with its L-shaped French Country desk and charming old-fashioned tennis wallpaper there are worse places to be stuck for hours on end, Ms. Liguori said.
An avid fan of nature, the broadcaster said she likes that the office has access to the outdoor patio and the view of the pool and Jacuzzi, the large stand of white oak trees in the backyard and the hydrangea bushes she’s planted over the years. “Plus Skye can be near me all day and I can let him out easily,” she noted.
The basement is yet another repository for Ms. Liguori’s treasures, including an autographed photograph commemorating her 1999 interview with baseball legend Ted Williams, which she considers “one of her dearest interviews.” There are also photos of Jackie Robinson, Mohammed Ali and one of Ms. Liguori being dwarfed by the 7-foot-2-inch tall Wilt “The Stilt” Chamberlain.
“I call the basement my museum because it has walls filled with a million different personalities. And I have one room devoted to all the golf clubs that manufacturers send me,” Ms. Liguori said. “Although I give away a lot to charities, I still have a ton left.”
Taking a walk down memory lane caused Ms. Liguori to reflect back on her professional hardships and accomplishments, as well as what really matters most. “Being a woman sports broadcaster hasn’t been the easiest career. There are different kinds of challenges and pressures that come with it and it’s taken me more than 20 years to get where I am today. But I truly love the excitement of the broadcasting world and all the people I meet and all the travel that goes with it,” she acknowledged.
“But you know what they say, ‘home is where your heart is.’ And there’s no place I’d rather be than here in the Hamptons and coming back home to this house.”
27east on Jan 5, 2010